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Subject: EPA Moves to Lift Restrictions on Commercial Development of Alaska Wetlands<By
Date: Sat, 31 Oct 92 08:47:18 EST
Message-ID: <13.1992Oct31.084718@AmeriCast.com>

EPA Moves to Lift Restrictions on Commercial Development of Alas-
ka Wetlands<By Michael Weisskopf=Washington Post Staff Writer=

The Bush administration yesterday proposed to exempt the state of
Alaska from a key federal restriction on the commercial develop-
ment of wetlands.

The proposal would ease permit requirements for oil and gas ex-
ploration, construction, timber harvesting and mining in a group
of arctic ecosystems nearly twice as large in acreage as all the
remaining wetlands in the continental United States.

In a brief press release, the Environmental Protection Agency
said the proposal was designed to accommodate the "unique" cir-
cumstances of a state where development is severely limited under
current rules because of the prevalence of wetlands.

But administration sources said the timing of the decision was
intended to win votes in Alaska. The state's congressional dele-
gation, business interests and some municipalities have pressed
for a way around wetlands regulations that they regard as inhi-
biting economic growth.

The proposal, made four years after President Bush's campaign
promise of "no net loss" of wetlands, was criticized by conserva-
tionists as especially threatening to the 350,000 acres of sensi-
tive coastal marshes and tidal swamps where salmon and migratory
birds reproduce and raise their young.

"It's bad for wetlands, bad for public policy and an election-eve
tampering with natural resource protection," said Peter Berle,
president of the National Audubon Society.

At issue is one of the main regulatory barriers to development of
the nation's wetlands, a catchall term for the wide variety of
watery habitats considered vital not only as home to certain
wildlife but also as a natural mechanism for flood control and
filtration to trap pollutants in rainwater.  Altering wetlands
requires a permit, obtained after a long and costly process
called "sequencing." Developers must demonstrate that no alterna-
tive site is available, that they will minimize ecological dam-
age, and they will replace any lost valuable habitat with re-
stored or newly created wetland.

The "Alaska rule," as it is called by the EPA, would eliminate
all but the least taxing of the three steps: minimization. After
a 45-day waiting period for public comment, a decision will be
made on the proposal.

For developers, the rule would speed approval of permit requests
to drill for oil, cut timber or build a shopping center. There
would be no need to search for optional sites, removing a major
obstacle in a state where nearly half of its 380 million acres
are officially designated as wetlands.

Dropping the requirement to replace lost habitat would save large
sums of money necessary to move equipment into remote areas to
create or restore sites.

"This just opens the possibility that we can utilize our wet-
lands," said Becky Gay, executive director of the Resource
Development Council, which represents Alaskan mining, oil and
timber interests. She said developers have been "totally blocked"
because of the costs and difficulties of the sequencing process.

The "Alaska rule," tucked into Bush's national wetlands plan a
year ago, originally was promised to Alaska's congressional dele-
gation, three Republicans, by former White House chief of staff
John H. Sununu, according to administration sources.

Rep. Don Young (Alaska), in a tight reelection race, has lobbied
the White House to issue the proposal in time to help him and
Bush in the state.

Some Bush advisers questioned the strategy of going after
Alaska's three electoral votes while risking the potential alie-
nation of a larger number of "green" votes nationally. The ad-
ministration had already angered conservationists by proposing a
change in the definition of wetlands that would remove protec-
tions from up to half the 100 million acres left in the lower 48
states.

EPA Administrator William K. Reilly tried to preserve the full
sequencing process for those Alaska wetlands considered most sen-
sitive and most vulnerable to development, but he was overruled
by the White House, according to sources.<02:14 10-31C9999-----

Copyright 1992, The Washington Post.  This story is from the
Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar-
chived or redistributed.

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