A Bi-Weekly Publication Friday June 18, 2004

				Dear Wetlands Advocate, We hope this e-newsletter continues to be a valuable resource for Michigan's wetland advocates. Please forward this on to those you think would be interested. Some of the files linked from this e-newsletter are in Adobe PDF format. For a free copy of software to read these files click here. If you would like to be added to or unsubscribed from this list or if you would prefer to receive a text-based version of the e-newsletter, please email Chris Grubb. DRIVEWAYS IN WETLANDS BILL PAVES A TROUBLESOME PATH House Bill 5441 was significantly changed and improved in the hours leading up to debate in the House Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Committee. The bill is no longer about exempting driveways. Instead it pulls language from the administrative rules to clarify in the Wetland statute that applicants must consider non-wetland alternatives. However, during the hearing, Representative Ken Bradstreet was able to weaken the statute language by changing a sentence from reading: "A permit shall not be issued unless…" to "A permit shall be issued if…" This new language endangers the state's assumption of the federal (Section 404) permitting program. An EPA official has already indicated that it is inconsistent with Section 404 and would likely result in program withdrawal. What is perhaps most disturbing is that the reason this bill was introduced in the first place was because one person was rightly denied a permit for a driveway in a unique Great Lakes fen with a clear upland alternative. Michigan's wetland advocates must send a message to the legislature and the governor that we refuse to jeopardize the state's 20 year history of administering the Section 404 program for the misplaced grievance of one person. Read House Bill 5441 (H-4) LEELANAU COUNTY VOTES DOWN DESTRUCTIVE S.O.S. PROPOSAL, WETLANDS WIN Last week the Leelanau Enterprise ran a story that the county commissioners were considering a proposal from the beach-dooming S.O.S. group that would have the county apply for a General Permit from the DEQ on behalf of its 1,100 shoreline residents, to conduct "beach grooming" activities. Thanks in large part to the efforts of wetland advocates in the area and around the state, Leelanau County commissioners voted down the proposal on Tuesday night. There is no DEQ General Permit category for this type of activity. The General Permit is reserved for activities that "are similar in nature, will cause only minimal adverse environmental effects when performed separately, and will have only minimal cumulative adverse effects on the environment." As demonstrated by wetland researchers in last month's Senate Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee hearing on the issue, coastal wetlands are among the most ecologically valuable systems in the Great Lakes. The destruction of coastal wetlands should never be considered appropriate for the General Permit. It is clear that S.O.S. will stop at nothing in order to push their agenda of destroying the public trust doctrine and Michigan's coastal wetlands. They try to create hardship where there is none. Case in point: since the beach dooming amendments were passed, only 3 people have even applied for the permit in Leelanau County (as of mid-May). They rarely deal in the realm of fact, and cannot be trusted. Like an eagle watching for fish to rise in a Great Lakes marsh, Michigan's wetland advocates must be vigilant in picking off their damaging efforts. Read the Leelanau Enterprise article 426 Bay Street, Petoskey, Michigan 49770 Phone: (231) 347-1181 x 118 Fax: (231) 347-5928 Email: chrisgrubb@watershedcouncil.org Web: http://www.michiganwetlands.org			Oppose HB 5945 House Bill 5945 would allow commercial shoreline property owners along Grand Traverse Bay and Saginaw Bay to remove wetland vegetation from the entire width of the property. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Great Lakes and Tourism. If and when the bill is heard in committee, Michigan's wetland advocates need to once again show up in force and make the message clear: coastal wetland destruction is a grave mistake. The Senate has already begun to see the light, and the members of the House supporting this bill are wasting their time and the taxpayers' money. Clous Will Pay $140K for Wetland Violations An out of court settlement stipulates that Clous will pay $140,000, put 68 acres into a conservation easement, and enact several restoration measures. It appears Wetland advocates upset with the lack of public input in the enforcement process are starting to be heard. DEQ has indicated they will be looking to build in some mechanism for meaningful public input. Read the Traverse City Record-Eagle article.