Permitting Efficiency and the Clean Water Act: Advancing Restoration Through Market-Based Solutions

At the National Environmental Banking Association’s (NEBA's) recent three-day DC Fly-In, a central theme emerged: permitting efficiency under the Clean Water Act is not only vital for environmental restoration, but also for economic growth and regulatory certainty.

Mitigation banking, when applied as envisioned in the 2008 Final Mitigation Rule, is the most effective tool for compensating unavoidable impacts to aquatic resources. By requiring banks to meet all twelve performance standards—including site selection, long-term management, and financial assurances—mitigation banking provides reliable, advance restoration that both regulators and developers can trust. Studies show that using mitigation banks can cut permitting times by more than half while ensuring durable ecological outcomes.

Unfortunately, inconsistent enforcement and the expansion of government-run alternatives like In-Lieu Fee (ILF) programs have created uncertainty for private investment. ILFs often compete directly with banks despite being lower in the regulatory hierarchy and sometimes underfunded, leading to unfunded liabilities and increased taxpayer burden. Similarly, reliance on permittee-responsible mitigation or land donations, which are not held to the same rigorous standards, too often results in ecological failure and wasted resources.

Learn more about NEBA’s work and access the full white paper on permitting efficiency at www.environmentalbanking.org.