In 2020, Florida took over management of a U.S. Clean Water Act program, so in the Sunshine State federal officials no longer decide whether wetlands can be dredged or filled for developments.

Other states could follow, but Illinois seems content with the status quo.

Proponents of such takeovers say state agencies can be more efficient than federal bureaucrats. But environmentalists say state regulators aren’t fully able to undertake the task, and can become rubber stamps for economic goals at the expense of ecological value.

Some states back-tracked similar attempts to handle permitting under the Clean Water Act’s Section 404 due to costs and jurisdictional disputes.

“We have the Clean Water Act because states screwed it up the first time around,” said Janette Brimmer, an attorney with Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law group that filed a lawsuit against Florida over the matter. “The only reason for these states to argue for local control is to have dirtier water.”

Generally, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in charge of Section 404; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets conditions for evaluating permit applications and reviews applications to approve or reject them.

For years, states have had the option to assume control of the Section 404 program and other parts of the Clean Water Act.

Michigan adopted permitting in 1984, and New Jersey did a few years later, but no state has done so since Florida.

“Under the Trump administration, federal officials encouraged states to apply for control,” wrote Stateline reporter Alex Brown of Pew Charitable Trusts. “Florida’s bid was approved just weeks before President Donald Trump left office.”

However, Brown added, “Florida is defying federal court rulings and directions from the EPA about which waters require a permit. Although federal District Court judges in Arizona and New Mexico struck down a Trump-era rule limiting the streams and waters protected by the Clean Water Act, Florida is still using the old Trump-era definition.”

A few states are considering taking Section 404 duties, including Alaska, Minnesota and Nebraska. Arizona, Indiana and Oregon have decided not to do it.

State’s wetlands responsibilities shared by five government agencies

Because land resources are limited and demands on them aren’t, balancing human activities and wetlands is unavoidable. Since proposed activities can adversely wetlands, government seeks to weigh costs to the resource vs. benefits to developers or the public.

“Wetlands are important habitats that provide valuable ecological services, such as holding water to reduce flooding and allowing nutrients to pool and collect, which then leads to highly productive plant and animal life,” wrote Randy Smith, Wetland Wildlife Program Manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, explaining Illinois’ Wetlands Campaign. “They also allow physical and biochemical treatment of sediment and other pollutants that degrade natural features and ecosystems.

“Unfortunately, over 90% of Illinois wetlands have been lost to agriculture and development,” Smith added. “The remaining wetlands have been degraded and reduced in their ability to perform ecosystem functions. Furthermore, the public’s perception of wetland ecosystems is often negative. They are viewed as habitat for undesirable animals, such as mosquitoes and snakes. These views and biases often lead to public resistance when presented with the idea of wetland restoration and management.”

Recognizing wetlands’ importance, federal and state governments established standards to help protect them.

But regulating wetlands can be complicated, with overlapping authorities given to different government entities, some with different wetland definitions or priorities.

In Illinois, five government agencies have some authority over wetlands — three federal agencies (the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Natural Resources Conservation Service) and two state agencies (the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency).

“Despite challenges, a number of wetland restoration projects have taken place by means of the Wetland Campaign in the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, [which] works to assess the health of the state’s wildlife and their habitats, identify the present issues, and outline strategies and actions to conserve species of concern,” Smith said.