STATE WETLANDS AND RIPARIAN AREA PROTECTION PROGRAMS

The protection of wetlands and riparian areas has emerged as an import ant environmental planning issue. In the United States, several federa l and state laws have been enacted to protect wetlands and riparian ar eas. Specifically, the federal Clean Water Act includes protection req uirements in Sections 301 and 303 for state water quality standards, S ection 401 for state certification of federal actions (projects, permi ts, and licenses), and Section 404 for dredge and fill permits. The Se ction 401 water quality state certification element has been called th e ''sleeping giant'' of wetlands protection because it empowers state officials to Veto or condition federally permitted or licensed activit ies that do not comply with state water quality standards. State offic ials have used this power infrequently. The purpose of this research w as to analyze the effectiveness of state wetland and riparian programs . Contacts were established with officials in each state and in the na tional and regional offices of key federal agencies. Based on intervie ws and on a review of federal and state laws, state program effectiven ess was analyzed. From this analysis, several problems and opportuniti es facing state wetland protection efforts are presented.