Industry concerns and complaints about environmental compliance often arise due to project delays resulting from the permitting process. This important study aggregated data from the US Army Corps of Engineers' received under FOIA for fiscal years 2011-2015. The data was analyzed to determine the average number of days required to obtain various permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act using different forms of mitigation.
Interactive Chart shows average number of days to permit for different forms of mitigation (MB = Mitigation Bank; PRM OFF = Offsite Permittee Responsible Mitigation; PRM ON = Onsite Permittee Responsible Mitigation) and by permit types (LOP = Letter of Permission; NWP = Nationwide Permit; PGP = Programmatic General Permit; RGP = Regional General Permit; SP = Standard Permit)
In summary, credits from a mitigation bank typically offer the most timely solution for those seeking permits from the agency when environmental impacts cannot be further avoided or minimized. This is especially true for larger projects which may require Standard Permits and can cut permitting timelines by as much as 50%.