Indiana Bill threatens Kankakee watershed
by Marty Lucas - 1.26.2002
If you're interested in the future of water quality and riparian habitat, or even if you're just a taxpaying property owner you need to take a look at what's proposed in Indiana Senate Bill 439 - this bill would allow Indiana drainage boards to conduct 'reconstruction and maintenance' on any 'regulated drain' without any permitting oversight from Indiana's DNR. Presently IN-DNR has permitting oversight on perennial streams in excess of 10 miles.
Just about every inch of every perennial stream in Indiana's portion of the Kankakee watershed is a regulated drain, including the main stem of the Kankakee River - the pro-dredge folks like to call it the 'Place Ditch', transforming it linguistically into a lifeless object serving as little more than a big, muddy gutter.
SB 439 is a serious threat to Indiana's already battered rivers and streams, but nowhere would the impact be greater than in the Upper Kankakee watershed. IN-DNR oversight of dredging and clearing activities is already pretty lax, though it is somewhat effective on the larger streams like the Kankakee and Yellow Rivers.
Here at the Big Eastern for example, IN-DNR oversight proved instrumental in mitigating the impact of a drainage project of the Starke/Pulaski DB on the Bogus Run, a creek with headwaters in Winamac Wildlife Area, its confluence with the Kankakee in Kankakee Fish and Wildlife area, and quite a bit of good habitat in between. The Bogus Run is considerably longer than 10 miles, therefore IN-DNR permitting was required; while the project was allowed, the deleterious effects on the wildlife value of the riparian corridor were reduced considerably by use of a floating dredge. There's simply no way that the Starke/Pulaski DB would have taken these kinds of precautions without IN-DNR permitting rules.
If this bill (set for committee hearing Monday) is passed, expect an unprecedented flurry of dozing and dredging in the Kankakee watershed.
One might think that the weak financial condition of most counties would limit the amount of clearing and dredging, but this is not the case. Because Indiana's drainage boards are funded by assessments, they are essentially 'off-budget', and there is very little in the way of outside review or control over their projects. To make matters worse, the timber growing along many rivers and streams is a tempting target for unscrupulous contractors, who can bill the landowers for the 'benefits' they receive from having the trees removed, sell the valuable timber, and leave the unwanted parts in giant brush piles for the landowners to deal with. In these weak economic times, it's tempting for local officials to 'help out' their favorite contractors with porky projects; because of the peculiar powers of the drainage boards it's a situation ripe for poor judgment, or even corruption. [Marty Lucas]