Sponsored by:
Federal Highway Administration
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Facilitated by:
Environmental Law Institute
May 10-11, 2006
Washington, DC
Day One, Wednesday, May 10
Welcome
- Benjamin H. Grumbles, Assistant Administrator for Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Introductions, Objectives, & Agenda
- Jessica Wilkinson, Environmental Law Institute (Facilitator)
Recent Developments in Federal Mitigation Regulations & Policy
Mitigation Rulemaking and National Mitigation Action Plan
- Palmer Hough, Wetlands Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Mitigation Rulemaking Facilitated Discussion: General Considerations and Requirements
Mitigation Rulemaking Facilitated Discussion: Administrative Requirements and Performance Standards
Mitigation Rulemaking Facilitated Discussion: Third Party Mitigation
Compensatory Mitigation and the Watershed Approach
Progress to Date on Compensatory Mitigation and the Watershed Approach
- Susan-Marie Stedman, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
Taking a Watershed Approach in the Absence of a Watershed Plan
- Joy Zedler, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison
Questions and Answers
Facilitated Discussion
Day Two, Thursday, May 11
The Next Generation of ORM
Innovations in §404 Data Management
- Bob Brumbaugh, Senior Policy Analyst, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Questions and Answers
Facilitated Discusion
Recent GAO Study on Compensatory Mitigation
September 2005 GAO Report
- Sherry McDonald, Assistant Director, Natural Resources and Environment, U.S. Government Accountability Office
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Response
- Bob Brumbaugh, Senior Policy Analyst, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Questions and Answers
Current and Future Studies on the Character & Performance of Mitigation
Mitigation Practices on the Ground
- Steve Martin, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District
Performance of Mitigation on the Ground
- M. Siobhan Fennessy, Ph.D., Kenyon College
Questions and Answers
Facilitated Discussion
Wrap Up/Closing Statements
- Bob Brumbaugh, Senior Policy Analyst, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Brian Frazer, Chief, Wetlands & Aquatic Resources Regulatory Branch, Wetlands Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Additional Links
Proposed Compensatory Mitigation Regulations – Federal Register notice of proposed rulemaking, factsheet, questions & answers, draft environmental assessment/finding of no significant impact
National Wetlands Mitigation Action Plan – With links to the Action Plan, the status of the action items, and completed, draft, and interim documents
University of Wisconsin-Madison – A Watershed Approach to Wetland Services: Prioritizing Wetland Restoration in the Upper Rock River Basin, Wisconsin, USA
Report
ELI 2005 Status Report on Compensatory Mitigation in the United States
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, IWR – Compensatory Mitigation Practices in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Working Paper, March 2006
EPA, Wetlands Division – With links to policy and technical documents
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Program – With information on Clean Water Act §404 permitting, regulations, policies, and guidance
http://www.usace.army.mil/inet/functions/cw/cecwo/reg/
NAS study: “Compensating for Wetland Losses Under the Clean Water Act”
ELI Wetland Mitigation Banking Study
Second Stakeholder Forum on Federal Wetlands Mitigation
http://www.eli.org/environmental-governance/stakeholder-forum-federal-wetlands-mitigation
Third Stakeholder Forum on Federal Wetlands Mitigation
Fourth Stakeholder Forum on Federal Wetlands Mitigation
GAO study: “Wetlands Protection: Assessments Needed to Determine Effectiveness of In-Lieu-Fee Mitigation”