Environmental mitigation, compensatory mitigation, or mitigation banking, are terms used primarily by the United States government and the related environmental industry to describe projects or programs intended to offset known impacts to an existing historic or natural resource such as a stream, wetland, endangered species, archeological site, paleontological site or historic structure. Land in rural areas with very little potential for growth are more valuable when given the opportunity to be used for mitigation credits.
The second example takes us back to consider the fate of the desert tortoise. By doing so, we could streamline the work of both developers and regulators. The Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency dealt constructively and broadly with these issues in a widely praised mitigation rule issued in 2008 by the previous administration. This is a topic of particular interest because of the ongoing USFWS formal status review of this ground-dwelling bird under the Endangered Species Act. 
Environmental mitigation and follow-through on your environmental commitments are essential requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act.
The Wilderness Society issued a press release reporting that The auction is significant not only for this specific parcels clean energy potential, but because it indicates the tremendous progress our federal agencies have made over the past decade to find smart, responsible ways to develop clean energy on our public lands. And in September 2014 First Solar filed with Nevada regulators for permission to proceed with plans to build a 200 megawatt solar facility at the site. There are opportunities for private investment to play an important role in expanding mitigation options, reducing mitigation costs, and improving mitigation effectiveness. Without environmental mitigation, costs of alleviating environmental damage caused by development could be placed in the hands of the government which would in turn pass costs on to taxpayers not responsible for environmental impacts. The Imposition of New Regulations Through the President's Memorandum on Mitigation, STATEMENT OFMICHAEL BEANPRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE AND PARKSU.S. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, Other Laws and Requirements:
Documentation and the Environmental Process, NEPA Regulatory Framework and Process:
A large, multi-agency group is working to inventory at a landscape scale the birds remaining habitat. The Department is committed to working collaboratively and sharing its experience in developing mitigation measures that provide certainty and predictability to project proponents. Heliostats at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System are seen from above on March 3, 2014 in the Mojave Desert in California near Primm, Nevada. The Departmental policy was issued contemporaneously with issuance by the President of a Presidential Memorandum, Mitigating Impacts on Natural Resources from Development and Encouraging Related Private Investment. For example, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1934 included requirements that were the first formal expressions in law of a duty to minimize the negative environmental impacts of major water resource development projects and to compensate for those impacts that remained giving birth to the core ideas of what we now label as environmental mitigation. Environmental regulations call for the mitigation of any impacts that such plants might make to the habitat and populations of wildlife such as the desert tortoise. Chairman Gohmert, Ranking Member Dingell, and Members of the subcommittee, I am Michael J. Bean, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Department of the Interior (Department). First, negative environmental impacts should be avoided, for instance by re-siting the project to a more suitable location. A new, comprehensive framework based on investments in landscape-scale initiatives with tangible environmental benefits is both environmentally and administratively preferable to time-consuming efforts associated with the development of one-off mitigation projects. Environmental mitigation and crediting systems are often praised for the following reasons: Mitigation is a more development-friendly alternative to strict environmental laws because it allows development to occur where environmental laws might prohibit it. Official websites use .gov The experience gained in implementing the Coordination Act and NEPA informed the promulgation by the Service of a formal mitigation policy in 1981, a policy still in effect today. That so many of the anadromous fish populations of the Pacific Northwest are now in danger of extinction is compelling evidence that the fish ladder and hatchery solution to the challenge of big dams did not prevent dramatic resource losses. In addition, an extensive literature documents the frequent failure of early wetland compensatory mitigation efforts due to poor siting, inadequate monitoring, lack of long-term assurances, and other problems. An official website of the United States government. Our policy lab group, working with David J. Hayes, former deputy secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, came to understand that, in practice, environmental compensatory mitigation actions required for infrastructure projects in some cases revolve around the types of environmental impacts for which specific regulatory requirements exist (in particular, impacts on wetlands under the Clean Water Act Section 404, and impacts on endangered species under Sections 7 and 10 of the Endangered Species Act). Therefore, it is evident that problems with the allocation and valuation of credits and debits might stem from the complexity of assessing the current comparative value of ecological resources (aka ecosystem services), ecosystem change over time, and/or a lack of understanding about what is beneficial or harmful to the environment overall.
