Federal wetlands regulators have dropped a bombshell on environmentalists with a little-publicized proposal to relax restrictions on filling in certain wetlands along the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast to speed recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

The Corps’ proposal would allow property owners and developers to skirt the conventional “regional general permit” process for any projects that fill up to 5 acres of “low-quality” wetlands in the six southernmost Mississippi counties. Especially galling to environmentalists: The new process would also eliminate the requirement for public notice of such projects.

The change in procedure would allow property owners to **decide on their own that any wetlands in planned developments are 5 acres or less and of “low quality,” and proceed quickly to the building phase**. The proposal covers virtually all land uses from houses to shopping centers. Tidal wetlands, historic sites and any known habitat of endangered or threatened species are excluded.

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