Governor would boot citizens from wetland projects review

BOSTON – Whenever the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issues a ruling related to wetlands, citizens in groups of 10 or more can appeal.But Gov. Deval Patrick, who campaigned on a platform of engaging citizens in government, is about to change that longtime right of townspeople to challenge the soundness of government decision making.”The governor wants to eliminate the right of citizens to appeal bad wetlands decisions by the state Department of Environmental Protection,” said Becky Smith, spokesman for Clean Water Action, a coalition of environmental protection and public health advocacy groups. “The right of citizens to appeal is essential to protecting wetlands, and citizens are justifiably alarmed by the governor’s plans.”According to Smith, the governor has proposed sweeping changes to the state’s wetlands regulations that will eliminate townspeople’s long-standing right to appeal DEP wetlands decisions.DEP is now considering the revised regulations and will be accepting public comments until Aug. 13.Smith noted that Massachusetts in the 1960s became the first state in the nation to adopt a wetlands protection law.”The Wetlands Protection Act is one of the oldest environmental statutes in the commonwealth. It recognizes that wetlands are the people’s water resources, not just the developers’ private property,” she said, explaining that wetlands filter clean drinking water supplies, prevent flooding and storm damage, and support diverse wildlife. “They’re comparable to tropical rain forests in their biological productivity. Since Colonial times, nearly a third of the commonwealth’s wetlands have been destroyed.”Under the current regulations, 10 or more residents of a town can appeal a Conservation Commission wetlands decision to DEP, and then can appeal the DEP decision to an independent state agency, the Division of Administrative Law Appeals, if they believe that DEP’s permit decision doesn’t protect the wetlands. The proposed regulations would take away this right of citizen appeal, Smith said.Jay McCaffrey, director of the Massachusetts chapter of the Sierra Club, said citizen involvement in the state’s review procedures makes for better permits and stronger environmental protection. “Realistically, though, citizen involvement is only meaningful if there is a right of appeal – an avenue to challenge DEP’s decisions,” he said.Environmental leaders are encouraging the public to register their displeasure with the proposed changes on Gov. Patrick’s Web site, http://devalpatrick.com/issue.php?issue_id=7640699, and to contact their state legislators.