By virtue of the authority vested in me
by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, and
as President of the United States of America, in furtherance of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.),
in order to avoid to the extent possible the long and short term adverse
impacts associated with the destruction or modification of wetlands and
to avoid direct or indirect support of new construction in wetlands wherever
there is a practicable alternative, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1.
(a) Each agency shall provide leadership
and shall take action to minimize the destruction, loss or degradation
of wetlands, and to preserve and enhance the natural and beneficial values
of wetlands in carrying out the agency's responsibilities for (1) acquiring,
managing, and disposing of Federal lands and facilities; and (2) providing
Federally undertaken, financed, or assisted construction and improvements;
and (3) conducting Federal activities and programs affecting land use,
including but not limited to water and related land resources planning,
regulating, and licensing activities.
(b) This Order does not apply to the issuance
by Federal agencies of permits, licenses, or allocations to private parties
for activities involving wetlands on non-Federal property.
Section 2.
(a) In furtherance of of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331(b)(3))to improve and
coordinate Federal plans, functions, programs and resources to the end
that the Nation may attain the widest range of beneficial uses of the
environment without degradation and risk to health or safety, each agency,
to the extent permitted by law, shall avoid undertaking or providing
assistance for new construction located in wetlands unless the head of
the agency finds (1) that there is no practicable alternative to such
construction, and (2) that the proposed action includes all practicable
measures to minimize harm to wetlands which may result from such use.
In making this finding the head of the agency may take into account economic,
environmental and other pertinent factors.
(b) Each agency shall also provide opportunity
for early public review of any plans or proposals for new construction
in wetlands, in accordance with Section 2(b) of Executive Order No. 11514,
as amended, including the development of procedures to accomplish this
objective for Federal actions whose impact is not significant enough
to require the preparation of an environmental impact statement under
Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended.
Section 3.
Any requests for new authorizations or
appropriations transmitted to the Office of Management and Budget shall
indicate, if an action to be proposed will be located in wetlands, whether
the proposed action is in accord with this Order.
Section 4.
When Federally-owned wetlands or portion
wetlands are proposed for lease, easement, right-of or disposal to non-Federal
public or private parties Federal agency shall (a) reference in the conveyance
those uses that are restricted under identified Federal, State or local
wetlands regulations; and (b) attach other appropriate restrictions to
the uses of properties by the grantee or purchaser and any successor,
except where prohibited by law; or (c) withhold such properties from
disposal.
Section 5.
In carrying out the activities described
in Section 1 of this Order, each agency shall consider factors relevant
to a proposal's effect on the survival and quality of the wetlands. Among
these factors are:
(a) public health, safety, and welfare,
including water supply, quality, recharge and discharge; pollution; flood
and storm hazards; and sediment and erosion;
(b) maintenance of natural systems, including
conservation and long term productivity of existing flora and fauna,
species and habitat diversity and stability, hydrologic utility, fish,
wildlife, timber, and food and fiber resources; and
(c) other uses of wetlands in the public
interest, including recreational, scientific, and cultural uses.
Section 6.
As allowed by law, agencies shall issue
or amend their existing procedures in order to comply with this Order.
To the extent possible, existing processes, such as those of the Council
on Environmental Quality and the Water Resources Council, shall be utilized
to fulfill the requirements of this Order.
Section 7.
As used in this Order:
(a) The term "agency" shall
have the same meaning as the term "Executive agency" in Section
105 of Title 5 of the United States Code and shall include the military
departments; the directives contained in this Order, however, are meant
to apply only to those agencies which perform the activities described
in Section 1 which are located in or affecting wetlands.
(b) The term "new construction" shall
include draining, dredging, channelizing, filling, diking, impounding,
and related activities and any structures or facilities begun or authorized
after the effective date of this Order.
(c) The term "wetlands" means
those areas that are inundated by surface or ground water with a frequency
sufficient to support and under normal circumstances does or would support
a prevalence of vegetative or aquatic life that requires saturated or
seasonally saturated soil conditions for growth and reproduction. Wetlands
generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas such as sloughs,
potholes, wet meadows, river overflows, mud flats, and natural ponds.
Section 8.
This Order does not apply to projects
presently under construction, or to projects for which all of the funds
have been appropriated through Fiscal Year 1977, or to projects and programs
for which a draft or final environmental impact statement will be filed
prior to October 1, 1977. The provisions of Section 2 of this Order shall
be implemented by each agency not later than October 1, 1977.
Section 9.
Nothing in this Order shall apply to assistance
provided for emergency work, essential to save lives and protect property
and public health and safety, performed pursuant to Sections 305 and
306 of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 148, 42 U.S.C. 5145
and 5146).
Section 10.
To the extent the provisions of Sections
2 and 5 of this Order are applicable to projects covered by of the Housing
and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended (88 Stat. 640, 42 U.S.C.
5304(h)), the responsibilities under those provisions may be assumed
by the appropriate applicant, if the applicant has also assumed, with
respect to such projects, all of the responsibilities for environmental
review, decisionmaking, and action pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, as amended.
Jimmy Carter
THE WHITE HOUSE
May 24, 1977