Senator Lewick’s bill would require high-water determinations for wetlands; conservation groups and utilities raise concerns

Senator Larry Lewick introduced Senate Bill 23-25 to the Senate Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committee, saying the bill would enable a reliable method to determine and record high-water marks for wetlands so property owners and easement holders know the proper elevation for management and avoid damages to roads, railroads and farmsteads.

The bill’s sponsor said his intent is not to remove protections for wetlands but to identify “the high water marks on these established wetlands” using modern aerial imagery and rainfall data to establish averaged high-water elevations. “If there is the ability to maybe even throw out a pilot program to work on something like this in a county or an area…to try it out,” Lewick said.

Why it matters: proponents say clearer, documented elevations could reduce disputes and prevent “nuisance holes” from growing and causing infrastructure damage. Opponents — including a farmer-led wetland mitigation bank, electric utilities and the Department of Water Resources — warned the bill as written…