launched an initiative targeting those CSO systems causing the most severe water quality problems. EPA will issue new or revised permits to CSO systems lacking or having inadequate discharge permits and plans enforcement actions against systems in violation of permit limits. Mexican Border Initiative. In February 1992 the United States and Mexico adopted a multimedia plan to address environmental problems along their common border. The plan includes construction of international wastewater treatment facilities, provision of safe drinking water, conducting joint monitoring and enforcement, and providing technical assistance and training to Mexico. The two nations have begun technical assistance and training; they plan joint monitoring in 1993 along the Rio Grande River and propose monitoring of groundwater for the Nogales and El Paso areas. Construction continues on the Tijuana international wastewater facility as do negotiations toward international agreements for wastewater facilities to serve Nogales and the area of Mexicali/Calexico. In 1993 numerous U.S. agencies will coordinate efforts to provide over $85 million in grants and loans to Mexican communities or colonias across the border from Texas and New Mexico. Wetlands Also see Agriculture, Forestry, Water, and related tables and figures in Part II. W etlands are critical ecological systems. An estimated 80 percent of the nation's coastal fisheries and one-third of the nation's endangered species depend on wetlands for spawning, nursery areas, and food sources. Wetlands are home to millions of waterfowl and other birds, plants, mammals, and reptiles. Wetlands also perform hydrologic functions. Serving as recharge areas, they help protect the quantity and quality of the nation's groundwater. Unaltered wetlands in a flood plain can reduce flood peaks by 80 percent, and their natural water filtration and sediment control capabilities help maintain water quality. Wetlands are also vital to commercial and recreational sectors of the economy, such as the sports fishing and waterfowl hunting industries. In addition, the diversity of plant and animal life in wetlands make them a valuable resource for nonconsumptive fish and wildlife-related recreation. Wetlands provide educational and research opportunities and a variety of historical and archaeological values. Conditions and Trends More than half of the wetlands that existed in what is now the lower 48 states have been converted to other uses; several states have lost 80 percent or more of their wetlands. Estimated annual wetlands losses between the mid-1950s and the mid-1970s stand at 458,000 acres. Between the mid-1970s and the mid-1980s, estimated losses ranged from 120,000 to 290,000 acres per year. Loss estimates for nonfederal rural wetlands in the 1982-1991 period showed a further reduction. According to the Natural Resources Inventory issued by the Soil Conservation Service, annual wetlands loss rates in nonfederal rural areas outside Alaska fell from 131,000 acres during 1982-1987 to 108,000 acres during 1987-1992. The reductions are attributable to enforcement of the Swampbuster provisions of the 1985 and 1990 farm bills. Because loss figures can be confusing, federal agencies-for purposes of inventory-consider lands cleared of native wetlands vegetation as converted High watertable Low watertable Source: Council on Environmental Quality, Environmental Trends, (Washington, DC: CEQ, 1989), page 97. to other uses and often do not count them as wetlands. Many of these converted acres, particularly in agricultural areas, may still exhibit wetlands characteristics. If upon discontinuation of cropping, these lands exhibit wetlands soil and hydrologic characteristics and again support wetlands vegetation, they may be considered wetlands for regulatory purposes. Policies and Programs In 1992 the U.S. government continued efforts to restore wetlands and reform federal wetlands programs. Federal policy focused largely on implementing the President's August 1991 comprehensive policy statement on wetlands. Wetlands Restoration Federal agencies restore wetlands on their own lands as well as providing technical and financial assistance to state and private landowners. A 1992 interagency report recorded the restoration and enhancement of 282,000 acres of federal wetlands from fiscal 1989 through fiscal 1992. A half million acres of wetlands on nonfederal lands also were restored, primarily with federal technical assistance. Forest Service. Wetlands restoration, which is common on the national forests, can be a simple matter, as the following example demonstrates. During road construction on the Cibola National Forest in New Mexico, workmen uncovered a road culvert that had been installed below ground. The culvert had lowered the water table in an adjacent 3-acre meadow, altering the hydrology of the site and eliminating wetlands plant species. By installing an elbow on the inlet of the culvert, Forest Service staff were able to reestablish the original drainage, and the higher water table promoted the return of wetlands species to the meadow. Cost to the Forest Service was $75, and labor contributed by the Wild Turkey Foundation came to $120. Bureau of Land Management. BLM developed a national strategy to restore wetlands-associated wildlife habitat on 20 million acres through cooperative public-private efforts. For example, in Idaho, BLM worked with Ducks Unlimited and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to construct 11 miles of fence to enhance waterfowl nesting and breeding habitat along the * Includes unconsolidated shore, rocky shore, aquatic bed, forested, shrub, and intertidal emergent wetlands-brackish and saltwater. ** Includes freshwater shores, beaches, bars, open water, ponds, and floating aquatic or submerged vegetation. South Fork and Henry's Fork of the Snake River. The Thousand Spring/ Chilly Slough area was selected by the North American Wetlands Conservation Council to receive a $125,000 grant to acquire adjacent wetlands habitat, and The Nature Conservancy transferred to the State of Idaho 18 acres of headwater spring crucial to the management and protection of this key waterfowl habitat area. Conservation Reserve Program. Through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), designed to protect highly erodible cropland, the Department of Agriculture protects wetlands by means of 10-year contracts and provides assistance for wetlands restoration efforts. To date, 400,000 acres of wetlands have been enrolled in CRP. Upon expiration of these 10-year contracts, current CRP wetlands could be returned to active cropping, or they could qualify for enrollment in the Agricultural Wetlands Reserve. North American Waterfowl Management Plan The North American Waterfowl Management Plan provides an umbrella for activities of many federal agencies and for federal partnerships with public and private groups. Partners include the governments of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, 50 states, 10 provinces, and more than 250 conservation groups. Between 1986 and 1991, more than 250 wetlands conservation partnerships implemented habitat protection, restoration, and enhancement projects benefiting over 1 million acres |