New 404(q) MOA: Diluting EPA's Role

On August 9, 1991, the White House announced its comprehensive plan for wetlands deregulation- the Administration's No New Loss Implementation Plan. Among other things, the plan sought to "streamline" the process by which the Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service initiate interagency appeals of ("elevate") §404 permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers. Specifically, the plan instructed the agencies to "[r]eplace consulting agency (i.e. EPA, FWS, and NCFS) appeals of individual permits with appeals based on resources or issues of national significance". The plan claimed that this "reform" would "ensure more timely decisions and effective coordination among agencies."