Woods & Wetlands Wetland Protection

Updated 7/24/05

Contact the US Army Core Of Engineers    Determine the permit application status for the property. The USACOE periodically changes its rules for wetland protection. When this was written, if the wetland is less than 1/3 acre, they do not have to be notified by the developer. If the wetland is between 1/3 and 3 acres, automatic "nationwide" permitting applies, and the wetland may be destroyed without a permit. If the wetland is greater than 3 acres, then an individual wetland (destruction) permit is required, and a public comment process kicks in when the permit application is received from the developer at USACOE. According to Julie Hall, one of their two project engineers for Lake County, the USACOE is becoming somewhat sensitive to public comments. The best bet is to contact the USACOE regulatory division at 312-253-6400 and ask for Tom Kehoe or Julie Hall for status on the project. In order to determine whether or not a property requires an individual permit, a Wetland Delineation is required. This must be done by a qualified biologist or conservationists. In the mean time, they can also help you find out whether your wetland is "ADID." Check this USACOE siteto learn about the details of the wetlands destruction permitting process.

Contact Stormwater Management Commission     Under Illinois law, counties can form SMC's with the power to regulate land use to manage stormwater. This was prompted by the regular occurrence of extremely expensive flooding throughout our region. To date most of the Chicago collar counties have formed SMC's, and passed Watershed Development Ordinances (WDO) that regulate both incorporated and unincorporated land, and Cook County is forming a similar entity in 2005. In 2000, in a case brought by the Solid Waste Agency of Cook County, the Supreme Court ruled that wetlands isolated from navigable waters could not be protected by the USACOE under the Clean Water Act for their value to wildlife under the Migratory Bird Act. This exposed over 15% of our remaining wetlands (which themselves comprise less than 15% of the wetlands that existed her prior to development). To re-protect these isolated wetlands, the SMC's stepped in and added this protection to their WDO's. As a result, it's common for a proposed development to impact both "navigable" wetlands contiguous with our rivers and streams and therefore under jurisdiction of the USACOE, and "isolated" wetlands protected by SMC. Developers planning to fill wetlands must apply first to the USACOE, which will determine whether the wetlands are "jurisdictional" and notify SMC of any that are not. SMC has delegated enforcement to many communities. If you live in Lake County, find the enforcement officer in your community here, and contact them. That page includes contact information for Lake County SMC itself. Even if there are no isolated wetlands on the site, SMC will be involved during the site planning to determine and approve an acceptable stormwater plan, and your input can influence them to enforce buffers and other "best management practices" that reduce water quality impacts. See The Importance of Being Impervious for a better understanding of the consequences of development on aquatic life. Unlike the USACOE, which is required to issue a public notice and accept public comment, SMC does not announce fill permit applications or prompt public comment. SMC is chartered to serve all citizens, not just developers, but unless you contact them, they will not be under any burden to serve your interests beyond a minimal interpretation of their WDO. So your input to their work is extremely important. 

Begin Protesting    When the wetlands destruction application is received by the USACOE, they forward copies to USF&WS (US Fish & Wildlife Service), USEPA (US Environmental Protection Agency), and Illinois DNR (Department of Natural Resources) for comment. Each of these is a good target for contacting in protest. If nothing else, this can slow down the permitting process... The applicant must also send the application to the Illinois EPA (for water quality review) and to an agency certified in Stormwater Management. This may be the Lake County SMC (Stormwater Management Corps) if the property is unincorporated. In the case of Hawthorn Woods, for example, the Village itself is certified. Again, each of these is a good target for contacting in protest.

Collect Information about the Wetland    If the developer has not yet made the application, you have time to take some additional steps. Document and photo any unusual animals or plants, and request, in writing, that the USF&WS and the ILDNR perform a survey of the property for additional Endangered and Threatened Species (the Great Egret is on the Threatened and Endangered Species list for Illinois, for instance). The Upland Sandpiper is the only federally listed species in our region. Click here for a list of Endangered species: State and Federal Endangered species and County Endangered Species important for achieving ADID status. Since the USF&WS has to comment on the wetland application, this step will (hopefully) slow the process down. Copies of these letters can also go to the USACOE to let them know there is great interest in the property.

Additional Steps     Large scale wetland destruction is usually accompanied by a request for zoning change. See Zoning Change Requirements discussed in this court case, and the eight points a developer must prove to deserve one. Also request that your Village scale back the development (or stop it) based upon the presence of the unusual species you find (Lake County is home to more than any other county in IL). Even visiting birds are important, because they need to forage near where they nest. Development will forever drive them from this and surrounding property. Make plans to contact the press at a key point in time. I will then organize some kind of protest when the USACOE finally receives the permit application. It will involve protests to all of the agencies involved in the permitting process. Going to them early (with a survey request) gives them a "heads up" on the interest in the property...

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