|
|
Illegal Filling of Benzie County Wetlands
As in other Michigan counties, wetlands are being filled illegally in Benzie County.The scale of the
problem, though, is difficult to measure. Public recognition and policing has been low, and in some cases there
is a general disregard for the law.
etween 1987 and 1996 the Department of Environmental Quality formally documented 93 separate
violations in Benzie County. Areview of available DEQ files indicates that at least 20 acres of wetlands were
filled illegally during this time. This official record represents only a fraction of unpermitted wetland loss in
the County.
Benzie County's judicial system has played a role in undermining the DEQ's ability to prosecute violators.
When the DEQ issues a citation, landowners generally are given an opportunity to gain permits after the fact,
or repair the damage. If the landowner does not cooperate, the DEQ has the authority to notify county
prosecutors and request further legal action. It is then up to the county prosecutor to take legal action against
the violator.
Between 1993 and 1996, the DEQ informed the former Benzie County prosecutor that nine people had not
complied with state and federal wetland regulations. None of these violations, however, was prosecuted.
No wetlands violations have yet been brought by the DEQ to the current Benzie County prosecutor, but he
has voiced support for upholding and enforcing wetland laws.
Policy Changes and Judicial Rulings Threaten
Michigan's Wetland Protection Program
Responding to evidence that Michigan's regulators are failing to enforce wetlands protection laws, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency has undertaken a comprehensive review of the Department of
Environmental Quality's wetland program.
The EPAreview was prompted in part by a report published by the Lone Tree Council and the Michigan
Environmental Council, two of the state's most active citizens' groups. The study, based on interviews with
state regulators and internal records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, concludes that the DEQ
is failing to meet its federal obligations to prevent wetland destruction.
The report also documents what the authors called "political abuse of the wetland permit program." Permit
decisions made by two administrative law judges appointed by DEQ Director Russell Harding were biased
toward development, say the authors. The judges consistently supported development in wetlands, often for
surprising reasons. In one case, a judge ruled in favor of a developer because the DEQ staff failed to inventory
"the specific number and types of insects, songbirds, frogs, fish and other wildlife populations that would be
affected by the fill."
The study's other key findings are that:
*The state has no accounting system for the thousands of permits issued for wetland losses under one
acre.
*The DEQ's senior officials routinely recommended wetland destruction and ignored the professional
decisions of its own field staff, and the staff of the Wildlife and Fisheries divisions of the Department of
Natural Resources.
*Budget cuts in enforcement programs have undermined wetland protection.
*As a result of intervention by legislators who were friendly to industry, a DEQ District Supervisor was
removed from his job for enforcing wetlands laws and replaced by an employee with no experience in wetland
regulations.
For a copy of the report, Assault on Michigan's Wetlands, contact the Michigan Environmental Council,
115 West Allegan, Suite 10-B, Lansing, MI 48933; Tel. 517-487-9539; e-mail, mienvcouncil@igc.apc.org.
Wetlands Are Economic Assets
In few regions of Michigan does the recreation and tourism industry play a more central role in the cultural
and economic fabric of a community than in Benzie County.
According to an economic analysis of Benzie County by Michigan State University, 625 people are
employed in recreation and tourism-related businesses, which ranks Benzie County eighth among the 83
Michigan counties for the percentage of tourism-based jobs. Moreover, Benzie County's tourism and
recreation industry, growing at a rate of 2% a year, is among the strongest in the state.
The foundation of this flourishing sector of Benzie County's economy is its breathtaking beauty.The
12,000 summer guests and the 1.25 million visitors to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore choose to
come here each year because of the abundance of unsurpassed natural resources, especially the clean and clear
waters.
The health and diversity of Benzie County's wetlands is a primary reason that rivers and lakes support
thriving sport fisheries, that the woods are full of deer and other game animals, and that families find abundant
opportunities for swimming and boating. The loss of Benzie's wetlands will inevitably lead to a deterioration
in natural habitat and water quality.And that will cause a substantial weakening of Benzie County's economy. |
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 