ELI News

National Wetlands Newsletter Offers Perspectives on the Compensatory Mitigation Rule

Last spring, the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued revised regulations governing compensatory mitigation for authorized impacts to wetlands, streams, and other waters of the United States under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The July-August issue of the National Wetlands Newsletter (NWN) examines the new rules through a variety of perspectives—the agencies, a wetland mitigation banker, and environmental advocates. “Compensatory wetland mitigation accounts for a significant annual investment in habitat restoration and protection, amounting to nearly $3 billion annually in public and private dollars,” said NWN editor Rachel Jean-Baptiste. “Understanding how the new rule works is therefore pivotal to those in the wetlands field.” View the press release.

ELI Contributes to Writing Florida Brownfields Legislation

Florida governor Charlie Crist signed into law in July a pathbreaking bill that will transform the redevelopment of former toxic waste sites, or brownfields.Through a package of tax credits, House Bill 527 pushes forward the concept that redevelopment—when properly conceived and implemented—can improve public health and the environment, increase investment, and create long-term improvements in housing, jobs, recreational opportunities, open space, and public facilities. ELI lent its expertise in authoring the health care provisions of the bill, which is the first of its kind in the nation. View the press release.

Groundbreaking Research Links Invasive Species and Climate Change

Interactions between climate and biological invasions are the theme of a special section in the June 2008 issue of Conservation Biology, a leading scientific journal. This special section was the result of an effort by ELI’s Invasive Species Program and the U.S. EPA’s Global Change Research Program to bring together leading experts to assess the state of scientific knowledge on climate and invasive species. These experts—including ELI staff member Read Porter—authored several articles that contribute significantly to the state of scientific knowledge on how a changing climate will affect patterns of invasion. The special issue of Conservation Biology is available at the Society of Conservation Biology’s website at www.conbio.org.

Managing Water Resources and Infrastructure in Pennsylvania

Water resources and infrastructure management have a great deal to do with sustainable development of our communities. ELI and 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania explore working examples of collaborative municipal and regional approaches to water resources and infrastructure management in a new publication, Regional and Collaborative Approaches to Water, Sewer, and Stormwater Management in Pennsylvania.

Go Float Your Boat

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s “significant nexus” test has been the topic of ongoing discussion since the landmark Rapanos case. Under this test, to protect a wetland one must establish that there is a significant nexus between the wetland and a traditional navigable water. In the July issue of ELR®—News & Analysis, authors William W. Sapp, et al. argue that actually putting a boat in a water may be the best way to argue for navigability under Rapanos.

Invasive Species Managed Inconsistently Across State Water Pollution Programs

Invasive species are a major source of impairment to many of America’s waters, contributing to reduced dissolved oxygen, declining native fish populations, impediments to boating and swimming, damage to water intakes, and other degradation. A new ELI report, The Role of Aquatic Invasive Species in State Listing of Impaired Waters and the TMDL Program, concludes that states are not addressing this problem in consistent ways under the federal Clean Water Act. The report identifies ways in which states classify aquatic invasive species, whether and how states denote water quality impairments caused by invasive species, and the manner in which invasive species are addressed in TMDLs, if at all.

Municipal Green Building Policies Can Aid Private Sector

The past few years have seen a tremendous surge in municipal green building policies. A growing number of local governments recognize that changing building practices is important not only for conserving scarce natural resources and preventing pollution, but also for improving health and productivity and achieving economic sustainability. Municipal Green Building Policies: Strategies for Transforming Building Practices in the Private Sector reviews more than 30 municipal policies that aim to advance green building in the private sector by (1) establishing mandatory green building criteria; (2) providing expedited review as an incentive for green building; or (3) offering other direct financial incentives for green building, including grants, fee waivers, tax breaks, and bonus development.