Citizen Action Needed to Help Protect Wetlands

Background

Wetlands in Illinois provide important habitat for more than 100 bird species (including many game birds), 860 native plants, fish, and numerous amphibian species including frogs toads and salamanders. They also prevent flooding and help improve water quality.

Unfortunately, the State of Illinois has lost approximately 90% of its original wetland acreage. To protect the wetlands that remain, the state has traditionally relied on the federal government, especially the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Recent court decisions have resulted in gaps in federal protections for wetlands, however. In particular, the federal courts have held that the Clean Water Act does not protect wetlands against many activities that can destroy them, including certain draining and excavating activities. Further, because of a 2001 the U. S. Supreme Court decision in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the "SWANCC decision"), the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers may no longer enforce Clean Water Act protections for some "isolated" waterways. In Illinois, the State Department of Natural Resources has estimated that a 150,000 acres have lost CWA protection as a result of the SWANCC decision.

In addition, the Bush Administration has now proposed new regulations that could go much further than the SWANCC ruling, leaving many more wetlands, streams, ponds, and lakes at risk, and endangering the health of all our Illinois rivers. Because Illinois lacks a wetland protection program of its own, the growing loss of federal protections directly threatens our communities with increased flooding, water pollution, loss of recreational opportunities, and wildlife habitat destruction.

Federal Efforts

Some in Congress are working to re-establish the original intent of the Clean Water Act of 1972 to protect all waters of the United States. At the end of February, the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act was introduced in both the House (H.R. 962) and the Senate (S.473). These bills include three important provisions: a statutory definition of "waters of the United States" based on the longstanding definition of waters in the Corps of Engineers' regulations; the deletion of the term "navigable" from the Act to clarify that Congress' primary concern in 1972 was to protect the nation's water from pollution rather than just sustain the navigability of waterways; and a set of findings that reaffirm Congress' constitutional authority over isolated wetlands and other waters in order to protect water quality, public safety, wildlife and other public interests, including hunting and fishing.

State Efforts

The effort to re-establish the intent of the Clean Water Act on the federal level could take many months, however, and may not ultimately be successful. This highlights the need to implement a state law to protect wetlands. In Springfield, the Illinois Wetlands Protection Act was passed by the House in May and would close some of the loopholes created at the federal level. The bill, HB 422, was developed by county and state officials, environmentalists, and business groups, working together to identify the specific provisions that should be included in an Illinois wetlands protection law. The goal is to pass the bill in the Senate during the veto session in November.

Citizen Action

If you are interested in supporting the protection of the 10% of wetlands that remain in Illinois, you can do several things.

1) Call, write, or e-mail your Senator or Representative in Washington, DC. Ask them to co-sponsor the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act (S473 or HR 962) and to oppose any efforts to redefine the scope of the Clean Water Act through Administration rulemaking and eliminate protection for isolated wetlands.

2) Here in Illinois, you can call, write or e-mail your State Senator and ask them to support HB 422, the Illinois Wetlands Protection Act which will be voted on in November. Need help identifying your State and Federal representatives? Just go to http://www.elections.state.il.us/DLS/Pages/DLSaddressCrit.asp and type in your address, or simply call your County Board of elections.

3) Learn how to review Clean Water Act dredge and fill permits on wetlands and streams.

4) Join Prairie Rivers Network and support our efforts to protect wetlands in Illinois. (www.prairierivers.org/Support/Contribute)