The idea of landscape-level mitigation has been embraced by the White House. Currently, mitigation measures (measures required by regulation to moderate or alleviate environmental impacts) are an afterthought in the permitting process, being considered in a late, limited and fragmented manner or not at all. Such a holistic approach has the potential for, at one time, simplifying the permitting process and achieving better environmental results a clear win for all stakeholders and for our landscapes. 
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has defined mitigation in its implementing regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act to include avoiding, minimizing, rectifying, reducing over time, and compensating for impacts. In March 2014, the BLM released the first of these regional mitigation strategies for the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone in Nevada. Businesses related to environmental work typically benefit from such a system.
Clean Water Act Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines, Wetland Avoidance and Minimization in Action: Perspectives from Experience, The Federal Wetland Permitting Program: Avoidance and Minimization Requirements, State Wetland Permitting Programs: Avoidance and Minimization Requirements, View Compensatory Mitigation Evaluations and Reports. The duties imposed by the Coordination Act were reinforced and expanded by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). This strategy supported the BLMs first ever competitive offer of public lands for solar energy development, a sale that brought in $5.8 million in high bids from project developers. For example, the 2008 mitigation rule ensures a level playing field among providers of compensation by holding all forms of compensatory mitigation to equivalent standards regardless of whether the compensation is provided by a mitigation bank, an in-lieu fee program, or by the permit applicant. It required as well the opportunity to use the impounded waters for hatcheries to offset impacts that could not otherwise be avoided. It is my pleasure to testify before you today regarding the Departments policies and practices relating to mitigation and the recent Presidential Memorandum on Mitigating Impacts on Natural Resources from Development and Encouraging Related Private Investment. Finally, if environmental impacts are inevitable, there should be appropriate compensation.
She also holds a JD, an LLM, and a Ph.D. degree in international law from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul and an MBA from Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Brazil.
They provide developers with resources to evaluate risk and make siting and operational decisions, resulting in fewer projects planned in high risk areas.
The Department serves as the steward for 20 percent of the nations lands, oversees the responsible development of over 20 percent of U.S. energy supplies, is the largest supplier and manager of water in the 17 Western States, and maintains relationships with over 500 federally-recognized tribes.
By avoiding adverse impacts in the first place, there is no less need to take further action to minimize or compensate for such impacts. Contemporary understanding of mitigation has thus benefited from decades of scientific advances and experience implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and other laws, in particular the Clean Water Act (CWA), Section 404 of which requires a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers for the discharge of dredged or fill material in wetlands and other waters of the United States. Consider this example. Web Resources: Includes Web links to related Code of Federal Regulations and other links appropriate to this video module. Governing bodies are primarily responsible for prescribing the ecological criteria required to attain credits for mitigation. In a pilot effort, the BLM auctioned off to three development groups a total of six solar energy development sites in the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone (SEZ) in Clark County, Nevada, about 15 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The principles and approaches described above have been instrumental in achieving effective mitigation outcomes. Secretary Jewell directed the Department and each of its bureaus to follow a common set of principles for its mitigation decisions and to use a landscape-scale approach to guide the siting of compensatory mitigation efforts. The Department is committed to facilitating responsible economic development, both on public lands and elsewhere, while protecting and conserving the natural and cultural resources that Americans cherish. JavaScript appears to be disabled on this computer.
Editor's note: This essay is the fifth in a series, Conservation Innovation: Voices of a New Generation, which has been produced by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in collaboration with The GroundTruth Project on GlobalPost. Buyers are typically looking for mitigation credits that are both cheap and the most likely to meet regulatory requirements for compensatory mitigation. Crediting systems can allow credit to be generated in different ways. More than 1,400 mitigation banks have been approved by the Army Corps of Engineers.
PRX is a 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS: #263347402. Otherwise, the long-term public interest could not be served via compensatory mitigation programs.
