Echo
Local wetlands programs in limbo as state seeks to shed regulatory authority and costs
|
Jeff Gillies, gilliesj@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
Whether local governments in Michigan will still regulate small wetlands is murky after Gov. Jennifer Granholm proposed returning the state regulatory authority to the federal government. Michigan and New Jersey are the only states authorized to enforce the section of the national Clean Water Act requiring a permit for filling wetlands. Under that authority local communities can enact even stricter rules for protecting wetlands valued for providing wildlife habitat and sponging up storm water runoff. Since 1984, anyone seeking to drain, dredge, fill or build in a wetland must apply for a permit from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. In other states federal regulators oversee such permits.