Posted by Jane Clark Urgent: Contact Your Representatives Today and Ask Them to Protect Isolated Waters and Wetlands! In January the Supreme Court dealt a blow to wetlands protections nationwide. The SWANCC decision (Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County vs. Army Corps of Engineers) punched a hole in the Clean Water Act's protection of isolated waters and wetlands. Since then, Network members have reported seeing bulldozers destroying countless isolated wetlands throughout the country. EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers are developing a guidance document to be used by Corps Districts when determining if a waterbody falls under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act as defined by the Supreme Court SWANCC decision. We must ensure that this document defines isolated waters in the most narrow way possible, consistent with the Supreme's Court opinion. Here is where you come in: Representatives are urging the EPA and the Corps to issue joint guidance that retains as much legal protection as possible for isolated wetlands and other waterbodies. We need to get as many representatives signing on to this letter as possible by COB MONDAY, DEC. 10. Please contact your representatives by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Ask to speak with the environmental legislative assistant and deliver this message: * I would like to urge Rep. X to protect our nation's wetlands. * I ask Rep. X to sign on to the letter being circulated by Reps. Kind and Gilchrest on isolated wetlands guidance by December 10. A copy of the letter is included below and you can pass this on to staffers as needed. Thanks for your help and please pass this around to your organizaton's members as well! December XX, 2001 Christine Todd Whitman, Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. (1101A) Washington, D.C. 20460 Mike Parker Assistant Secretary of Army (Civil Works) 108 Army Pentagon Washington, DC 20310-0108 Dear Administrator Whitman and Assistant Secretary Parker: We strongly urge the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers to issue joint guidance as soon as possible which narrowly interprets the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) vs. Army Corps of Engineers. The SWANCC decision limited federal jurisdiction over certain non-navigable, isolated wetlands and other waterbodies under the Clean Water Act. The SWANCC decision was based on the narrow argument that federal agencies could not use the migratory bird rule as the sole basis with which to justify continued Clean Water Act jurisdiction over isolated wetlands and other waterbodies. Therefore, SWANCC only affects agencies' authority to utilize this specific rule alone to assert regulatory authority over wetlands and other waters. This interpretation of the Court's opinion is consistent with recent rulings of lower federal courts and positions taken by the Department of Justice. Adopting a policy or guidance that gives an overly-broad reading to the Court's decision in SWANCC would run counter to the letter and spirit of the Clean Water Act itself. When Congress adopted the Act in 1972, it made clear its objective "to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters." The Act directs EPA and other federal agencies to give "due regard," to "improvements which are necessary to conserve such waters for the protection and propagation of fish and aquatic life and wildlife [and] recreational purposes..." Any interpretation that does more than discard the use of the Migratory Bird Rule as the sole basis for Clean Water Act jurisdiction conflicts with the law as well as with the will of Congress when it adopted these far-reaching protections for the nation's waters. State officials have already expressed concern that the Supreme Court decision will force them to extend their role in regulation of wetland destruction. The State of Wisconsin has already moved forward and begun to implement an expanded state role in the regulation of wetland destruction, however, this will place a greatly increased financial burden on the state. In addition, there is a disparity in existing wetlands regulations between the states; some have adequate programs, others do not. To make matters worse, in the absence of guidance to interpret this ruling, Corps districts across the country are taking widely varying approaches to questions of jurisdiction, frequently resulting in an overly-broad interpretation of the SWANCC ruling and confusion about where federal jurisdiction ends. We strongly urge you to issue joint guidance or rule-making that retains as much legal protection as possible for isolated wetlands and other waterbodies. This will allow protection of millions of wetlands that provide critical habitat for migratory waterfowl, store floodwater, and improve water quality through filtration of sediments and nutrients. As you know, wetlands are some of the most biologically productive and sensitive ecosystems in the United States. We hope that you will work hard to avoid the further loss of wetlands and the devastating environmental and economic consequences that a broad interpretation of this case may bring. Sincerely, - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]