We support changes made to the Wetlands Protection Act under PA 98 of 2013 to retain federally delegated authority of the Clean Water Act Section 404 Program. The law provided many reforms benefiting agriculture, including:
- Defining and exempting agricultural drainage maintenance.
- Excluding drainage structures from wetland regulation.
- Exempting established and ongoing farming operations.
- Wetlands not being regulated if they are less than five acres and their only connection to an inland lake or stream is an agricultural drain.
- Exempting cutting woody vegetation and in-place stump grinding within a wetland.
- Directing the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to create a blueberry general permit with permitting flexibility, including mitigation and a blueberry assistance program.
- Exempting construction of livestock crossings and fencing associated with grazing.
- Not regulating temporarily obstructed drains as wetlands.
- Declaring EGLE’s delegated authority to be limited to application of the Clean Water Act, associated rules, or court decisions and making any further regulation the responsibility of the Michigan Legislature.
- Repealing Michigan’s wetland law within 160 days if the Environmental Protection Agency withdraws Michigan’s federally delegated authority over Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
- Regulating a wetland if it meets the criteria in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 1987 Delineation Manual and Regional Supplements.
EGLE’s interpretation and enforcement of the Wetlands Protection Act saves valuable wetlands, but also places a disproportionate burden on some landowners. We recommend the following:
- Compatible agricultural uses should be allowed in wetlands. Wetland vegetation should be defined as obligate hydrophytes.
- County drain or water resources commissions should be the sole authority on public drains, culverts and maintenance.
- Statewide standards for wetland determinations and historical function must be established to ensure uniform application at all locations.
- Permits must be issued promptly.
- Where wetland regulations cause a substantial or total loss of the value of the property, the State must fully compensate the property owner. Control and access to the property must remain with the property owner.
- Cost-sharing or other incentives should be provided for wetlands restoration programs on farms.
- A fund should be established to compensate neighboring farms for their economic loss due to unforeseen problems created by wetland restoration.
- EGLE and the Natural Resources Conservation Service should completely explain in advance and in writing landowner obligations during and after restoration or maintenance of a wetland.
- Creative solutions should reflect economic and environmental realities to resolve wetlands disputes.
- Wetland violations should be heard within the court jurisdiction where the violation has been alleged.
- Government agencies should cooperate and provide a single contact for regulatory compliance to handle all issues of wetland determination, enforcement, and penalties.
- EGLE should recognize wetlands are a valuable agricultural resource for producing food and fiber, including certain crops which may only be grown on sites developed from wetlands.
We oppose:
- The EGLE statewide wetland inventory being used for regulatory purposes. Michigan Farm Bureau is concerned the inventory includes wetlands that do not meet current wetland delineation standards.
- Other states converting Michigan farmland to offset wetland mitigation.
- Regulating man-made wetlands or voluntarily established wetlands implemented as conservation practices through state or federal programs.
- Wetland determinations, violations, or disciplinary action against farmers or landowners because of activities like cleaning up field edges to original farmed boundaries or removing barriers such as brush and trees protruding into fields.
- Regulating prior converted cropland.
- Using productive agricultural land to mitigate wetlands, especially by condemnation.