4 Environmental Law Practice Guide § 19.01

Summary

• [1] Twin Objectives of Protecting Navigation and the Environment

  The protection of wetlands is a fairly recent phenomenon. Through much of our history, wetlands, swamps, bogs, fens, and similar places were viewed as worthless land at best and a breeding ground for mosquitoes and disease at worst. In fact, in the mid-1800s Congress made wetlands “reclamation” and filling a national policy,1 and as recently as 1984 the Department of Agriculture was subsidizing farmers to fill wetlands. Nevertheless, the federal laws that are the basis for the current laws for protecting wetlands also have a substantial heritage. The Rivers and Harbors Act of 18992 contained two relevant provisions. One is section 10, which still today prohibits the placement of “structures,” other “obstructions” (including dredged soil), and work (e.g., dredging) in ...