By the time this issue reaches your desk, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may have already published the much-anticipated proposed rule concerning wetland mitigation. Experts say the rule will probably be released in March. It is a response to a rider attached to the 2003 defense spending bill that required the Corps to establish performance standards for mitigation projects by 2005.As this issue goes to press, the rule is nearing completion of interagency review and comment.
When the rule is published in the Federal Register, you will be able to access it at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. The rule will provide instructions about how you can submit comments. Notice of its publication will be announced on the Environmental Law Institute's electronic forum on wetlands, the ELI-Wetlands Listserve. If you are not already a member of the listserve, you can join by emailing eli-wetlands-subscribe@igc.topica.com and typing <subscribe eli-wetlands> in the body of the message, or by subscribing directly at http://www.topica.com.
Below is a message from drafters of the rule, in which they explain the purpose of the rule and sketch an overview of its contents. In the May-June issue of the newsletter, an environmental scientist with EPA will explain the provisions of the rule—by then available for public review—in greater detail.