Fish and Wildlife Services voluntary Wind Energy Guidelines provide a structured, scientific process for addressing wildlife conservation concerns at all stages of land-based wind energy development. Although the videos in this section can be viewed in any sequence,
Moreover, the agreement is particularly noteworthy because it uses a transparent and repeatable methodology to measure both project impacts and the benefits of compensatory actions to offset them. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Early mitigation efforts had a mixed record of success. Those statutory mandates go back many decades. This suggests that land owners must be alert to find the highest and best use for their properties given the potential market value that mitigation credits represent. Please click here to see any active alerts. This memorandum is consistent with and reinforced the mitigation work already ongoing at the Department, encourages private investment in restoration and public-private partnerships, and helps foster opportunities for businesses or non-profit organizations with relevant expertise to successfully achieve restoration and conservation objectives across all lands. A similar cooperative partnership in Wyoming has led to the approval of the first greater sage-grouse mitigation bank earlier this year. In many other circumstances, however, permitting agencies have wide discretion to determine appropriate mitigation measures for unavoidable project impacts identified through National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews. Another 11% did so by using credits from in-lieu fee mitigation programs. Companion Resource (PDF, 214 KB) : Includes the printable script for this video. In the fall of 2013, Secretary Jewell released Secretarial Order 3330, Improving Mitigation Policies and Practices of the Department of the Interior. Environmental mitigation is the process of addressing impacts to the environment caused by human action notably those resulting of highway, energy, water, and other infrastructure projects and follows a hierarchy. To address these uncertainties regulators often assign 'coverage ratios' to compensatory mitigation agreements. They also incorporate best management practices to assist wind energy developers in minimizing impacts to wildlife resources. As another example, the U.S.
No less important, the Department is charged by law to conserve nearly 1,600 endangered and threatened species, and all of the nations migratory bird species. Fish and Wildlife Service, as the federal agency charged by Congress in the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 with the responsibility for management, conservation and protection of fish and wildlife resources, routinely recommends mitigation measures to other federal agencies through the NEPA process. The types of mitigation enumerated by CEQ are compatible with the requirements of the Guidelines; however, as a practical matter, they can be combined to form three general types of mitigation: avoidance, minimization, and compensatory mitigation. Thank you for your interest and for the opportunity to testify today, I am happy to answer any questions. Public Involvement, NEPA Regulatory Framework and Process:
Environmental mitigation is typically a part of an environmental crediting system established by governing bodies which involves allocating debits and credits. Coverage ratios of, for example, 3:1 require 3 compensatory mitigation credits for every 1 unit of ecological disturbance. The U.S. Forest Service and BLM issued Records of Decisions finalizing 98 land use plans to outline a framework for sage-grouse conservation, including required mitigation for certain impacts to greater sage grouse habitat and the commitment to collaboratively develop mitigation strategies with states and partner agencies across the sagebrush landscape. By implementing this policy, the Department will effectively avoid, minimize, and compensate for impacts to Department-managed resources and their values, services, and functions; provide project developers with added predictability and efficient, timely environmental reviews; improve the resilience of our Nations resources in the face of climate change; encourage strategic conservation investments in land and other resources; increase compensatory mitigation effectiveness, durability, transparency, and consistency; and better utilize mitigation measures to help achieve our goals.
The following are criticisms of environmental mitigation and crediting systems: Mitigation regulations may not properly take into account the total ecological losses and gains associated with environmental impacts or mitigation when allocating debits and credits. The Center will facilitate this effort by building on current activity to incentivize private investments in the infrastructure and conservation of water, species, habitat, and other natural resources. The following year, in 1982, Congress gave a significant new mitigation responsibility to the Service when it amended the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to authorize permits allowing the taking of endangered species incidental to otherwise lawful activities. Furthermore, consistent with Secretarial Order 3330 and the Departmental Policy, the Departments bureaus are also working to revise and finalize their mitigation policies to ensure they are responsive to emerging best practices and compatible with similar policies being developed by sister agencies and states. The Center will use market-based tools and innovative public-private collaborations to increase investment in water conservation and critical water infrastructure, as well as promote investments that conserve important habitat in a manner that advances efficient permitting and meaningful landscape-level conservation. From this recognition the concept of mitigation banking was born. The Departmental policy issued last fall was one of many steps to be completed in response to Secretarys Order 3330, reaffirming the Departments authority to require and determine the scope of compensatory mitigation; establishing a goal for the conservation outcomes of mitigation investments; enumerating standards when implementing landscape-scale mitigation approaches, and; outlining responsibilities of bureaus and offices in fulfilling the goals established in SO 3330. Debits occur in situations where a natural resource has been destroyed or severely impaired and credits are given in situations where a natural resource has been deemed to be improved or preserved.
environmental mitigation plan
