EPA retrospectively veto’s a Corps permit, and it might just be OK.

Calm down, we can handle this:EPA retrospectively vetos a Corps Permit after the fact. This month the DC Circuit Court upheld the EPA’s jurisdictional authority to retrospectively veto a USACE 404 permit to fill waters covered by the CWA. In simpler terms – the Corps gave their approval for a mining company to discharge into streams …

Coverage of the National Mitigation and Ecosystem Banking Conference – May 11

Conference coverage courtesy of Becca Madsen of Madsen Environmental. …continuing coverage on the National Mitigation and Ecosystem Banking conference in Sacramento, California from May 8-11. Friday, May 11 Breakfast Plenary – Legislative and Regulatory Update Regulations are the true driver of mitigation banking, so conference planners always leave the ‘good stuff’ – aka …

Overhead at Katoomba China: How do you define a ‘beneficiary’?

An interesting comment during the keynote address became a recurring theme during today’s public meeting at Katoomba XVIII: Forests, Water, and People. Niu Chonguan, Deputy Director General of the Department of Soil and Water Conservation at the with the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources spoke about soil and water conservation incentives …

A Tale of Two Markets

We’re bringing you live coverage all week from New Orleans of the 2013 National Mitigation & Ecosystem Banking Conference. Check back often! Thursday morning’s Alternatives to Mitigation session found Craig Denisoff taking the podium to talk about habitat credit trading systems – a new species of mitigation program – and where …

Overheard at the National Mitigation and Ecosystem Banking Conference

“One of the priorities of the National Mitigation Banking Association is to try to get some teeth into the [Endangered Species Act]. If all regulators had to require conservation and mitigation measures, we’d have a thriving market. The agencies that are designed to protect these species are missing these opportunities.” …