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."
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 This mindset is not only outdated—it is actively harmful to both outcomes.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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