LAKEWOOD – For some added protection, Lakewood officials have adopted a building permit wetlands compliance waiver and release form.

The waiver would release the village from being fined by the state Department of Conservation.

Even though the village would issue building permits, it would not be liable to pay any fine a resident may receive from the DEC regarding potential wetlands violations on Chautauqua Lake.

“It’s just a layer of protection for the municipality,” said Lakewoood Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Swanson.

Mayor Randy Holcomb agreed.

“It’s a little bit of protection for everybody,” Holcomb said.

Trustee Ellen Barnes noted the DEC has made the determination that Chautauqua Lake is an area of unusual importance.

“And in the new criteria, what that means is there is no size limitation on how big a wetland can be,” Barnes said. “So right now, under the 1975 freshwater wetlands act, it has to have a minimum size of 12.4 acres to be determined to be wetlands. And in 2028 that’s going to go down to 7.4 acres.”

In 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law revisions to New York’s Freshwater Wetlands Act. New York’s original Freshwater Wetlands Act was enacted in 1975 to regulate activities near larger wetlands, greater than 12.4 acres, and smaller wetlands considered to be of unusual local importance. The new wetlands law eliminates the use of the old, inaccurate wetland maps and clarifies that all wetland areas greater than 12.4 acres are subject to Article 24 regulations. Freshwater wetlands are lands and submerged lands – commonly called marshes, swamps, sloughs, bogs, and flats – that support aquatic or semi-aquatic vegetation.

Freshwater wetlands regulations went into effect on Jan. 1. Barnes said area officials had asked to delay the implementation of the regs until issues regarding any kind of permits are remedied.

“Then they wouldn’t have to be building the airplane while they’re flying it,” Barnes said.