ÿþ<html> <body> <h2 align=center>PLEASE HELP!!<br><font color=green>Save Overland Park Wetlands From Destruction</h2></center></font> <p> <b>WHY?</b> <p> F.F.F.J.T. Investment Company has applied for a permit to fill over 1.5 acres of wetland at the SE corner of 151st and Antioch, the site for the Target Store. The original Nationwide Permit issued by the Corps of Engineers authorized only enough fill to construct an access road. Nearby residents discovered that the developer has destroyed significantly more wetland than was necessary to construct the road and reported the violation to the Corps. The developer is now applying for an Individual Permit to fill the rest of the wetland and construct fast food restaurants and parking lots in its place. Citizens should be outraged that an experienced developer and consultants would commit such a violation and then expect to receive permission to continue to complete the destruction of a valuable natural resource! <p> <b>HOW YOU CAN HELP:</b> <p> Write letters or send email to the Army Corps of Engineers and forward a copy to Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Tell them why you feel this application should be denied and request that a public hearing be held. The more of these comments the Corps receives, the more likely our chance to save what is left of this wonderful resource and restore what has been damaged. <p> <b>WRITE TO:</b> <p> Douglas R. Berka, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City Field Office,<br> 700 Federal Building, 601 East 12th Street, Kansas City, MO 64206-2896<br> Or via email to <a href="mailto:Douglas.r.berka@usace.army.mil">Douglas.r.berka@usace.army.mil</a><br> Send a copy of your letter to: Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Bureau of Water - Watershed Management Section, 1000 SW Jackson Street, Suite 420, Topeka, KS 66612-1367<br> Please refer to ID#200300879, F.F.F.J.T. Investment in your correspondence. <p> <b>WRITE SOON! THE COMMENT PERIOD CLOSES ON MARCH 16!</b> <p> (Check out the specifics of the application on the Corps website at <a href="http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/regulatory/public_notices.htm">www.nwk.usace.army.mil/regulatory/public_notices.htm</a> and click on <a href="http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/regulatory/public_notices/200300879.pdf">ID#200300879</a>) <p> <b>WHAT TO WRITE:</b> <p> Any concerns you have about the potential impact of the project on the environment, esthetics, water quality, conservation, water supply, the needs and welfare of the public - just about any concern you have! Some fast facts to help you: <ul> <li>The ability of wetlands to store floodwaters reduces the risk of costly property damage and loss of life. An acre of wetland can store 1-1.5 million gallons of floodwater. An acre of parking lot generates about 16 times the volume of runoff that a one inch rain would produce in a one acre meadow. Wooded wetlands such as this one are even more efficient at storing and filtering runoff than meadows. <li>Wetlands filter and remove pollutants in water from runoff, returning cleaned water to streams and ground water supplies. Turning the wetland into an asphalt surface will send polluted runoff directly into tributaries to Negro Creek. <li>Wetlands provide habitat for unique and diverse species of plants and animals. Up to one half of North American bird species nest or feed in wetlands. Although they encompass only 5% of the land surface in the U.S., wetlands are home to 31% of our plant species. <li>Wooded wetlands such as this one are an especially valuable natural resource. They are extremely efficient at storing and filtering runoff. Besides providing habitat, they provide a beautiful natural area for humans to enjoy and to shield them from unsightly buildings, parking lots and construction. <li>Rather than allow the developer to continue the destruction of the wetland, the Corps should require the developer to restore the damaged area. <li>With careful planning and enforcement of the law, the streams and wetlands in southern Johnson County should not have to suffer the same fate as the degraded streams to the north. <li>The public has a right to voice these concerns and others in a public hearing. </ul> </body> </html>