Judge grants protection for forested wetlands

Georgia’s forested wetlands get greater protection. A federal judge ruled in favor of environmentalists yesterday who took the Army Corp of engineers to court for allowing logging in a private lake area in Southeast Georgia without a permit.

The Corp wrongly waived the permit in 2006; opponents argued the logging would harm the lake’s habitat as a wetland.

The ruling clarifies a vague exemption in the federal Clean Water Act which allows permit exemption for “ongoing” tree harvesting. The judge said landowners failed to show they had logged their lake in the past, and there was no guarantee the trees would grow back.