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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. For the fourth year in a row, Illinois lawmakers have failed to pass legislation that would set guidelines on when and how wetlands can be developed. The bill most recently rejected, by a 5-3 vote, in the Senate Environment and Energy Committee would have established guidelines for the protection and development of isolated wetlands in Illinois counties that don't have rules. Counties in northeast Illinois that already have their own development rules, would have been allowed to keep them, while developers targeting wetlands in other areas would have been required to obtain permits from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Not surprisingly, business interests opposed the bill, arguing that new rules would increase costs for development. Wetlands not only in Illinois, but nationwide, have been under assault from developers since 2001 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that small streams, ponds and other"isolated" wetlands are not subject to regulation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. That destruction has prompted many state legislatures to consider laws to protect this valuable fish and wildlife habitat. Some have succeeded in turning these bills into laws. Others, such as Illinois, have not.
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