Compensating for Wetland Losses Under the Clean Water Act


Book Description

Recognizing the importance of wetland protection, the Bush administration in 1988 endorsed the goal of "no net loss" of wetlands. Specifically, it directed that filling of wetlands should be avoided, and minimized when it cannot be avoided. When filling is permitted, compensatory mitigation must be undertaken; that is, wetlands must be restored, created, enhanced, and, in exceptional cases, preserved, to replace the permitted loss of wetland area and function, such as water quality improvement within the watershed. After more than a dozen years, the national commitment to "no net loss" of wetlands has been evaluated. This new book explores the adequacy of science and technology for replacing wetland function and the effectiveness of the federal program of compensatory mitigation in accomplishing the nation's goal of clean water. It examines the regulatory framework for permitting wetland filling and requiring mitigation, compares the mitigation institutions that are in use, and addresses the problems that agencies face in ensuring sustainability of mitigated wetlands over the long term. Gleaning lessons from the mixed results of mitigation efforts to date, the book offers 10 practical guidelines for establishing and monitoring mitigated wetlands. It also recommends that federal, state, and local agencies undertake specific institutional reforms. This book will be important to anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the "no net loss" issue: policy makers, regulators, environmental scientists, educators, and wetland advocates.







Wetlands and Agriculture


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Wetland Mitigation Banking


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Tradeable Permits Policy Evaluation, Design and Reform


Book Description

This publication offers valuable lessons for applying tradeable permits and provides links between policy evaluation and policy making general.





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Privatization


Book Description

Contemporary privatization remakes nature-society as property andtransforms people’s relationships to themselves, each other,and the natural world. This groundbreaking collection provides thefirst systematic analysis of neo-liberal privatization. Rich casestudies of privatization in the making reveal both the pivotal rolethat privatization plays in neoliberalism and new opportunities forchallenging neo-liberal hegemony. Rich case studies linked to broader questions onneoliberalism Illustrates the importance of property relation and thecomplexities existing in the meaning and practice of property Extends current geographical scholarship on neoliberalism–including neoliberalism and nature Each essay touches on the disciplinary, regulatory dimensionsof privatization Highlights the importance of privatization, both broadly andspecifically




Mitigation Banking


Book Description

Under the Clean Water Act, development that results in the permanent destruction of wetlands must, in most cases, be mitigated by the creation of a new wetland or the restoration of a degraded one. In recent years, the concept of "mitigation banking" has emerged. Rather than require developers to create and maintain wetlands on their own on a quid pro quo basis, mitigation banking allows them to pay for wetlands that have been created and maintained properly by others to compensate for their damage. The contributors to this volume provide an overview of mitigation banking experience in the United States, examine the key issues and concerns -- from providing assurances to determining the value of credits -- and describe the practice of developing and operating a mitigation bank. Topics include: history and current experience of mitigation banking policies and concerns of local, state, and federal agencies economics of mitigation banking funding, management, and operation of banks starting a mitigation bank




National Wetland Mitigation Banking Study


Book Description

"Describes the accomplishments during phase one of the two phase National Wetland Mitigation Banking Study authorized by Section 307(d) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1990"--P. 1.