The Energy and Water Development Appropriation Act 2024 was signed into law recently by President Biden, making explicit Congress' wish to see mitigation bank credits released by the U.S. Army Corps into service areas across the United States.
"Mitigation Bank Credits — The Committee appreciates the promise of mitigation banks for accelerating project delivery. The Corps is encouraged to approve mitigation bank credits expeditiously, consistent with existing laws and regulations. Additionally, the Corps is encouraged to continue making progress to improve its application of the mitigation hierarchy in the 2008 Compensatory Mitigation Rule."
As those in our industry well know, there are often long regulatory delays in the release of bank credits and/or the review of documentation needed to support credit releases. The National Environmental Banking Association thanks both Houses of Congress and the Biden Administration for this continued bipartisan support to our industry, and especially for this directive intended to address the problem of slow mitigation bank credit releases.
A newly released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report is shining a spotlight on a concern many in the mitigation banking industry have raised for years: inconsistent implementation of the federal compensatory mitigation program across U.S. Army Corps of Engineers districts. Under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, the Corps requires compensatory mitigation when permitted
Read MoreFor too long, environmental policy debates have been framed around a false and unproductive premise: that economic growth and environmental protection are inherently at odds. This mindset is not only outdated—it is actively harmful to both outcomes. Mitigation banking offers a clear path forward. By design, it aligns economic incentives with ecological restoration, proving that well-functioning
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