Suchergebnisse

An analysis of the US private property rights movement. Since 1989, it has: gained the support of two million members; lobbied successfully against environmentalist agendas, eg, the wetlands zoning regulations; won legislative victories requiring impact studies before implementing overly inclusive environmental regulation in 12+ states; elected property rights political leaders; & received favorable Supreme Court decisions, demanding two preliminary cost-benefits analyses of regulation, with property owners compensated for those regulations reducing property value. It is suggested that a combination of deregulation & lowered property taxes will provide the incentive for owners to preserve the state of their contested wetlands. 4 Photographs. J. Sadler

Focuses on impact of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which requires Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency approvals of altering US waterways and wetlands.

Wetlands regulation in the US stems from a 1975 court decision -- Natural Resources Defense Council v. Calloway -- in which the Clean Water Act of 1972, though written to protect rivers, was held to apply to wetlands. It is argued that legal application of the act to wetlands has widened & become so detached from statute that, in practice, its application has become unpredictable. Further, the legal definition of wetlands has become so arbitrary, all-encompassing, & confusing that it has led to numerous cases of overintrusive regulation. Wetlands conversion has often proved beneficial by increasing food production, & has even been encouraged by government farm subsidies. Research shows that the federal government, through flood control projects, canal building, navigation & channelization efforts, & other development projects, has been one of the primary destroyers of wetlands. It is concluded that wetlands regulation is out of control & must begin to deal with private marsh management, fair compensation for land taken through regulation, & the abolition of farm price supports. D. Generoli