Planning and Development committee advances riparian-area bill after rejecting five amendment attempts

The Planning and Development Committee on Friday, April 25, advanced substitute HB 7174, “an act concerning riparian areas,” to the floor for further action while rejecting five committee amendments and leaving final votes open until 3 p.m.

The bill would add “riparian areas” — defined in the bill as 100 feet from the edge of every wetland and watercourse — to areas regulated under the state’s wetland framework. Committee members sparred over drafting errors, exemptions for farming and residential uses, and the breadth of the proposed buffer.

Representative Dubitsky, who brought multiple amendments, said the bill contains a drafting error that would leave the newly defined riparian areas outside longstanding statutory exemptions. “There appears to be a drafting error in this bill that I have noticed, and I'd like to make an amendment to fix it,” he said, urging that riparian areas be added to the statutory exceptions that currently apply to wetlands and watercourses.

Dubitsky described how, as written, the bill would…