The number of acres in west Eugene falling under wetlands protection may have tripled or quadrupled as a result of a new interpretation of federal rules that for the first time applies to some agricultural rules.

Using an earlier federal classification system, the city had identified about 765 acres of wetlands in west Eugene, mostly on parcels zoned for industrial use. The city has invested $12 million in sewers and streets to prepare the area for development.

But after applying standards in a new federal field guide to west Eugene properties, the city now believes that it may have between 2,300 and 3,100 acres of wetlands in the area, said Steve Gordon of the Lane Council of Governments, which is conducting a study of west Eugene wetlands.

"I'm stunned," said Councilman Rob Bennett, who was briefed on the new findings at a Wednesday city committee meeting. Local officials said that the effect would be to increase the difficulty of finding lands suitable for industrial development in Eugene.

Using the new definition, which is based exclusively on soil type rather than on plant species and the presence of surface water on the site, Eugene also has "pervasive" wetlands in northwest Eugene and wetlands in the Willak??? and Santa Clara areas, Gordon said.

City officials plan to seek help from Gov. Neil Goldschmidt, who is scheduled to visit Eugene today to dedicate Streisinger Hall at the University of Oregon and to speak at a forum on the economy tonight.

"We're just alerting him (Goldschmidt) to the fact that there are implications for Oregon for this definition of wetlands," Gordon said, "I think he's already aware of it, and it's coming to a head."

Wetlands fall under federal protection for their wildlife and plant habitat and their aid in flood control and water purification. Developers must obtain fill permits from the federal and state governments and must agree to create new wetlands elsewhere before they can build on such sites, a process called mitigation.

When applied to farmlands, the regulations also could require the issuance of a permit to allow new agricultural uses, such as grazing sheep, or allowing ditching that would change the flow of water through the property, Gordon said.

The newly identified wetlands include some of the prime areas that were being considered as mitigation sites for replacing existing wetlands as they are developed and filled, Gordon said.

While mitigation still may occur on those sites, it is not clear exactly how, he said.

Ken Bierly, an environmental specialist for the Oregon Division of State Lands, said Wednesday that Eugene officials are not alone in shaking their heads at the new definition.

"It's happening throughout the Willamette Valley," he said. "Eugene is looking at it in a broader context than most communities because they're facing it on a broader scheme."

By redefining wetlands, the federal government is threatening to undo years of work that went into state land use laws intended to protect the finest agricultural lands from development, Bierly said.

Prime agricultural lands are not likely to have the water saturated type of soil that triggers the new wetlands definition, Bierly explained. That could encourage development of those lands rather than poor quality agricultural land, which has watery clay soils and as a result, would require use of a wetlands permit process before development could proceed.

Because mitigation makes developing wetlands a costly process, development could be steered toward higher quality agricultural lands where no mitigation is required.

"We've got to get some federal recognition for the efforts the state has made" to protect the high-quality agricultural lands, Bierly said.

State officials will meet today with Army Corps of Engineers officials in Portland to try to resolve the issue, he said. The goal, Bierly said, is "more than anything else, a clearer understanding of how the manual is being interpreted.

While the manual now constitutes federal policy on wetlands, it has not yet been adopted by the state. State officials do use it on an informal basis, however.

Previous federal guidelines defined wetlands as those areas with specific plants and soil that grow only in a watery environment. Federal officials looked for the presence of all three conditions--special plants, special soil and surface-level water for at least part of the year.

The new definition relies only on soil type, which is why local officials didn't suspect that agricultural lands planted in oats, corn and grain would qualify as wetlands, Gordon said.