Community Involvement in Wetland Protection
INDIANA

Background

In the early 1700s,wetlands such as bogs, fens, wet prairies, dune and swales, cypress swamps, marshes, and swamps covered 25% of Indiana, or 5.6 million acres.Wetlands serve many important functions, including serving as habitat for fish and wildlife and providing water quality protection, flood storage, and erosion control.Wetlands are also important for recreation and wildlife observation. Unfortunately, by their nature,wetlands are vulnerable and fragile environments. In the 1800s and 1900s, millions of acres of Indiana wetlands were converted into farms, cities, and roads. By the late 1980s, over 4.7 million acres of wetlands were lost. Wetlands now cover less than 4% of Indiana.

The Regulatory Landscape

Federal Laws

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 provide the framework for the federal government’s role in regulating activities that impact wetlands. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers administers federal regulation with oversight by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Section 404 regulates the discharge of dredge and fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands. Activities in waters of the U.S. that are regulated under this program include fills for development,water resource projects (such as dams and levees), infrastructure development (such as highways and airports), and conversion of wetlands to uplands for farming and forestry.

State Laws

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) regulates wetlands under Section 401 of the CWA,which requires a water quality certification for any activities requiring a permit under Section 404 (see above). The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) coordinates the development and implementation of the Indiana Wetlands Conservation Plan,which is a policy document for regulatory and conservation practices in Indiana that has been adopted by the Natural Resource Commission.

Photo Credit: Save the Dunes Conservation Fund - Sandra Wilmore

Laws administered by IDNR that involve wetland permitting include:

Flood Control Act (IC 14-28-1)
Navigable Waterways Act (IC 14-29-1)
Lake Preservation Act (IC 14-26-2)
Sand and Gravel Permits Act (IC 14-29-3)
Lowering of Ten-Acre Lakes Act (IC 14-26-5)
Construction of Channels Act (IC 14-29-4)

“Isolated” Wetlands Regulation

IDEM is using its authority to implement the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program as an interim method to regulate the discharge of fill material into “isolated”wetlands that are no longer protected under the CWA. More information on this policy can be found at the IDEM website (http://www.in.gov/idem/water/planbr/401/wnpdes.html). Both legislative and rulemaking proposals for establishing a permanent regulatory program are pending as of January 2004.

What You Can Do

Federal, state, and local regulations provide opportunities for citizens to participate in wetland protection activities. Below are some of the many ways that citizens can advance wetland protection.

1) Review and comment on wetland dredge and fill applications in your area. Request to be put on both IDEM’s and the Army Corps of Engineers’ Public Notification Lists. The following issues should be addressed when evaluating permit applications and decisions. These are federal requirements that are often neglected or ignored during the permitting process.

• Avoidance: Is there a way to design the project on
  the site so that it does not fill the wetland?
• Minimization: Can the project layout be improved
  to minimize the impacts on water quality?
• Social-Economic Justification: Has the developer
  shown that the benefits outweigh the costs?
• Cumulative Impacts: Are there other harmful
  activities in the same watershed?
• Impaired Waterways: Is the wetland in a
  watershed that is already listed by EPA as not
  meeting the minimum standards of the Clean
  Water Act?
• Local Value: Does the wetland provide a unique
  local value?
• Mitigation: If the project must be built, is the
  applicant proposing mitigation in the same
  sub-watershed that will measurably compensate
  for the functions and values lost with the
  wetland?

2) Promote proper wetland stewardship among private landowners.

3) Volunteer for wetland restoration and management projects.

4) Help to establish a local wetland protection ordinance.

5) Encourage permanent protection through conservation easements and purchase.

6) Get out and enjoy your wetlands! Bring your family and friends and expose them to these
fantastic ecosystems.

7) Build a relationship with a local reporter and help publicize bad wetland projects in your area.

8) Build relationships with local politicians. Educate and inform them so they can help block bad projects and adopt local ordinances to safeguard wetlands in your area.

Where to Go for More Information

The Indiana Wetlands website (http://www.in.gov/wetlands) contains many good links and lists grassroots
organizations that work on wetland issues.

The Indiana Wetlands Conservation Plan is at http://www.state.in.us/dnr/soilcons/programs/iwcp/index.html.

IDEM’s Waterways Permitting Handbook (http://www.in.gov/idem/water) covers requirements for wetlands work. IDEM’s report on Indiana Wetland Compensatory Mitigation is at http://www.in.gov/idem/water/planbr/401/mitreport.pdf.

The Chicago Wilderness Biodiversity Recovery Plan is at http://www.chicagowilderness.org/pubprod.brp/index.cfm.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
For northern Indiana: Detroit District
P.O. Box 1027, Detroit, MI 48231-1027
313-226-2218
http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/index.cfm?chn_id=1930
(Ask to be put on their Public Notification List for wetland permit applications.)

Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Office of Water Management
Section 401 Water Quality
P.O. Box 6015, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6015
800-451-6027, ext. 3-8488 (within Indiana) 317-233-8488 http://www.in.gov/idem/water/planbr/401/index.html (Ask to be put on their Public Notification List for wetland permit applications.)

Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Division of Water, 402 W.Washington St., Rm. W264,
Indianapolis, IN 46204 317-232-4160
877-WATER55 (toll free) http://www.ai.org/dnr/water

For pdf version, click here.

Prepared in January 2004 by Save the Dunes Conservation Fund for the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund, a project of Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council. Funding provided by U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office.