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7.0 REGULATION OF PEATLAND EXCAVATION AND RECLAMATION <br />7.1 Characteristics and Effectiveness of the Existing Regulatory <br />Framework <br />The regulation of peatland excavation activities in Colorado <br />is represented by a combination of federal, state, and local <br />laws. It is variable by location and land ownership, and largely <br />ineffective in limiting the impacts of excavation and preventing <br />the loss of valuable wetland sites. Regulation on all lands <br />within the state is authorized primarily by Sections 404 and 401 <br />of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §1341). Depending upon land <br />ownership, however, some county zoning ordinances, Presidential <br />executive orders, and other federal and state land management <br />0 policies may also govern the extraction of peat or the <br />disturbance of wetlands at a particular site. Only in the case <br />of a few county ordinances is peat extraction directly regulated; <br />usually as a type of mining activity. <br />Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which regulates the <br />placement of fill in wetlands, holds the primary authority for <br />federal control of activities in wetland areas. As wetlands, <br />activities in peatlands are regulated under Section 404. Only in <br />instances where a previous disturbance has removed the <br />jurisdictional factors would a peatland not be considered a <br />wetland. The 404 program is primarily administered and enforced <br />by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, although the EPA, the Fish <br />is 61 <br />