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WETLANDS PROTECTION IN THE 103RD CONGRESS Douglas B. Inkley, Ph.D. Wildlife Legislative Representative Steve N. Moyer . Fisheries Legislative Representative 1. Scott Feierabend Director Fisheries and Wildlife Division National Wildlife Federation 1400 16th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 797-6800 ABSTRACT Wetlands once covered 200 million acres of the United States, excluding Alaska. Today, the wetlands resource is less than 100 million acres and continues to decline by nearly 300,000 acres every year. Commensurate with the large loss of wetlands has been the loss of wetland's functions and values, including maintenance of instream flows, water purification, ground water recharge, flood control, commercial and sportfisheries, and habitat for fish and wildlife. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act is the nation's primary wetlands regulatory and protection program, However, as currently enforced, the Section 404 program regulates only the discharge of dredge and fill material into wetlands. Wetlands and their functions continue to be destroyed due to currently unregulated activities such as draining and flooding of wetlands, generous exemptions, and extensive activities undergeneral permits. The National Wildlife Federation is working to strengthen the Clean Water Act and proposes several measures to fix the wetlands-regulatory program. First, establish a Clean Water Act goal of protecting the quantity and quality of the nation's wetland resources and restoring those that have been degraded. Second, improve and expedite the wetlands-permitting program by providing better funding, more wetlands maps, and better training for wetland delineators. Third, ensure that all wetlands- destroying activities, including draining, dredging, and excavating, are covered by the wetlands-permitting process. And finally, establish and use a sound, scientific basis for wetlands delineations. The wetlands of this nation are a national treasure, which must be protected and restored for the benefit of all American citizens. In this paper, we address the functions and status of the nation's wetlands resource. Then we outline a national agenda for conserving wetlands. WETLANDS FUNCTIONS AND VALUES It is well-established in the scientific literature that wetlands provide a number of critical ecological functions from which the American public derives enormous benefits, economic and otherwise. Flood Conveyance Wetlands Flood conveyance can slow and retain large amounts of water and, in some instances, absorb floodwaters and release those waters slowly. At times of peak runoff, rivers and streams often overflow their banks into adjacent floodplains. These floodplains retain this overflow and reduce its rate of flow. The result is that peak flows of flood water are reduced and flooding made less damaging. The Charles River Natural Valley Storage Project in Massachu- setts, as it came to be called, was completed in 1984 and- by protecting rather than destroying wetlands associated with the Charles River-has resulted in an annual savings of $17 million in flood damage. Maintenance of Instream Flows Because of their natural capacity to retain and store water, wetlands are critical to maintaining instream flows, especially during times of drought. With the destruction of wetlands, once permanent streams become ephemeral and often dry up when their water resources are most needed. Storm Surge Abatement Coastal wetlands absorb and temper the impact of storm surges. Wetlands associated with barrier islands, salt marshes, and mangrove swamps act as giant storm buffers and can weather major storm events without sustaining lasting damage. The low gradient of many shorelines and the capacity of wetland vegetation to absorb and dissipate wave energy combine to counteract storm surges and to prevent shoreline erosion. Water Quality (Sediment Control and Nonpoint Pollution) One of the most important values of wetlands is their ability to help maintain and improve water quality. Most contaminants adhere to sediment particles. Water entering wetlands is slowed by aquatic vegetation growing in and around the wetland. This slowed flow allows sediments to settle out, and wastes are deposited in the wetland sedi- ments. The sediments become trapped in the wetland and incorporated into its "soils," removing the contaminants from the water column. Researchers at the University of Michigan learned that a 1,700-acre peat bog could treat 100,000 gallons of secondarily treated wastewater per day. In this instance, the wetland removed roughly 70 percent of ammonia nitrogen, 99 percent of nitrite and nitrate 43