NEBA At work

The National Environmental Banking Association recently made formal request that the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) undertake a programmatic review of U.S. Army Corps Districts for compliance and consistency with regard to the 2008 Mitigation Rule.

The National Environmental Banking Association(NEBA) provided comments as requested to the Trump Administration regarding updates to the regulations implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Those comments, in support of high-quality mitigation banking are available on the Association's reports page for all members.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the Agencies) are beginning consultation and coordination with state and local governments and others on the Agencies’ proposed rulemaking to revise the compensatory mitigation regulations.

The Agencies have been seeking our feedback related to proposed rulemaking which may affect our industry.  Similarly there has been outreach to states, tribes and others.

NEBA has provided the following letter of comment to the Agencies.

Major General Scott A. Spellmon has issued new guidance regarding Mitigation Bank Credit Release Schedules and Equivalency in Mitigation Bank and In-Lieu Fee Program Service Areas, addressing head-on two areas of historic concern for members of the Environmental Banking Industry. The new guidance for USACE District Engineers applies to mitigation banks and in-lieu fee programs not yet approved, and allows for sponsors of already approved projects to amend their existing mitigation banking instruments.

A new report from the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and Stetson University College of Law outlines the wide range of approaches and practices currently in use by ILF programs across the United States. The goals of the informative report were to support program oversight and effectiveness in order to ultimately improve the protection and restoration of aquatic ecosystems.

The 2019 report highlights common and systemic shortcomings or flaws in ILF programs and notes necessary safeguards to protect the Clean Water Act (CWA) ILF Programs and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Programs. Read the report via Nicholas Institute.

by Palmer Hough and Rachel Harrington via the Environmental Law Institute.  This retrospective documents the growth in mitigation banking, increases in credit transactions, time savings for permittees using mitigation credits and shows that more permittees are using mitigation credits to offset unavoidable impacts. A fascinating report written by folks who truly understand the industry. Read the report via the Environmental Law Institute

This important whitepaper explores the benefits of mitigation and conservation banking - the most successful environmental restoration programs in history. The National Environmental Banking Association (NEBA) considers these many benefits key to understanding the values of banking over other forms of environmental offsets for unavoidable impacts to natural resources.

This whitepaper highlights recommendations for government officials and agencies for improving implementation of the 2008 Mitigation Rule (Rule) for compensatory mitigation. NEBA considers these improvements vital for the continued development of high-quality mitigation banking.

This recent white paper for regional use by NEBA Members highlights suggestions for improving the Clean Water Act permitting process across the U.S. The consistent, transparent enforcement of existing rules, with just a few added clarifications, will vastly improve permitting times, trigger substantial private investment in environmental restoration, and contribute to increased job growth in the private sector.

A white paper recently released by the National Environmental Banking Association provides critical guidance for universal principles of compensatory mitigation regardless of regulatory authority.  While environmental offsets would likely be as diverse as the impacts themselves, consistent mitigation standards should be applied to all mitigation to assure the offset is fully provided in function over time. This free concise resource for government, non-profits, and industry was authored to support high environmental standards and to enable increasingly streamlined permitting.