Fifth Stakeholder Forum on Federal Wetlands Mitigation

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

Forum Report

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

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

Taking a Watershed Approach in the Absence of a Watershed Plan

Questions and Answers

Facilitated Discussion

Day Two, Thursday, May 11

The Next Generation of ORM

Innovations in §404 Data Management

Questions and Answers

Facilitated Discusion

Recent GAO Study on Compensatory Mitigation

September 2005 GAO Report

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Response

Questions and Answers

Current and Future Studies on the Character & Performance of Mitigation

Mitigation Practices on the Ground

Performance of Mitigation on the Ground

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

Forum Participant List

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

GAO Report: “Wetlands Protection: Corps of Engineers Does Not Have an Effective Oversight Approach to Ensure that Compensatory Mitigation is Occurring”

University of Wisconsin-Madison – A Watershed Approach to Wetland Services: Prioritizing Wetland Restoration in the Upper Rock River Basin, Wisconsin, USA
Report

Ohio EPA Technical Report WET/2006-1: An Ecological Assessment of Ohio Mitigation Banks: Vegetation, Amphibians, Hydrology, and Soils.

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