Summit County Citizens Voice

Many Summit County wetlands are well-protected by local rules, but Supreme Court rulings in 2001 and 2006 left some regulatory gaps. Wildife and conservation groups are advocating for passage of a federal law that would update the Clean Water Act.

New report highlights gaps in Clean Water Act protections for five Colorado wetlands, including a rare fen in nearby Park County

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — A pair of U.S. Supreme Court rulings from 2001 and 2006 have put valuable Colorado wetlands at risk, according to a new report published jointly by the National Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimted and Ducks Unlimited. A copy of the report is online at the end of this story.

Together, the court decisions limited to scope of federal wetlands protection by narrowing the definition of navigable waters. Across the country, about 20 million acres of valuable wetlands without visible connections to larger lakes and streams have been left without federal protection, according to the report released Feb. 9.

Without regulatory oversight, the small streams, ponds and bogs are subject to being filled or drained without any mitigation. The cumulative losses could have significant impacts to water quality, flood control and wildlife habitat, the conservation groups said.

In Summit County, local wetlands regulations have filled the regulatory gap to some degree, but planning officials have been discussing updates to the wetlands regulations to address the changes resulting from the Supreme Court decision.

The Supreme Court ruling left many acres of Summit County wetlands, including headwaters streams that don’t flow year-round, without federal protection. It’s not clear if local regulations cover all the wetlands that are not under federal jurisdiction.

“Without these protections, Colorado’s limited and precious aquatic resources are at further risk,” said Dennis Buechler, director emeritus of the Colorado Wildlife Federation and the author of the report. “In some instances where protections have been removed completely, the state of law has caused unnecessary confusion.”

“There are examples of threatened waters and wetlands all over the state,” said Jim Murphy of the National Wildlife Federation. Colorado streams and wetlands provide habitat and benefits to more than 75 percent of the state’s wildlife and waterfowl, he added.

“Sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts spend billions of dollars in Colorado to hunt and fish for species that depend on these waters and wetlands that are threatened,” said David Nickum, executive director of Colorado Trout Unlimited.

In nearby Park County, a rare fen wetland is at risk because of the ruling and subsequent changes to federal rules. The fen near Fairplay is one of five detailed case studies in the new report.

Much of the current debate over the rules centers on technical definitions of wetlands that are — or aren’t — covered under federal rules. But the bottom line, according to the conservation groups, is that huge areas of wetlands that are important for fish, birds and drinking water supplies are at risk.

The groups released the reports as a way to advocate for Congressional action to restore Clean Water Act protections. A bill advanced by Senator Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, and Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, would restore protection for waters covered under the Clean Water Act before the 2001 Supreme Court decision.

The measure passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last year. It provides clear definitions of waters and wetlands that are to be protected and removes the word “navigable” from the regulatory language, which would help reduce some of the confusion over the intent of the Clean Water Act, passed in 1972 to protect U.S. waters from pollution — not just to sustain the navigability of waterways.

It may sound like a nit-picking argument, but opponents of the Clean Water Act want to retain the word as a way to roll back the scope of protection. Environmental advocates point to the original language of the Clean Water Act as intended “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.”

Small streams and wetlands play a vital role by filtering the water that eventually flows into larger rivers and lakes. If “non- navigable” headwaters are polluted, water quality in navigable downstream waters will suffer, according to a fact sheet on the Baucus-Klobuchar measure.

Filed under: Environment, Summit County Colorado, wetlands, wildlife Tagged: | Clean Water Act, Clean Water Act Restoration, Colorado Wildlife Federation, conservation, Ducks Unlimited, Environment, National Wildlife Federation, Summit County News, Trout Unlimited, U.S. Supreme Court wetlands, water, water quality, wetlands, wildlife