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DEADLINE
APPROACHING ON DEQ PROPOSAL TO SUSPEND PERMIT REVIEW
IF
YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO ALREADY, MAKE SURE TO COMMENT ON
THE DEQ’S PROPOSAL TO
REDUCE
PERMIT REVIEWS FOR
INLAND LAKES AND STREAMS!
DEADLINE
FOR COMMENTS IS MAY 28TH!
Given their
dire lack of funding, DEQ is proposing to suspend environmental
review for certain activities on inland lakes and streams, if environmental
review and authorization can be provided by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (ACOE). As such, DEQ has issued a Public Notice for a
Temporary General Permit for Specified Minor Activities Authorized by
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Lakes and Streams.
Suspending
environmental review of minor activities authorized by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers in
lakes
and streams will surely result in additional degradation and
destruction of our water resources
and will likely result in encumbrance for permit
applicants. While the intent
is to avoid “duplication” of efforts during the permitting
process, the review process as currently stands holds little
duplication. Not only do
the DEQ and ACOE consider permit applications under varying
parameters, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is notorious for the
institutional “rubber stamp” that has resulted in significant
resource loss throughout the
Country. Comparable
environmental review will not actually be provided by the ACOE
for the activities identified in the General Permit and, instead, the
proposed Temporary General Permit
will result in little or no review by regulatory agencies for
activities that would otherwise be reviewed.
Additionally, environmental
review by the DEQ provides better protection for Michigan’s natural resources than
the ACOE review process. The DEQ has professional and knowledgeable
agency staff in local offices with the capability of providing
on-site review of almost all permit applications and who work
directly with permit applicants to reduce adverse impacts to the
resource. This process
includes assessment of impacts from proposed activities, and allows
the least damaging alternatives to be identified and exercised.
Such review is essential to ensure protection of our valuable water
resources.
Despite the
important role that lakes, streams, and wetlands play in defining Michigan’s
landscape and contributing to our quality of life, these important
resources have been significantly altered by past practices. Ensure that our remaining resources
are protected by urging the DEQ to abandon this proposed general
permit.
It
is also VITAL that your voice be heard by the Michigan
Legislature and the Governor, who hold a responsibility to the
citizens of Michigan
to ensure that programs providing essential protections to our water
resources have adequate funding.
The detailed
draft GP can be found at www.michigan.gov/deqinlandlakes.
Written
comments should be submitted directly to: Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality, Land and Water Management Division, P.O. Box 30458, Lansing, MI 48909-7958 to the attention
of Peg Bostwick.
All
comments must be received by Wednesday, May 28, 2008.
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