A floating pingpong ball and the threat of a lawsuit convinced the Army Corps of Engineers that a small wetland qualifies for federal protection.
ALBANY, N.Y. — A floating pingpong ball and the threat of a lawsuit convinced the Army Corps of Engineers that a small wetland qualifies for federal protection.
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer threatened to sue in November after the corps said a proposed housing project near the 19-acre wetland in Lysander was not subject to the Clean Water Act since the swamp did not drain into a large body of water covered by the law.
On Thursday, the corps reversed its stance, after a pingpong ball that Spitzer's staff placed in the wetland floated to the Seneca River.
The Clean Water Act allows development projects to be stopped if they can cause environmental harm.
Corps spokesman Joseph Baker said the corps will contact the developer and discuss how the plans must be changed.
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Source: Associated Press
