MichiganRadio

Wetlands Protection Program Laws Likely to Expand ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) - Michigan lawmakers have approved two bills to expand the state's wetlands protection program and align some regulations with the federal government.

Legislation on its way to Governor Granholm's desk will bring greater accountability to how the Department of Environmental Quality will process wetland permits.

The measures also call for an advisory panel to decide how the state can make further changes to its regulations.

Representative Dan Scripps says the bills had bipartisan support.

"We in the House as well as the Senate passed a version of the bil that will keep the wetlands program in Michigan, which is important because it protects an additional million acres of wetlands that would have been lost if we had moved to the federal government," Scripps says.

The bills also designate 2,500 acres of wetlands for the production of cranberries.

Scripps says that could generate more than a thousand jobs for the state.
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