The state Department of Natural Resource’s former top lawyer on water issues will tell lawmakers Wednesday that a late-night measure passed by the Assembly favoring a planned industrial facility would likely create environmental problems and “trample” on the right of citizens to challenge agency decisions involving wetlands.
… Nathan Conrad, communications director of the Natural Resource Development Association, said environmental groups are ignoring other factors.
If the sand plant isn’t built, he said, the current owner of the land said he would clear cut at least 285 acres; Meteor has pledged to create habitat for an endangered butterfly; and that the company would upgrade land at a ratio of 40 to 1 over wetlands that are lost….