Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
Volume 8, Number 3 • May-June 2000
Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat NewsThe Newsletter of the Great Lakes
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New and modified Nationwide Permits (NWPs) issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers became effective on June 7. Audubon Ohio worked with the Ohio EPA to make the required determinations regarding Section 401 Water Quality Certifications. We are gratified that many of our suggestions have been incorporated into the Ohio EPA conditioning of the NWPs.
Two years ago the National Audubon Society and others filed a Notice of Appeal to review certification for NWP 26 resulting in a settlement agreement. Our contention that any conditioning would comply at a minimum with the terms of the settlement agreement reached with Ohio EPA in 1998 was effective in the final draft. General limitations to NWPs in regard to streams and wetlands are in effect the result of years of diligent work by concerned activists. We salute these individuals and their hard-won successes.
Action on the proposal by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the creation of a national wildlife refuge in the Darby Watershed, 25 miles west of Columbus has been postponed. Proponent Senator Mike DeWine requested more study of the project in the form of an environmental impact statement (EIS). This compromise was suggested because of introduced amendments to bills that might have become insurmountable obstacles to any success.
The existing environmental assessment provides an excellent analysis along with some private studies, so the need for a lengthy EIS process seems to simply be a stalling tactic by opponents. If portions of the Darby Creek watershed, named a “Last Great Place” by The Nature Conservancy, are to become a National Wildlife Refuge it will take sustained effort by conservation groups behind the leadership of Senator DeWine. Issues of land rights, endangered species, and the distrust of the federal government will all have to be addressed.