In response to continued U.S. Congressional oversight, the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Civil Works Michael Connor issued a September 2024 memorandum "Improving U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Timeline Compliance with the 2008 Compensatory Mitigation Rule," to Headquarters(HQ) for USACE for immediate implementation.
Regulatory Chief Jennifer Moyer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has now released guidance to Corps Divisions and Districts in an effort to comply with the regulatory review timeline contained in the 2008 Mitigation Rule.
Read: Principles of Delivery for Mitigation Bank Decisions
As all in our industry are aware and Corps public data shows - approvals for mitigation banks and credit releases are invariably slow, inefficient, and often difficult. Some Mitigation Bank Instruments (MBIs) have been in agency review for as long as 10 years before receiving an approval to go-ahead with the bank's intended environmental restoration project.
Quoting the HQ guidance:
"From a project management perspective, the review and decision-making processes for a proposed mitigation bank is a “project” in the same general sense that the review and decision-making processes for a standard individual permit application is a 'project.' Given the similarities between the processes for reviewing proposed mitigation banks and reviewing applications for standard individual permits, Corps district project managers (PMs) should apply the same project management principles and practices used for standard individual permit reviews in their reviews of proposed mitigation banks."
If you work in mitigation banking, ecological restoration, or ecosystem markets, there’s one event you can’t afford to miss this fall: 2026 NEBA Annual DC Fly-InSeptember 15–17 in Washington, DC Hosted by the National Environmental Banking Association (NEBA), this annual event brings industry leaders face-to-face with federal policymakers to influence environmental legislation and regulation that directly impact
Read MoreThe National Environmental Banking Association (NEBA) is pleased to announce the proposed Board of Directors slate that will be presented to members for election during the Annual Membership Meeting on September 16, 2026, as part of the NEBA Annual DC Fly-In in Washington, D.C.The proposed slate is:JEFF OYEN, ChairKEVIN MORAN, Vice-ChairKENNETH JESENSKY, Secretary/TreasurerROBERT SPOTH, Board
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