|
Wetland Destruction Permits |
Coastal Wetland Fill
One
way that thousands of acres of wetlands in the Gulf States are destroyed every year occurs through
permission granted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Through section 404 of the Clean Water Act,
the Corps has the authority to grant permits to "dredge or fill" waters of the United States,
including wetlands. So, a permit is
required any time a person wishes to fill a wetland or construct a building,
subdivision, strip mall, road, etc. that will destroy wetlands.
In
order to grant a permit, the Corps is supposed to consider:
- Whether an alternative(s)
to the project exists that would not negatively affect wetlands. If there are practical alternatives, the
permit should not be issued.
- Whether the project is
water-dependent. If it is not, the permit should not be issued.
- Whether the project
has been designed in a way that avoids and reduces the impacts to the
environment. If wetlands must be destroyed, the Corps must reqire the developer
to "mitigate" for the destruction by building or restoring similar
wetlands.
- Whether the project will
cause a violation of state water quality standards. In order to ensure this the State must
also certify that there will be no harmful effects on water quality due to
the wetland destruction.
While
the intended purpose of the permitting process is to "avoid, reduce,
and
mitigate" damage to wetlands, the permits that are granted still
destroy acres
of wetlands that should not be destroyed. Luckily the 404 process also
requires
a public participation process. Through this process, permit requests
must be
noticed on Corps websites, as well in local newspapers. Since you may
not read the newspaper every day, you can stay informed of projects
that destroy wetlands by placing your name on a public notice mailing
list that is maintained by state and federal regulatory agencies that
are involved in wetland-related projects.
GRN fights
Corps-authorized wetland destruction by:
- Reviewing hundreds of wetland
destruction permit requests every year, and commenting on the most
egregious.
- Helping members
fight wetland destruction in their communities.
- Monitoring the mitigation
for wetland destruction required by the Corps.
|
