Drain commissioner presented annual report

St. Joseph County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wenzel said 171 Soil Erosion and Sediment Control permits were issued in 2015, a figure he presented during his annual report Tuesday before the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners.
Other information Wenzel shared included the fact that 25 drain-maintenance permits were authorized to local farmers and constituents last year. The maintenance work was done at the expense of the permit’s recipient.
Also last year, Wenzel completed his once-every-three-year dam inspections, a task that required visits to 12 different dams in the county.
Finally, according to Wenzel, 18 beaver permits were issued to the county by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources last year. Wenzel said the beavers were trapped in established county drains.