The Energy and Water Development Appropriation Act 2024 passed the U.S. Congress last week and was signed by President Biden. The Committee specifically addressed Mitigation Banking in its report, urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which leads the program to “meet its own regulatory review guidelines” in accordance with 33 CFR 332, and to expedite credit releases.
"The Committee recognizes the impact of limited resources on the processing of mitigation bank applications, but remains concerned about delays across the Corps in permitting of mitigation banks and approving mitigation bank credit releases. The unique nature of mitigation banks requires dedicated staff with the skills to facilitate these permits efficiently and expeditiously. While the Committee understands the influx of Federal infrastructure projects due to the IIJA, it reminds the Corps it was given additional resources to address the increased demand. Unnecessary impediments in the mitigation bank approval process can lead to significant delays and increased costs for permittees of critical infrastructure, energy, commercial and industrial development projects due to the lack of available mitigation credits.
The Committee urges the Corps to meet its own regulatory review guidelines by expeditiously reviewing and approving new mitigation bank projects in accordance with 33 CFR 332 and utilizing Corps Regulatory Guidance Letter No. 19–01 to expedite credit releases when applicable. The Congress has invested in this program and expects to see progress."
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The National Environmental Banking Association thanks both houses of Congress and the Biden Administration for continuing bipartisan support to our important industry, especially for this directive intended to address the well-known problem of long regulatory review times and slow release of mitigation credits.
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
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