Sec. 2. POLICY. (a) It is the declared policy of the state to seek, to the fullest extent permissible under all applicable federal law or laws, the delegation to the state of the authority which the corps of engineers exercises under Section 404, as defined in this Act, over the discharge of dredged or fill material in the navigable waters of the State of Texas.

(b) It is the declared policy of the state that the state should not duplicate the exercise of such authority by the corps of engineers, but should instead exercise such authority in lieu of the corps of engineers, so that no permit application is subject to duplicate levels of regulation.