PROTECTING
WISCONSIN'S WETLANDS
Over the past few months
there has been much debate and concern relating to the protection of wetlands
in Wisconsin. I want to take this
opportunity to share with you a bit of the background and reasoning that
necessitates immediate action by the legislature as well as an overview of
legislative actions to date.
BACKGROUND:
A recent U.S. Supreme
Court decision, Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) v. U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, on January 9, 2001, has had the effect of restricting
some of the authority of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to regulate
wetlands. This DNR authority was based on federal law that allowed it to issue
water quality certification for permits to fill wetlands issued by the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (Corps).
The Corps permits were issued contingent on a favorable DNR decision on
the water quality certification.
PRIOR TO THE COURTS
DECISION:
Under the Clean Water
Act, wetlands are subject to an intertwined set of federal, state and local
requirements. In 1972, Congress
passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act amendments "to restore and
maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity" of the nation's
waters. The Act defined
"navigable waters" as "waters of the United States." Over the years subsequent series of
court decisions established that, under the broad definition of "waters of
the United States," Corps jurisdictions includes wetlands adjacent to
navigable waters, artificially created wetlands, and waters isolated from
navigable waters.
The Clean Water Act also
permitted states to grant or deny certification for a federally permitted or
licensed activity that may result in a discharge into the waters of the United
Stated. If the state denies certification, the Corps will not issue the permit.
THE EFFECT OF THE
DECISION:
that defined its
authority. These regulations
applied Corps jurisdictions to isolated wetlands not adjacent to or connected
to a navigable body of water. This
restriction of Corps jurisdiction means that the state no longer has the
ability to issue water quality certifications for those wetlands.
LEGISLATIVE ACTION:
In response to the
Supreme Court Ruling, the Senate Committee on Environmental Resources drafted a
bill, Senate Bill 37 (SB 37), addressing the protection of wetlands. I support
this specific piece of legislation.
The Senate Committee on
Environmental Resources held a hearing on Senate Bill 37, relating to wetlands,
on February 1st and unanimously voted it out of committee on February 8th. The full Senate voted on the bill on
February 13th. The bill
passed on a vote of 27 to 6. It moved through the committee process rapidly and
with bi-partisan support. This
showed that the Senate was well aware of the urgency of the situation.
However, the Assembly
Republicans refused to act quickly on the matter and even refused to bring SB 37 to the floor for debate and a
vote..
SB 37 sought a fair and
balanced process that returns the dual permit process back to both the DNR and
the Army Corps of Engineers. A wide coalition of 69 organizations ranging from
environmental to hunting groups,
which represent over 315,000 Wisconsinites, have endorsed SB37 and the
protection for wetlands provided in the bill.
The Assembly majority
instead chose to move forward with a "do nothing bill" by passing a
temporary moratorium (AB215/SB54), which faces likely failure due to the
Senate's recess. It would set a July 1 deadline, allowing future wetlands
destruction to continue whether new rules have been set or not. I strongly
advocated for SB 37 to be pulled from the Committee on the Environment, however
this motion failed on a party line vote.
It greatly saddens me that the protection of our wetlands and the
environment as a whole are being held hostage for what appears to be political
gain.
WHAT NOW?
The Legislature is out of
session until May 1st. However we expect a special session to be called to deal
with this matter. The protection of our wetlands and the safety of our drinking
water are at stake. We must move
quickly. Unfortunately I fear it
may be too late for some of our wetlands.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
ON THIS OR ANY OTHER ISSUE?
As always, you can reach
me at (phone) 266-8570,
(e-mail)
mark.pocan@legis.state.wi.us <mailto:mark.pocan@legis.state.wi.us> or you may write to P.O. Box 8953
Madison, WI 53708.
-Mark
Pocan,
78th
Assembly District