A public-private partnership is working to restore the Florida Everglades, an invaluable wetlands resource. mended updating and distributing a report on federal coastal wetlands mapping programs prepared by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The report describes the technologies used in federal mapping efforts. - In 1992 the federal agencies undertaking inventory efforts (USDA, DOI, NOAA, and EPA) agreed to use a common wetlands classification/ identification scheme-the Cowardin system to provide consistency in describing wetlands. • Research. The Federal Coordinating Committee on Science, Engineering, and Technology (FCCSET) established a Subcommittee on Wetlands Research to define research responsibilities and identify areas where future research could support wetlands programs and coordinate wetlands research. The subcommittee produced an inventory of federal wetlands research efforts. Regulatory Streamlining. The third element of the President's wetlands plan was to improve and streamline the section 404 regulatory program of the Clean Water Act. In pursuit of this goal, federal agencies undertook the following activities in 1992: • Project Management. COE • Permit Review. In late summer mits, and the principal agencies that review permits. Procedures governing elevation of permit decisions for higher level review are a principal component of the agreements. The revisions differ from past section 404(q) interagency agreements by limiting elevation of specific permit cases to those applications affecting aquatic resources of national signifi cance. • Regulation of Prior Converted Cropland. The Army Corps of Engineers and EPA proposed regulations that would incorporate into section 404 regulations existing Corps guidance providing that "prior converted" croplands are not within the scope of the section 404 program. Prior converted croplands are areas that were converted mostly through drainage prior to passage of Swampbuster provisions in the 1985 farm bill. • Outreach and Public Information. In an effort to clarify the federal wetlands program and improve communication with the agriculture community, the Department of Agriculture, EPA, and COE developed six fact sheets on issues relating to wetlands and agriculture. Additional brochures and other materials are being developed. To increase private stewardship of wetlands, EPA expanded its Wetlands Hotline (1800-832-7828), which distributed publications, to include information on voluntary public and private assistance programs available to private landowners. • Transportation and the Section 404 Program. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) will provide billions of dollars for improvements to the nation's transportation infrastructure. To ensure that these projects receive appropriate, expeditious environmental review, the secretary of Transportation, the EPA administrator, and the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works signed a joint memorandum to senior regional managers for each agency. The memo emphasized the need for improved coordination, innovative and cost-effective approaches, and to the extent practical, integration of section 404 alternative analyses with those conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act. It also included 13 specific action items or commitments and provided headquarters contacts to resolve issues that cannot be addressed quickly in the field. • Alaskan Wetlands. In October 1992 the Bush administration proposed a rule change, using the process known as sequencing to remove the requirement that section 404 permits in Alaska be subject to review. Sequencing requires applicants first to avoid all negative impacts; second, to minimize unavoidable impacts; and finally, to compensate for remaining impacts with mitigation measures-usually restoration or creation of wetlands-preferably on or near the site. In place of sequencing, applicants would need only to demonstrate that they had minimized impacts. In proposing the rule, EPA requested comments on approaches—including retention of sequencing for protecting areas defined as high-value wetlands by the state of Alaska. Data Collection and Analysis T he Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is required by law to "gather timely and authoritative information concerning the conditions and trends in the quality of the environment... [and] to analyze and interpret such information . . ." Collecting data to determine environmental conditions and trends is essential for making and evaluating national environmental policy. Reliable information also helps define the long-term health of the ecosystems and identify potential causes of environmental degradation. Data in this section are intended to provide information to help answer basic questions about the status and condition of the environment: • Are environmental conditions getting better or worse? • Have environmental legislation and regulatory programs resulted in measurable environmental improvements? • In what areas have changes been most noticeable? • What is the cost of specific environmental improvements? Environmental Data Programs Part II of the Presidents Environmental Quality report begins with two tables that describe federal data collection and analysis programs. These tables indicate that the federal government conducts many environmental and natural resource data programs. In a recent summary, the Environmental Protection Agency identified 83 environmental data programs in 25 different federal agencies. Given the scope and diversity of available data, many experts see the need for an overarching framework to assess linkages among environmental stresses, the state of the environment, and policy responses. A comprehensive and integrated framework for environmental trends reporting is being developed under the auspices of the Interagency Committee on Environmental Trends (ICET). Convened in 1991 by CEQ, the committee has set as its goal the development of an ongoing process of data exchange and environmental reporting among existing |