A long-awaited report released May 9 by the National Research Council (NRC) concludes that current wetlands regulations are based on scientifically sound principles and that scientific principles should be used to identify and delineate wetlands. However, implementation of current regulations is chaotic and needs to be overhauled, the NRC Committee on Characterization of Wetlands found. "We don't believe the system is off course, arbitrary, or unscientific," says William Lewis, Jr., committee chair. "It doesn't need to be discarded. It needs to be selectively improved." The committee recommended that regulatory agencies use a single, revised manual and that one regulatory agency, rather than the current four federal agencies that share wetlands oversight, take the lead on regulations. It also recommended that wetlands be identified within the context of regional variations.
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