A Bi-Weekly Publication Friday November 19, 2004

				In This Issue: New permit processing requirements for DEQ Bay City wetland tiff is a teachable moment Court of Appeals upholds DEQ decision Great Lakes Restoration Meeting Dec. 3^rd. NEW PERMIT PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS FOR DEQ Shortly after slashing the DEQ's budget by reducing general fund support from $53 million last year to $25 million this year (and down from $101 million in 2001), the Legislature passed House Bill 5876. Signed into law by Governor Granholm as Public Act 325 of 2004, the new law requires the department to act upon permit applications for a variety of programs within specified timeframes, usually 90 days or less, unless a public hearing is requested. If the department fails to act on a permit, they will be required to refund a portion of the application fee and notify the Legislature. This new law could have wide ranging impacts on many permit programs. Just one example of significance for the wetland program is a provision that says if an application comes in under two or more statutes (with two different deadlines), the department must process the application according to the shortest deadline. For example, permit applications often come into the department under Part 301 (Inland Lakes and Streams, with a 60 day deadline) and Part 303 (Wetland Protection, with a 90 day deadline). These permits must now be processed within 60 days, not 90. Without the money to hire new staff, the implications of the new law could be that many more permit applications will be "desk-top" reviewed without adequate field investigations. It's also likely that more complaints of wetland violations will go unaddressed. While we understand the Legislature's desire to have permit applications processed in a timely manner, we would hope a system could be worked out that doesn't so obviously put the state's natural resources in jeopardy. Read PA 325 of 2004 BAY CITY WETLAND "TIFF" IS A TEACHABLE MOMENT Two recent stories in the Bay City Times about a disgruntled family that was told by the DEQ to remove 700 yards of fill from forested wetlands on their property should be viewed as a teachable moment. Wetlands provide many functions and values to society: from fish and wildlife habitat and pollution control to groundwater recharge and flood mitigation. Wetland regulations are in place to protect the public's interest in our water resources, now and in the future. Knowing that wetlands provide valuable functions that go beyond property boundaries, it follows that individual actions which degrade wetland functions will have impacts beyond the property boundaries that result in harm to the public. It is precisely these impacts that wetland regulations seek to avoid and minimize. Bay City Times story 1 Bay City Times story 2			Court of Appeals Upholds DEQ Decision An unpublished State of Michigan Court of Appeals decision has affirmed lower court rulings in favor of a DEQ decision to not process an after-the-fact (ATF) permit application in a Charlevoix County wetland violation. Read the Court of Appeals Opinion. GL Restoration Meeting in Chicago The first meeting of the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force will be held in Chicago on December 3^rd. In the afternoon, Issue Area Strategy Teams will begin working on draft strategic action plans for the following issue areas: Habitat / Species, Indicators and information, Persistent bio-accumulative toxics reduction, Invasive species, Sustainable development, Coastal health, Non-point source, Areas of Concern restoration / sediments. For more information about the meeting visit this website.
	Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council 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