WETLANDS: ECOLOG8ICAL NEEDS VERSUS PROPERTY RIGHTS; OVER REACH OF REGULATIONS DENIES BASIC RIGHTS AND DEFIES SENSE

In 1972, Congress passed a landmark environmental measure known as the Clean Water Act which introduced farmers to federal wetlands policy. In the two decades that have passed, wetlands policy has evolved for the worse. Unfortunately, it's not the law that has changed but rather a federal bureaucracy that has defied common sense and denied the protection of Fifth Amendment private property rights guarantees through the development and implementation of the Federal Manual for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands.

Clearly, our current wetland regulatory program is out of control. Small business owners, private property owners and farmers alike would agree that while true wetlands should be protected, economic growth and activity should not be unreasonably stymied. Present wetlands policy does not allow for this distinction. Through the reauthorization of the Clean water Act, I will work to narrow the current wetlands definition in a manner that reflects true wetlands values particularly through my strong support of H.R. 1330, the Comprehensive Wetlands Conservation and Management Act of 1991.

From the building of roads to the expansion of small businesses, an individual's ability to build even a home or pave a driveway has been stymied by the far-reaching grasp of the federal definition of wetlands. Time after time, there are numerous horror stories right here in Missouri of individuals harassed by the federal government because their actions, which were acceptable for years by the federal government, have now been determined to be unacceptable due to an unreasonable wetlands definition.

However, a review of wetlands policy would not be complete without discussion of basic Constitutional principles. The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides in part that "no person shall be...deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." Over the last several years, we have seen a growing effort to make private property owners bear the burden and costs of government decisions decisions that are a direct contrast to our Fifth Amendment guarantees.

Missouri farm and other land owners have a fundamental and natural right to use and develop their property and to gain economic benefit from it without fear of federal intrusion. Certainly, private property rights are the foundation for all economic progress, and this premise must be maintained.

This nation's founding fathers realized the danger of government encroachments on property rights when they drafted the Fifth Amendment. Now is the time to narrow the current definition used in wetlands delineation in a manner that reflects true wetlands values and protects our Constitutional guarantees. Injecting common sense into the wetlands equation is never easy but necessary for the continued, profitable livelihood of Southern Missouri agriculture and other economic interests.

Bill Emerson is a member of the United States House of Representatives. Among other committees, he serves on the Agriculture and Public Works and Transportation committees, including the subcommittees of forests, family farms and water resources.