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ASWM NEWS

Understanding Federal, State and Local Dredge & Fill Permitting Programs by Leah Stetson, ASWM (4/07)

ASWM has received numerous requests for information pertaining to wetland permits from citizens. How do I find out if the wetland being filled in my area is legal? Who do I contact in my town/state/district? How do I obtain a permit? How do I contest one? What happens to violators? Where may I learn more about wetland permits?

Several state, county and regional wetland programs have innovated new, creative ways to educate citizens—both violators and non-violators alike—about wetlands’ critical ecological and economic value to people and communities. [Read full article...]

NEWS

Critics on Both Sides of Coal Mining Debate Assail EPA on Mountaintop Regulation By Patrick Reis – New York Times – March 18, 2010 Critics on both sides of the heated debate over the regulation of mountaintop-removal coal mining lambasted U.S. EPA today for its handling of the issue. Environmentalists this morning strung a banner saying, "EPA: pledge to end mountaintop removal in 2010," between 20-foot-tall purple tripods outside the agency's Washington headquarters. Six protesters then chained themselves to the tripods' bases and vowed not to leave until EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson agrees to fly over Appalachia to survey environmental damage done by mountaintop mining. Kate Rooth of the Rainforest Action Network, which organized the protest, said EPA must exercise its full authority under the Clean Water Act to prevent mining companies from blowing apart mountaintops and dumping waste into waterways. For full article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/03/18/18greenwire-critics-on-both-sides-of-coal-mining-debate-as-87304.html For a related blog by the Natural Resource Defense Council, go to: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/rperks/the_carbon_footprint_of_mounta.html

MI: Permits Drag on U.S. Mining Projects By Robert Guy Matthews – Wall Street Journal – February 8, 2010 Obtaining the permits and approvals needed to build a mine in the U.S. takes an average of seven years, among the longest wait time in the world. So despite having vast underground stores of raw materials, the U.S. is one of the last places miners go to start a project. At the proposed Kennecott Eagle nickel mine in Michigan's sparsely populated Upper Peninsula, the wait is at seven years and growing. Global miner Rio Tinto says the project would fill a raw-material gap in the U.S. economy, but the company has yet to produce an ounce of nickel there. For full story, go to: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703822404575019123766644644.html?mod=WSJ_article_MoreIn

Appeals court upholds vacating of mining permits Miami Herald – January 22, 2010 A federal appeals court in Atlanta has upheld the decision of a federal district court in Florida to vacate permits for limestone mining along a strip of former wetlands west of Miami. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the opinion Thursday regarding wetlands known as the "Lake Belt." U.S. District Judge Jack Camp, who sat on the panel, wrote in the opinion that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida "did not err" in January 2009 when it vacated the permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers to several limestone mining companies. For full story, go to: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/1440379.html

FL: Bill to ease wetlands development advances in Florida House

By Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite – Miami Herald – March 22, 2009 A bill that would drastically limit the state's ability to protect wetlands from destruction has passed a legislative committee. The bill says that anyone who wants to destroy a wetland simply needs to turn in an application that has been ``prepared and signed by . . . scientists, engineers, geologists, architects or other licensed professionals.'' As long as the application is filled out properly and signed by a licensed professional, who certifies the wetland destruction won't lead to water pollution problems, it ''shall be presumed to comply'' with the law and must be approved. The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee approved the bill Thursday. HB 1349 is not yet available online. For complete article, go to: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/962019.html For a related (and opposite opinion) go to: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/mar/21/co-wetlands-division-a-redundancy/ (check comments as well) For related story, go to: http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wetlands/article985783.ece

