Wetlands and Watershed Management Act of 1997

[AI summary unavailable — showing source text] Wetlands and Watershed Management Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to include wetlands in the definition of "navigable waters." Declares that areas certified by the Secretary of Agriculture as prior converted cropland are not navigable waters unless cropping has ceased and the area meets the definition of wetland. Defines "wetlands" as areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted to life in saturated soil conditions. Directs the Secretary of the Army (Secretary), acting through the Chief of Engineers, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Secretaries of the Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture, to use the Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual (1987) in carrying out provisions regarding permits for discharges of dredged or fill material into navigable waters unless a new manual has been formally adopted. Requires any new manual to specifically consider the recommendations of the 1995 National Academy of Sciences report concerning the characteristics and …