Please take a few minutes this weekend and anytime Monday to send an e-mail
on this issue.  The comment period on this rule ends on Oct. 16, 2000, so
urgent action is necessary.
Thanks,  Jane Clark

OUR STREAMS AND WETLANDS NEED PROTECTION
WHAT'S AT STAKE?

A loophole in federal wetlands law has led to the destruction of more than
20,000 acres of wetlands and damage to hundreds of miles of streams in just
the past two years.  You can help stop this devastation by writing a letter
to the Army Corps of Engineers before October 16th.

Developers are exacerbating sprawl by turning wetlands into strip
malls, tract housing and golf courses -- all without any
environmental review. Why? They are exploiting a 1998 court
ruling that struck down the "Tulloch Rule" and opened a loophole
in the Clean Water Act enabling developers and others to do
various ditching, draining and excavating projects without public
notice or a permit.

Everyday more of our wetlands are permanently destroyed and the benefits of
wetlands - such as water purification, flood control, and wildlife habitat
- are lost forever.  Destroying these wetlands and streams harms the
quality of our nation's water, aggravates flooding, robs a wide array of
birds, fish and wildlife of critical habitat and invites sprawling
development in sensitive ecosystems.

You can help protect our streams and wetlands by supporting a
rule the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers proposed to limit
the destructiveness of this loophole and by urging these agencies
to do more to stop sprawl from invading sensitive ecosystems.

*WHY ACT NOW?*
The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers have proposed a new regulation to
eliminate abuse of the "Tulloch" loophole .  The new rule would require
loophole "users" to prove that their activities will not release
significant amounts of sediment into surrounding water (that is, they will
not be producing a "discharge of dredged or fill material," a regulated
activity of the Clean Water Act). The proposed new rule, however, needs
modifications to ensure that implementation is standardized and consistent
in all agency offices.

TAKE ACTION:  The comment period on this rule ends on Oct. 16,
2000, so urgent action is necessary. Please send the sample
letter below to the Army Corps of Engineers today, or write a
personal letter making similar points.

Sample Letter:

Dear Army Corps of Engineers:

I am sending this letter in support for the proposed rule to help
stem the destruction of streams and wetlands due to the "Tulloch"
loophole (65 Fed. Reg 50108 ff).

Since a court overturned the Tulloch rule in 1998, thousands of
acres of wetland have been ditched and drained and hundreds of
miles of streams degraded without any environmental review.
Closing the Tulloch loophole will protect streams and wetlands
that are home to thousands of birds, fish and other wildlife.
Streams and marshes protect our communities by acting as natural
sponges, soaking up and filtering water that would otherwise
flood our neighborhoods.

I strongly urge you to apply the full Clean Water Act protections
for streams and wetlands by strengthening and clarifying the
proposed rule as follows:

- Provide clarity in the rule that specific activities -- such as
sidecasting, stockpiling, clearing, grading, leveling and
backfilling -- always require environmental review to ensure that
developers are not able to exploit any vagueness within the rule;

- Develop stronger language to protect our streams from toxics,
heavy metals and other pollutants that are sent downstream by
ditching and dredging.

· The proposed rule should be strengthened to standardize its enforcement
at the local level.

The Army Corps must seize this opportunity to protect our
nation's streams and wetlands from the widespread destruction
this loophole has created. I urge you to finalize the rule with
the above revisions as soon as possible. Please count this as my
formal comment in support of the proposed rulemaking for limiting
the Tulloch loophole.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Email to:  (Copy address as is)
[log in to unmask]
Mr. Mike Smith
Office of the Chief of Engineers
ATTN CECW-OR (3 F73)
Further Revisions to Definition of Discharge or Dredge Material
441 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20314-1000

Everyday more of our wetlands are permanently destroyed and the benefits of
wetlands - such as water purification, flood control, and wildlife habitat
- are lost forever.  Destroying these wetlands and streams harms the
quality of our nation's water, aggravates flooding, robs a wide array of
birds, fish and wildlife of critical habitat and invites sprawling
development in sensitive ecosystems.  All without any environmental review.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE TULLOCH RULE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are just a few examples of the damage:

Developers are draining vast areas of wetlands and replacing them with golf
courses, shopping centers and housing developments;
Sand and gravel companies, previously denied permits to operate in pristine
and vulnerable streams, are now mining these streams for construction
materials; and
Agriculture interests are widening and straightening the headwaters of
streams, destroying habitat and sending large amounts of sediment
downstream.

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