Excavator Agrees to Settle Wetlands Case That Went to Supreme Court Over Permit

May 2008 -- A Wisconsin developer has settled a federal lawsuit over the excavation and dredging of a wetland in a case that ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court, agreeing that the site is subject to Clean Water Act permitting requirements (United States v. Gerke Excavating Inc., W.D. Wis., No. 03-C-0074-C, 5/15/08). Under the settlement, announced by the Justice Department May 30, Gerke Excavating Inc. also agreed to pay a $42,500 civil fine (73 Fed. Reg. 31,146). The agreement was outlined in a proposed consent decree filed May 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers originally sued Gerke Excavating and other parties in federal court in Wisconsin in 2003 for failing to obtain a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit before excavating and dredging a 5.8-acre tract containing wetlands. The district court found the defendants liable for unpermitted dredging and filling of wetlands (United States v. Thorson, 219 F.R.D. 623, 58 ERC 1700 (W.D. Wis. 2003); 71 DEN A-6, 4/14/04 For Notice of Settlement, visit: http://regulations.justia.com/view/112050/

Feds Fine Homebuilders for Water Pollution

By DINA CAPPIELLO – Washington Post – June 11, 2008 Four of the nation's largest homebuilders have agreed to pay $4.3 million in fines for failing to control runoff at construction sites in 34 states and the District of Columbia, the Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department announced Wednesday. The four companies _ Centex Corp. of Dallas, KB Home of Los Angeles, Pulte Homes Inc. of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and M.D.C. Holdings Inc. of Denver _ also agreed to take steps above what is required by law to keep 1.2 billion pounds of sediment out of the nation's waterways. "Dirt can pollute. The bottom line is this: Whatever ends up on the ground at a construction site can be swept into the nearest waterway," said EPA Assistant Administrator Granta Nakayama. For full article, go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/11/AR2008061101675.html

ME: Owners of Maine Vacation Parcel Face EPA Fine for Filling a Wetland

Contact: Paula Ballentine – EPA News Release – June 17, 2008 Robert and Gayle Greenhill, owners of more than 3,200 acres of land on the western shore of Moosehead Lake, face a possible EPA fine of up to $157,500 for filling 1.5 acres of freshwater wetlands on their property. The filling of wetlands, occurred during the expansion of an existing private airstrip and the development of a rock quarry, is a violation of the federal Clean Water Act and other federal requirements designed to protect wetlands. This is the second violation of wetlands protections in the federal Clean Water Act by the Greenhills. In 1997, the Greenhills constructed a trout pond on the property, altering approximately 0.4 of an acre without first seeking a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, as required by the federal Clean Water Act. The Greenhills also did not apply for the necessary permit for the current violation.  For full news release, go to: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/3b0bd059c9d551e38525746b0054cc8f?OpenDocument

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Army Corps of Engineers, New England district: http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/

All Army Corps of Engineers districts: http://www.usace.army.mil/cw/cecwo/reg/district.htm

American Rivers has just written a new draft citizens' guide to understanding the Army Corps of Engineers' permitting process under Clean Water Act. Here is a link to the draft guide. The final version may be available on their website by August 2007. http://www.aswm.org/swp/design_wetlands/3_regulatory_corps_guide_draft.pdf

A Local Ordinance to Protect Wetland Functions Wetlands and Watersheds Article #4 (in a Six-part Series) Center for Watershed Protection ~ Prepared for the Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds, EPA – December 2007 Authors: Beth Strommen, Karen Cappiella, David Hirschman, and Julie Tasillo. This article introduces a new type of model ordinance for local protection of wetlands. Existing federal and state wetland permitting programs address some direct impacts to wetlands, such as filling, but are not designed to regulate inputs of stormwater or other pollutants. Local development regulations can fill this gap in wetland protection since local governments typically have control over local land use regulations and decisions. For a link to this document, visit the Center for Watershed Protection website at: http://www.cwp.org/ or go directly to: http://www.cwp.org/wetlands/articles/WetlandsArticle4.pdf

Clean Water Act Owner’s Manual, 2nd Edition, available at River Network’s online Marketplace.

