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Omnibus bill would streamline wetlands and wastewater review in designated areas and expand housing data access
Summary
At a joint Jan. 30 hearing, the administration proposed adjusting Class 2 wetland standards and buffers in designated areas, delegating wastewater connection review to municipalities through an ANR general permit, and expanding access to CAMA data for more granular housing tracking and a new dashboard.
Alex Farrell presented several statewide permitting and data provisions in the governor's omnibus housing bill at the Jan. 30 joint hearing, signaling an effort to streamline environmental permitting and improve housing data available to planners and lawmakers.
On wetlands, Farrell said the bill would modify Class 2 wetland treatment in designated areas (interim exemption areas, Tier 1A and 1B areas, and existing industrial parks) and reduce the external buffer from 50 feet to 25 feet in those same designated areas. He described the changes as intended to protect mapped wetlands while constraining the adjacent buffer in locations targeted for housing growth. Committee members and other witnesses noted confusion in early draft language about whether certain wetlands are removed from the definition or have a reduced buffer; Farrell and others said revised draft language has been circulated to clarify those points.
Farrell told the committees the bill also proposes adjustments to the statewide "net gain" wetlands requirements; he deferred detailed technical questions to Agency of Natural Resources experts.
On wastewater, the administration proposed a general‑permit framework that would allow the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) to delegate review of wastewater connections to municipalities that apply and meet criteria. Farrell said ANR would retain discretion to grant delegation; the draft includes a small appropriation (described in committee as about $50,000) to build a database to support municipal reviews. Committee members asked whether delegation would be mandatory (it would not) and how municipalities would apply; Farrell said municipalities would need to apply for delegation and ANR would retain discretion.
On data, Farrell described changes to the tax department's CAMA system that would allow the administration to access more granular parcel‑level information to track housing development. He showed a dashboard that layers e‑911 data, satellite imagery and other sources to track new housing units by parcel and type (single‑family, multifamily). Representative Krasnow praised the proposed data work as a way to move beyond anecdote and better inform policy.
Committee members repeatedly requested technical briefings from ANR and agency staff and asked that revised language be provided to counsel for review.
Ending: Committee members asked for follow‑up information from ANR on wetlands language, delegation criteria for the wastewater general permit, and the CAMA data changes; they requested a technical briefing and the revised draft language referenced during the hearing.
