This open letter from the National Environmental Banking Association is being sent today to President Biden and other senior officials within the administration, asking they begin effecting positive environmental change that is currently being delayed and stymied by federal permitting inefficiencies. This includes prioritizing projects with positive environmental objectives and projects creating ecological offsets needed for federal compliance.
Dear Mr. President,
The National Environmental Banking Association (NEBA) represents mitigation and conservation bankers across the United States. Our current membership is at work in nearly every one of the 38 U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Districts today. NEBA represents businesses committed to high standards for environmental restoration, including preservation of our wetlands and natural habitats, through the use of mitigation banks. The association’s members have established and operated mitigation, conservation and other environmental banks, investing hundreds of millions of dollars in ecological restoration across the U.S. since the early 1990’s.
By this letter, The National Environmental Banking Association is requesting that the Biden Administration streamline and prioritize review of permit applications that aim to restore and protect natural ecological functions. Currently, all projects affecting the environment, both positively and negatively, are placed into the same regulatory review pile; projects with opposite intentions wait in the same line, ultimately delaying maximum potential for environmental restoration or repair. However, by fast tracking projects that restore the environment, the Biden Administration can improve the federal permitting process to incentivize ecological restoration.
Private environmental mitigation banking companies work with governmental regulations to create, in tandem, the best, most reliable ecological solutions to our nation’s most pressing environmental problems. To enhance this alliance even further, prioritizing environmental restoration in the federal regulatory agencies would create immediate environmental improvements and greater future private investments.
Tackling this issue within the federal bureaucracy will effectively reprioritize the health of our waterways and ecosystems, supporting private investment in conservation. This directly aligns with the Administration’s goal for combatting climate change. Closer collaboration with the mitigation banking industry will speed the ability of our nation to meet climate adaptation and mitigation goals.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you or any officials from your offices you may deem appropriate, including the Council on Environmental Quality, the U.S. Army Corps, US Environmental Protection Agency or other.
On behalf of our membership across the U.S. and the environment we all share, thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Donna Collier, Chairwoman