On March 31, 2008, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) issued revised regulations governing compensatory mitigation for authorized impacts to wetlands, streams, and other waters of the U.S. under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.

AVID Environmental Services believes the final rule contains several points of interest that our clients should be aware of, including:

• Wetland impact mitigation approach has changed from onsite focus to watershed focus,
• Development of 12 technical mitigation fundamentals that should be satisfied for permitting,
• A renewed focus on avoidance and minimization.

It should be noted the objective of the new regulations, as stated by the Corps are to: “improve the effectiveness of compensatory mitigation to replace lost aquatic resource functions and area, expand public participation in compensatory mitigation decision making, and increase the efficiency and predictability of the mitigation project review process.” See http://www.epa.gov/wetlandsmitigation/#guidance.

However unlike the old ‘on-site’ preference, the new approach to compensatory mitigation is ranked with a basin or watershed philosophy. The new approach will afford our clients greater flexibility with respect to potential mitigation opportunities. We anticipate mitigation bank credits to experience a slight increase in price initially, then adjusting to a market-demand pricing structure based on availability. Under the final rule, compensatory mitigation priorities will be structured with the following priority ranking:

1. Regional or Basin specific Mitigation Bank – most desired
2. In-Lieu Fee Mitigation (Local watershed directive) – most desired
3. Permittee Responsible Mitigation (On-Site) – marginally desired
4. Permittee Responsible Mitigation (Off-Site) – least desired

The new 12 technical factors an applicant needs to address during wetland impact permitting and compensatory mitigation are:

• Mitigation objectives (global to general)
• site selection criteria
• site protection instruments (e.g., conservation easements)
• baseline information (for impact and compensation sites)
• credit determination methodology
• mitigation work plan
• maintenance plan
• ecological performance standards
• monitoring requirements
• long-term management plan
• an adaptive management plan
• financial assurances

Though the above list may sound complicated, it may possibly provide for more options for use when justifying a mitigation approach for wetland impacts. Significantly, the historical procedure to assessing mitigation sequence still applies to all projects (i.e., avoid, minimize, and compensate).

Where can I get a copy of the new rule?

AVID Environmental Services encourages our clients and potential clients to call staff to discuss project impacts. Consultation charettes are also available at any one of our Florida offices to discuss how these changes to wetland permitting may affect your projects schedules and pro forma.

Contact either Mr. Adam Zions, Environmental Manager, at 727-789-9500, or Mr. Kevin Songer, JD, LEED® AP, ISA at 904-737-4100 for further details.

The new Compensatory Mitigation Rule is on-line at: http://www.usace.army.mil/cw/cecwo/reg/citizen.htm or http://www.epa.gov/wetlandsmitigation

AVID Group^® today announced that it has been selected by Computerworld as a finalist of its “Best Practices in Storage” Awards Program. The award identifies and acknowledges excellence among users of storage IT solutions and approaches. Honorees will be announced Nov. 2 the Gala Evening at Storage Networking World (SNW) at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes Resort in Orlando, Fla. SNW, which concluded yesterday at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes Resort in Orlando, Florida, is co-owned by IDG’s Computerworld, the “Voice of IT Management,” and the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA).

A wide range of IT end-user companies and organizations responded to an initial “call for nominations,” which was originally announced to multiple industry audiences, including Computerworld subscribers responsible for storage IT management. Finalists were evaluated by a panel of judges based on case study submissions that profiled the company, its IT department and infrastructure project management challenges, as well as application deployment details, summaries of the key technology used and measurable solution outcomes.
Sponsored by EMC, Computerworld’s “Best Practices in Storage” Awards Program identifies and acknowledges excellence among users of storage technology in the following categories:

• Planning, Designing and Building a Strategic Storage Infrastructure
• Storage Reliability and Data Recovery
• Securing the Storage portress
• Systems Implementation
• Innovation and Promise

“IT storage is one of the fastest growing sectors in the technology industry, and these finalists have shown they are leading the innovation and unique use of the evolving technologies,” said Ron Milton, Executive Vice President of Computerworld. “The organizations and professionals judged to be finalists in Computerworld’s Fall 2006 ‘Best Practices in Storage’ Awards Program have demonstrated to be at the forefront of managing today’s storage technology.”