Environmental Groups Say Developers Sopping Up Wetlands

By MIKE SALINERO , The Tampa Tribune

Tampa Bay Online

TAMPA - Wetlands are being drained and filled by developers at an alarming rate, according to environmental groups throughout the state.

More than 61,000 acres of wetlands were filled during a 10-year period ending in 2003, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the agency charged with issuing wetlands permits. Though the corps says those losses were more than offset by wetlands restoration elsewhere, the agency's permitting policies have drawn the attention of the Governmental Accountability Office, the congressional watchdog agency.

The GAO has launched a probe covering nine U.S. cities where the corps has offices. GAO director Anu Mittal said the agency will issue two separate reports, probably in late summer and earlyfall.

Congress has declared wetlands a critical natural resource that should be saved unless no alternatives exist. Wetlands help filter water, serve as recharge areas for aquifers, reduce floods and erosion and provide valuable plant and animal habitat.

The corps' "no net loss of wetlands" policy says developers must exhaust every possibility before applying to fill wetlands, and then must disturb as small an area as possible.

The corps' own records, however, show little adherence to this "avoidance and minimization" policy. In the western Everglades of southwest Florida, the corps' records show 3,760 acres ofwetlands were destroyed between 1998 and 2002. More current figures were not available, but groups that monitor the corps say thousands of acres have been filled since then or have permitspending.

"I'm not aware of any permits being turned down," said Nancy Payton, field representative for the Florida Wildlife Federation in Collier County.

Corps officials insist that the lost wetlands are more than compensated for by mitigating - making less severe - impacts at a 1-to-1 ratio or better.

Environmental groups, however, say the numbers are misleading. For one thing, the mitigation is not a true 1-to-1 ratio in acreage. This is confirmed by John Studt, chief of permits in the corps' South Florida branch. He said the agency places a numerical value on wetlands based on their quality. Ten acres of low-value wetlands might be mitigated by 5 acres of high-value wetlands.

"This mitigation is a crock," said Ann Hauck of the Council of Civic Associations in Lee County. "Their policy is 'no net loss of wetlands'. Now, they're saying wait a minute ... It's [how it] functions, not acres."

Mitigation Questions

Environmentalists say that, ideally, mitigation would require a developer to buy wetlands near the development and preserve them at a 1-to-1 ratio.

Instead, they say, the corps gives mitigation credits to developers for getting rid of exotic species, such as Brazilian peppers, on public land that is already being preserved.  Studt confirms that this is a common practice.

Often, Studt said, the corps allows developers to buy credits at mitigation "banks". These are constructed wetlands, often owned by the developers themselves.

Environmentalists say the mitigation banks usually are of low quality and poorly maintained. Often they are in another county, a violation of corps regulations.

"Many times the engineering of the mitigation in that other county fails and the wetlands don't work properly," said Wesley Woolf, director of the Southeast office of the National Wildlife Federation.

Studt disagrees, saying most of the banks are working very well.

"Could somebody find a situation where a mitigation bank is not producing the ecological credits that are expected?" Studt asked.  "They probably could, but it would be very unusual."

Developers Go Unchecked

Environmental groups say corps personnel often take the word of consultants hired by the developer as to the size and quality of wetlands on a tract slated for development.

That was the case in New Smyrna Beach, where a developer applied to fill 8 acres of wetlands for a new Wal-Mart. The consultant neglected to mention that the wetlands were tidally connected to Spruce Creek, classified by the state as an Outstanding Florida Water.

Wetlands Alert, an environmental group, brought the connection to the attention of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which recommended against the project. It was a rare victory for an environmental group challenging a corps permit.

"We were only successful there because we called their hand and because EPA gave a very strong recommendation against it," said Barbara Herrin of Wetlands Alert.  "That's the only Corps of Engineers permit that was denied that I've heard of."

Studt said the corps always reviews findings of the developer's consultant.

"I would say in the majority of cases we adjust the wetlands value the consultant gives us because we don't think what they give us is right," he said.

Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303.

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