On April 5, 1977,¹ the House of Representatives passed a bill which would severely limit the federal government's authority to regulate the dredging and filling of wetlands. H.R. 3199 renews a number of funding authorizations under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), including the multi-billion-dollar grant program for construction of municipal sewage treatment facilities. But the measure also contains a section, nearly identical to one that died in conference last year, which narrows, for the purposes of determining the limits of federal dredge-and-fill jurisdiction under §404 of the Act,² the broad definition of "navigable waters" set forth in §502(7).³ The bill also restricts federal regulatory authority over such activities pursuant to the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899,⁴ in addition to exempting normal farming and silvicultural operations from §404's permit requirements.