MEETINGS & TRAINING

Understanding the Clean Water Act: An Online Course

River Network is proud to announce the resurrection of the online course, Understanding the Clean Water Act. Users can now explore the course at: www.cleanwateract.org. The course is a companion to the book, The Clean Water Act Owner's Manual. Course content will help users isolate specific water quality problems, identify possible solutions, develop and leverage existing programs and build effective outreach tools. The course is appropriate for staff, interns, volunteers and board members interested in learning more about the force of the Clean Water Act and related tools. Even Clean Water Act old-timers will likely find something to ponder in the local stories, digging deeper and resources sections.  If you train staff or volunteers on the Act, you’ll also find some special training tools to help you get your points across. For questions or to share your thoughts on this course, contact Merritt Frey at mfrey@rivernetwork.org.

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MOUNTAINTOP MINING & PERMITTING ISSUES

Scientists say mountaintop mining should be stopped By David A. Fahrenthold– The Washington Post– January 8, 2010 Mountaintop coal mining -- in which Appalachian peaks are blasted off and stream valleys buried under tons of rubble -- is so destructive that the government should stop giving out new permits to do it, a group of scientists said in a paper released Thursday. To read full article, go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/07/AR2010010702530.html?hpid=topnews Link to full article on Mountaintop Mining Consequences, go to: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/327/5962/148

FL: Phosphate industry's effects felt far away

By Kevin Lollar – The News-Press – March 22, 2009 Make no mistake: Phosphate mining is an ugly business. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, a 6.9 million-pound dragline with a 320-foot boom lowers a 62-cubic-yard, 100,000-pound bucket into a 30-foot-deep hole to scoop up 100,000 pounds of phosphate, sand and clay. For acres all around, the evidence of the dragline's work can be seen in a harsh, gray landscape that looks like Death Valley's homely half-brother. For full story, go to: http://news-press.com/article/20090322/NEWS01/903220413

Appalachia’s Agony

Editorial – New York Times – March 16, 2009 The longstanding disgrace of mountaintop mining is now squarely in President Obama’s hands. A recent court decision has given the green light to as many as 90 mountaintop mining projects in Appalachia’s coal-rich hills, which in turn could destroy more than 200 miles of valleys and streams on top of the 1,200 miles that have already been obliterated. The right course for the administration is clear: stop the projects until the underlying regulations are revised so as to end the practice altogether. Mountaintop mining is just what the name suggests. Enormous machines — bulldozers and draglines — scrape away mountain ridges to expose the coal seams below. The coal is then trucked away, and the leftover rock and dirt are dumped into adjacent valleys and streams. For full editorial, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/opinion/16mon2.html

NC: Environmental Protections Must be Upheld as Mining Expands

Southern Environmental Law Center – March 12, 2009 A permit issued by the N.C. Division of Water Quality illegally approves the largest destruction of wetlands in the state’s history by PCS Phosphate, according to papers filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center today in state administrative court. The permit presumes the state will write new rules that accommodate the company’s ambitions. For full press release, go to: http://www.pitchengine.com/southernenvironmentallawcenter/environmental-protections-must-be-upheld-as-mining-expands/6288/

AK: Mine waste trips up Alaska gold rush

By Kim Murphy – Los Angeles Times – March 2, 2009 Sitting like a turquoise gem in a bowl of hemlock, Sitka spruce and ice, Berners Bay has long been a jewel of Alaska's Tongass National Forest. In the spring, swarms of tiny eulachon rush in to spawn, and the bay floods with hundreds of killer whales, humpback whales and sea lions in hot pursuit, along with eagles and seabirds by the thousands. Fishermen flock to its herring, salmon and Dungeness crab. Its chilly, tranquil waters are a favorite destination for kayakers. Berners Bay also has become one of the epicenters of a new Alaska gold rush. High in the snowy peaks at the top of the bay, miners struck an estimated 1.4 million ounces of gold -- a prize that is looking better every day as investors flee the stock market. For full story, visit: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-na-alaska-gold-mining2-2009mar02,0,186322.story

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