In budget pinch, Michigan governor wants EPA to take over protection of wetlands

Wed, 03/25/2009 - 20:21 — Alan Maki

Critics say US agency unable to protect Michigan wetlands In budget pinch, governor wants EPA to take over The protected wetlands in Clay Township, Mich., are home to a variety of endangered and protected species found in only a few other places in North America. (File/Associated Press) By John FlesherAssociated Press / March 22, 2009

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Governor Jennifer Granholm's proposal to hand over protection of Michigan wetlands to the federal government comes as critics in Congress and elsewhere say federal agencies are falling down on the job.

ruling on two Michigan cases in 2006 has caused general confusion about which wetlands the government can regulate. Since then, there has been "drastic deterioration" of wetland protection under the Clean Water Act, a congressional memo said in December.

Not only are the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers uncertain about their jurisdiction, the report said. The court rulings have piled more work on field staffers who inspect wetlands, process applications to develop them, and investigate possible violations, causing lengthy delays. Hundreds of violations have gone unpunished.

"It's a terrible time" for Michigan to drop its program and rely on the feds, said Jan Goldman Carter, a National Wildlife Federation wetlands attorney. "Clean Water Act enforcement at the federal level has been seriously undermined."

David Evans, EPA's wetlands division director, declined to comment on specific criticisms in the memo but acknowledged that the court ruling has created uncertainty about federal authority. Things have improved more recently as agencies have made adjustments, he said.

Michigan's wetlands program is successful and abandoning it is "not something that we would suggest they pursue," Evans said. "On the other hand, we do understand their budget situation has put them in a position where they have to consider things like this."

The governor's office believes the federal agencies would adequately protect Michigan's wetlands.

"We would not be recommending it if we weren't confident of that," said Liz Boyd, spokeswoman for Granholm.

Michigan's law protecting wetlands such as swamps and marshes was enacted in 1979. The state has lost about half the 11 million acres it had prior to European settlement. Wetlands are valued for qualities such as absorbing floodwaters, removing pollutants, and providing fish and wildlife habitat.

In 1984, the state was granted permission to administer the section of the federal Clean Water Act dealing with wetlands. New Jersey is the only other state with that authority. That put Michigan regulators who issue state permits for altering wetlands in charge of making sure the projects also meet federal requirements.

In her budget proposal last month, Granholm called for transferring federal wetland regulation back to the federal government to save money as the state grapples with a $1.6 billion budget deficit.

Regulating wetlands costs about $4 million a year, of which $2.1 million is appropriated from the general fund to the state Department of Environmental Quality. The rest comes from the federal government and permit application fees, which legislators have refused to increase.

Granholm also is expected to seek repeal of Michigan's wetlands law. Bills to do so have been introduced in the Legislature.

That would require that people seeking to develop wetlands for houses, commercial buildings, or other purposes obtain permits from the Army Corps, with EPA providing oversight.

The Army Corps had no immediate reaction to Michigan's plan, but EPA's Evans said it would dump a heavy burden on the Corps' workers. They would have to process a larger volume of new applications and monitor compliance with existing permits issued by the Department of Environmental Quality, he said.

Aside from staffing issues, environmentalists also worry that the Clean Water Act - as presently interpreted - would protect fewer wetlands than the state law.

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