Permits issued with caution, By FAYE WHITBECK, Staff Writer

After another extended discussion on wetland rules and their influence regarding future building projects, the topic appears to have become somewhat stagnant.
The Littlefork City Council, in a special meeting Wednesday, decided to put its proposed Industrial Park on hold. Furthermore, it has decided to formulate some type of disclaimer to accompany land use permits issued to property owners with spring building on their schedules.
The result of the meeting with the city’s attorney Joe Boyle and Koochiching County Commissioner Wade Pavleck was a decision to take no current action in terms of who will be the local governing unit for Littlefork’s wetlands. The council has decided “to slow down and observe how things play out elsewhere in the county,” according to City Administrator Mike Fairchild
However, Fairchild said the language of a new advisory statement that would accompany any land use permits issued in the near future will be presented at the May 15 council meeting for approval.
Even so, the question of who is ultimately responsible when a violation of the Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act occurs, remains unanswered.
The number of agencies involved in the process contributes to the complexity. Currently, all of the following may be included in wetland assessments: the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Koochiching County Soil and Water Conservation District, and Koochiching County Environmental Services.
The city just doesn’t have the expertise at this point, said Fairchild, to make the multiple assessments required in making a wetland determination. Ryan Heinen of the SWCD recently characterized how wetlands are more than the term implies: “A lot of people have this idea that it’s cattails with a duck sitting there,” Heinen said. “But there’s much more to it than that.”
Fairchild said he has done a rough inventory of the council’s territory, and has an idea where potential problems are. “Most areas shouldn’t be a problem,” he added.
But for now, it seems that a lot of the parties involved — are watching each other.