Compensating For Wetland Losses Under The Clean Water Act

Recognizing the importance of wetland protection, the Bush administration in 1988 endorsed the goal of "no net loss" of wetlands. Specifically, it directed that filling of wetlands should be avoided, and minimized when it cannot be avoided. When filling is permitted, compensatory mitigation must be undertaken; that is, wetlands must be restored, created, enhanced, and, in exceptional cases, preserved, to replace the permitted loss of wetland area and function, such as water quality improvement within the watershed. After more than a dozen years, the national commitment to "no net loss" of wetlands has been evaluated. This new book explores the adequacy of science and technology for replacing wetland function and the effectiveness of the federal program of compensatory mitigation in accomplishing the nation's goal of clean water. It examines the regulatory framework for permitting wetland filling and requiring mitigation, compares the mitigation institutions that are in use, and addresses the problems that agencies face in ensuring sustainability of mitigated wetlands over the long term. Gleaning lessons from the mixed results of mitigation efforts to date, the book offers 10 practical guidelines for establishing and monitoring mitigated wetlands. It also recommends that federal, state, and local agencies undertake specific institutional reforms. This book will be important to anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the "no net loss" issue: policy makers, regulators, environmental scientists, educators, and wetland advocates.

This report summarizes proceedings of a workshop that addresses past & current thinking & activity regarding developmental pressures on wetlands and outlines how to minimize impacts on wetlands or wetland systems. It also provides some recommendations for future action to further document & act on wetland developmental pressures in Canada. Topics covered include wetland mitigation & compensation initiatives in the United States & Canada, fish habitat mitigation & compensation, the policy setting for implementation of wetland mitigation, and Ontario experience with a no-loss wetland policy.

Background -- Research methodology -- Phase I results -- Discussion -- Phase II results -- Wetland banking agreements -- Case studies: eight state DOT wetland mitigation programs -- Conclusions and recommendations -- Glossary -- References.

Distributed to some depository libraries in microfiche.

Environmental Law: A Conceptual and Pragmatic Approach, 3E organizes its presentation of environmental law around key concepts rather than around statutes, an approach that provides coherence to the study of Environmental Law. In addition, it also orients students in a way that will allow them to become effective practitioners, well acquainted with the central recurring problems in the field. Though the book focuses primarily on pollution control law, it does include a chapter on environmental restoration as well as some treatment of NEPA and the ESA. The book s numerous problems involving global climate disruption give students the opportunity to practice applying the book s concepts and particular statutory provisions to the most important contemporary issue, while allowing them to understand how a single scientific problem can implicate numerous statutes.

Because wetlands provide valuable functions, the administration set a national goal of no net loss of wetlands in 1989. The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters, which include wetlands, without a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE). The ACE can require compensatory mitigation, such as restoring a former wetland, as a condition of a permit when the loss of wetlands is unavoidable. This report reviews the: (1) guidance the ACE has issued for overseeing compensatory mitigation; (2) extent to which the ACE oversees compensatory mitigation; & (3) enforcement actions the ACE can take if required mitigation is not performed & the extent to which it takes these actions. Illustrations.