Wetlands rule change won’t affect Maine Official cites state’s stricter laws

A wetlands rule change decried by environmentalists nationally should have no impact on Maine, according to a spokesman for the federal agency that enforces the regulations.

That’s because Maine, one of the wettest states in the country, has stricter wetlands protection laws than the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In addition, Maine, like other New England states, has been given the authority by the corps to issue federal permits for projects that will affect wetlands, said Larry Rosenberg, a spokesman for the agency’s New England district.

The Bush administration issued new regulations Monday that would enable developers to win quicker government approval for draining and filling wetlands under the Clean Water Act, if the effect on streams and marshes is minimal.

For example, the new rules eliminate some restrictions on development in flood plains and filling in seasonal streams.

However, the rules only affect states that operate under nationwide permits, not the six New England states, which operate under general state permits, Rosenberg said.

“Even if the Army Corps of Engineers were to disappear tomorrow, Maine has good laws … intermittent streams would still be protected by the [Maine] Department of Environmental Protection,” said Rob Bryan, a forest and wetlands habitat ecologist for the Maine Audubon Society.

Maine has written strong wetlands protection into its state laws. The more stringent state laws trump federal regulations in any event.

Rosenberg of the Army Corps said allowing Maine to set its own rules makes a lot of sense because the people here know better than those in Washington, D.C., what wetlands are of value to the state and how best to protect them.

Mike Mullen, director of enforcement for the DEP’s Bureau of Land and Water Quality, agreed that the federal rule changes would not affect Maine. If any changes were to be made to the Army Corps permit requirements in Maine, the state would participate in crafting those changes. They could not be dictated by the federal government, he said.

His only concern with the federal rule changes is that developers who see the new rules as more favorable may put pressure on the state to change its regulations so they are more like the federal ones.

A representative for real estate developers in Maine was not familiar with the rule change and any potential impact on the state.