Ohio EPA pushing for more detailed rules

DAYTON (AP) -- State environmental regulators want more detailed rules for replacing wetlands because they say few developers successfully recreate habitats where displaced plants and animals can thrive.
"We're not getting the quality back that we have lost," said Mick Micacchion, a wetland ecologist with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Home to amphibians, mammals such as beavers and deer and a vast number of birds, wetlands in Ohio have been shrinking since the 1790s. Wetland acreage is down an estimated 90 percent in the state because of construction and other development as well as drainage for farms.
Wetlands absorb potentially hazardous floodwaters and act as nature's kidneys by naturally filtering pollution.
Goal
One of the goals of the federal Clean Water Act is to require states to replace lost wetlands. But the Ohio EPA says many of the replacement wetlands aren't adequately duplicating the resources that have been lost.
A report from the EPA last year assessing 1,000 acres of replacement wetlands found that 25 percent didn't qualify as wetlands but were "shallow, unvegetated pond" and that 18 percent of wetland area was of good quality.
The EPA says rules governing the construction of these replacements need to become more detailed and specific to create healthier natural environments where wildlife can potentially thrive.
HBA opposition
The revision of Ohio EPA wetlands-replacement guidelines could mean higher costs for developers. The agency is assessing the financial impact and is required to disclose the figures before new rules are enacted.
A draft of the new rules could be finalized later this year after more input from developers, environmental groups and government agencies.
Vince Squillace, executive vice president of the Ohio Home Builders Association Inc., said his organization opposes such changes.
"They're expensive and would harm future development in the state of Ohio," he said. "The proposed rules would be very difficult to comply with."
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