ing the citizen in the role of private attorney generals. Over the
years, the CWA has been the focus of a number of citizen suits (Mil-
ler, p. 8).
The Baucus-Chafee bill expands the scope of the CWA’s citizen
suit provision (Senate Bill 1114). It does so by permitting citizens to
sue for past violations. Currently, the CWA only allows suits brought
for violations ongoing at the time of suit. While this provision is
viewed favorably by environmentalists, agricultural interests see it
as moving the citizen suit provision from a corrective position to a
punitive one (Krause and Porterfield, p. 13). Critics of the provision
are also concerned its incorporation within the CWA will serve as a
template for inclusion within other environmental laws such as the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) (Krause and Porterfield, p. 13).
Wetlands
Estimates by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) place wetland
loss since the nation’s settlement at greater than 115 million acres,
with some 290,000 acres lost annually (Zinn and Copeland, p.
CRS-1). Currently, no single piece of law collectively addresses wet-
lands protection (Zinn and Copeland, p. CRS-1). Recently, however,
separate comprehensive wetland legislation has been introduced for
tie-in within Baucus-Chafee. The bill (Senate Bill 1304), known also
as the “Wetlands Conservation and Regulatory Improvements Act,”
is the second attempt in as many years to address wetlands protec-
tion. The major provisions of the bill include improving the efficien-
cy, consistency and fairness of wetlands regulations; easing federal
wetlands compliance requirements for farmers and ranchers; estab-
lishing a better working relationship between state and federal gov-
ernments; and increasing the emphasis on wetlands protection and
restoration nationwide.
This bill provides incentives for both agricultural and environmen-
tal interests. In addition to simplifying agricultural compliance with
wetlands protection efforts, it also exempts some 53 million acres of
previously converted croplands from CWA compliance (Kirby). The
incentives favored by environmentalists include making wetlands
protection and restoration a goal of the CWA and directing federal
agencies and the states to establish a “National Wetlands Restora-
tion Strategy.”
Some provisions of the bill do not fare well with either agricultural
or environmental interests. On the agricultural side, property rights
are an issue. Some argue the added costs of implementation could
result in a “taking” of farm and ranch lands, in violation of Fifth and
Fourteenth Amendment rights (Eckel, p. 10). On the environmental
side, wetlands delineation is one issue. A number of environmental
interests are displeased with the bill’s provision calling for the use of
the 1987 Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual. The man-
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