
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, November 9, 1995                   TAG: 9511090056
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

HOUSE PANEL OKS WETLANDS DRAINAGE BILL

A House subcommittee voted Wednesday to let farmers drain millions of acres of wetlands, including the continent's prime duck habitat in the northern Plains.

Environmentalists and Clinton administration officials denounced the legislation, saying it would devastate waterfowl populations and roll back a decade's worth of gains in environmental protections on farmlands.

The legislation approved by a House Agriculture subcommittee would exempt wetlands smaller than an acre from the 10-year-old ``swampbuster'' law, which bars farmers from getting federal crop subsidies if they drain wetlands.

Some lawmakers conceded that the bill will have trouble passing Congress. But it ``sends a message that we need to reform `swampbuster,''' said Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D.

The bill also lessens penalties for farmers who violate conservation requirements and attempts to weaken the Natural Resources Conservation Service by reorganizing the chain of command in the Agriculture Department.

- Associated Press

by CNB