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Wetlands: Characteristics and Boundaries (1995)
Commission on Geosciences, Environment and Resources (CGER)

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Wetlands: Characteristics and Boundaries

FOOD SECURITY ACT

In 1985, in response to the concern of agricultural interests about wetland issues, Congress enacted specific definitions of wetlands, hydric soils, and hydrophytic vegetation for Department of Agriculture programs. The "swampbuster" provisions of the Food Security Act (FSA) (P.L. 99-198, 99 Star. 1504) were enacted on Dec. 23, 1985, with the premise that persons converting wetlands to agriculture would be denied agricultural loans, payments, and benefits. Further amendments were made by the Food, Agricultural, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-624, 104 Stat. 3587). The legislation now includes the following definition (16 U.S.C. § 801(a)(16)):

The term "wetland," except when such term is part of the term "converted wetland," means land that—

  1. has a predominance of hydric soils;

  2. is inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence of hydrophytic vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions; and

  3. under normal circumstances does support a prevalence of such vegetation.

For purposes of this Act and any other Act, this term shall not include lands in Alaska identified as having high potential for agricultural development which have a predominance of permafrost soils.

FSA directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop criteria and lists of hydric soils and hydrophytic vegetation, and defines those terms as follows:

"Hydric soil" means soil that, in its undrained condition, is saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough during a growing season to develop an anaerobic condition that supports the growth and regeneration of hydrophytic vegetation.

"Hydrophytic vegetation" is a plant growing in

  1. water; or

  2. a substrate that is at least periodically deficient in oxygen during a growing season as a result of excessive water content.

The 1987 rule implementing FSA (7 C.F.R. § 12) further defines hydric soils as those that meet the criteria set forth in "Hydric Soils of the United States 1985" (National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils). It also states that a plant is considered to be a hydrophytic plant species if it is listed in "National List of Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands" (P.B. Reed, 1988), and it includes the formula for calculating the prevalence index that is used in determining whether hydrophytic plants predominate.

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