What the good Lord giveth almost -- the government taketh away.

To wit: While the country has gained thousands of acres of wetlands since 1993, the federal regulations governing development in wetlands will be significantly tighter when the Army Corps of Engineers publishes final rules on permits. Possibly as soon as this week.

Actually, God didn't just give us more wetlands. What really happened was that in the five years between 1993 and 1998, according to the Corps of Engineers own statistics, landowners provided 72,542 acres of wetlands mitigation in exchange for permission to fill 63,144 acres of other wetlands.

But He's the one who made them wet in the first place.

Still, the gain is not good enough for the regulators -- or the environmentalists, for that matter.

Despite the positive trend, the Corps soon will publish a new set of rules on replacement permits. And the National Association of Home Builders believes they're going to be much tougher than those they replace. "Pretty restrictive," said an NAHB spokesman. If they're not, the National Resources Defense Council is sure to sue.

Wetlands are broadly defined and regulated parcels that include dry areas that may be wet 18 inches below the surface for as few as just seven days a year. There are roughly 100 million acres of wetlands in the lower 48 states, plus 170 million more in Alaska. Builders usually encounter them as small depressions in the soil that are scattered throughout a development.

Over the years, the development of wetlands has been governed by what is known as Nationwide Permit No. 26. In 1996, though, the Corps said it was phasing out NWP26 and would create a new set or rules. And now that those controls are about to be released, the NAHB is crying foul.

Not that the Corps has ignored the NAHB's suggestions. On the contrary, it has accepted them. But is also has added so many conditions and limitations to the permits that they are "virtually useless," the trade association of builders and developers says.

"Builders are committed to protecting environmentally sensitive wetland ecosystems, but we must have a streamlined permitting process for areas that are not true wetlands," says NAHB President Robert Mitchell. "(The new rules) don't help us achieve either goal."

As the NAHB sees it, the forthcoming regs will make development "practically off-limits" in many areas. Many projects will require individual permits will take up to a year to obtain, and those that still qualify for a NWP will face a barrage of onerous new restrictions.

"This is going to add delays and costs without any appreciable environmental benefits," said Mitchell, a builder in the Maryland suburbs outside of Washington.

According to Virginia Albrecht, an attorney in the Washington law firm of Hunton & Williams, the Corps itself has estimated the new rules will at least double its own paperwork. And that, she points out, is bound to "have a domino effect on the Corps' other regulatory responsibilities."

The result, the attorney says, will "certainly be longer permitting times and greater costs," all at a "questionable" benefit to the environment.

Published: February 14, 2000

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.