Letter from Sweetwater Alliance to Army Corps of Engineers urging
rejection of 'after-the-fact' permit for wetland fills at the Elk
Rapids Preserve.
June 10, 2004
Ed Arthur
Corps of Engineers
Sault St. Marie Field Office
St. Mary’s Falls Canal
Sault St. Marie, MI 49783-1880
Dear Mr. Arthur:
I am writing to
express our opposition to the issuance of a proposed
‘after-the-fact’ permit for fill activity at the Elk Rapids Preserve
(file #99-056-141-0). Rather than granting a belated permit request,
we urge the Corps to pursue enforcement actions with the greatest
possible speed.
The application
fails to meet two key criteria for approval. First, the applicant is
required to prove that no “feasible and prudent” alternative exists
for siting the development. This clearly has not been demonstrated
since an obvious upland alternative exists, as indicated by the
applicant’s proposal to create wetlands from uplands that are on the
site. Another obvious alternative would be to scale back the project
to a number of units appropriate to the ecology of the location.
Second, the
proposed mitigation plan is unacceptable. The creation of stormwater
detention areas and conservation easements on the few remaining
wetlands hardly balances the loss of function that the site has
experienced as a result of the applicant’s prior (unpermitted)
filling activity.
As you know,
wetlands perform a variety of important ecological functions,
including filtration of pollutants, providing fish and wildlife
habitat, and erosion control, and the public’s interest is hardly
served by permitting the loss of these invaluable features of our
landscape. In order to achieve full restoration of the damaged
areas, we urge you to move forward as quickly as possible with
enforcement actions.
Finally, our
members feel that issuing ‘after-the-fact’ permits to known
environmental offenders is dreadful public policy. The applicant has
repeatedly flouted local, state and federal wetlands laws and must
be held accountable. Rejecting this permit request and moving ahead
aggressively with enforcement are vital to abating future
violations.
Sincerely,
Louis E. Blouin
Sweetwater Alliance
441 W. 8th Street, #2
Traverse City, MI 49684
(231) 946-8257
louie@waterissweet.org
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