12/19/2006

Editorial

Only tough enforcement can protect the bayshore

For at least the second time the Cherry Tree Inn on East Bay has apparently violated state law by using heavy machinery to try to create some beach where there isn't any beach.

The first time, in 2005, the folks in Lansing puffed for a few days, environmentalists raised angry protests and then ... it happened again. Maybe the second time will bring some meaningful changes.

In 2005 the inn, while it was owned by Michael MacColeman, illegally removed wetlands vegetation and was cited by the state Department of Environmental Quality. This year, the new owner, Ohio-based Omni Hospitality, brought in bulldozers over the Thanksgiving Day weekend.

Omni President Joe Moffa said "We were just manicuring our beach” and claimed bulldozers and other heavy equipment didn't enter the water.

The DEQ said otherwise. In a letter to Omni, DEQ chief Steve Chester said an investigation showed the hotel dredged "large quantities” of material

"out of the water onto exposed bottomland areas” and filled a portion of shoreline that was supposed to be left undisturbed. The DEQ said the inn didn't have a valid state permit or a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the work.

The DEQ has ordered Omni to cease all activity and has notified the Michigan attorney general's office of the violation. The agency gave Omni 10 business days to hire an ecologist to come up with a plan to restore what was destroyed. Area environmentalists said they would ask the Grand Traverse County prosecutor's office to take a look.

Residents encouraged by the saber rattling must remember that this has happened before, too.

In 2005 the North Shore Inn Condominiums, just down the bay, sent a bulldozer into the water to move some sand around. The penalty? The DEQ sent a letter of reprimand and the Army Corps allowed North Shore to amend its permit.

That's not good enough. Regulators need to make sure the price for these kinds of violations is enough to stop the activity in the first place. Part of that effort must include training on what the law does and doesn't allow.

Lake Michigan water levels are down, and businesses that want a nice, white beach to bring in customers are understandably upset.

But environmental laws are there for a reason. A DEQ study this year showed that destroying shoreline wetlands like the ones along East Bay damage the bay's entire ecosystem, including fish stocks.

The only solution is to wait for water levels to rise again, not to send bulldozers into the bay. Until the waters rise, tough enforcement will have to ensure deterrence.