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......, "'. 'igation, flood control, and water supply projects.25 The Corps was 1 as a disciplined agency with a mission and a view of the public ~rest carefully formed by nonpartisan, skilled, and dedicated profes- ~al service to the citizenry during war and peacetime. I ! Between the passage of the 1972 FWPCA Amendments and the 17 Clean Water Act, a sharp controversy arose regarding the pro- :ty of requiring 404 permits for projects affecting the "waters of the ited States," as opposed to waters that were traditionally navigable. the one hand, the federal interest in controlling or treating pollu- Is at their sources prior to discharge into streams, lakes, and oceans itated toward the expansive assertion of federal jurisdiction con- led in the 1972 FWPCA amendments. Senator Muskie, a chief ponent of that Act, specifically identified pollutant source control :he primary aim of federal clean water policy.2. By the mid-seven- , a secondary but important water quality interest-protecting wet- :Is-was also articulated. Wetlands can act as natural sponges that ~r pollutants before they enter streams and lakes, and can be critical ,itat in some instances for wildlife, fish, shellfish, and aquatic etation. As the FWPCA was being considered for reauthorization in the h and 95th Congresses, a countercurrent developed to cut back the ansive jurisdictional predicate of federal clean water policy in reac- f to the 1975 Callaway decision.>' In that case, the United States ~ricI Court for the District of Columbia held that the Corps must /nulgate dredge and fill regulations covering all "waters of the lted States," not just those that meet traditional tests of navigabil- Western congressmen, including Representative James Wright, ator John Tower, and Senator Lloyd Bentsen, all of Texas, focused the expansive jurisdictional reach of 404 as a threat to water devel- lent and agricultural use in the states. In a few short months, as t5. B. HOLMES. HISTORY OF FEDERAL WATER RESOURCES PROGRAMS AND POLICIES, 1961.70, I t (U.S.' Dep't of Agriculture Misc. Publ. No. 1379,' 1979). ~6. 2 CoMM. ON PUBLIC WORKS, 930 CONO:, 1ST SESS:, A LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE ER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1972.-at 1259 (Corom. Print. 1973) [hereinafter SLATIVE HISTORY OF THE WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT). n. Natural Resources Defense Council v. Callaway, 392 F. Supp. 685 (D.D.C. 1975). See 123 s. Rec: 38,967-68 (1977), reprinted in COMM. ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS, 95TH J.t 20 Sess., A LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT OF 1977: A CoNTINUATION iE LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT 347 (Comm. , 1978) [hereinafter LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT].