Corps Revises Wetlands Permits; Eases 'No Net Loss'
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is revising the general Nationwide Permits (NWPs) it issues to develop wetlands when the construction will not cause significant environmental impact. The Corps says the changes, to be published in the Federal Register on Jan. 15, will increase protection of aquatic ecosystems and make it easier to comply with the agency's "no net loss" standard.
"Overall, the permits are undergoing several small but important changes," says John Studt, chief of the Corps' regulatory branch. The agency first proposed revising the permitting process in 1999, when it said it would eliminate its general NWP 26 and creation of several other categories of its general permits. Those permits, adopted in mid-2000, were challenged in federal court by the National Association of Home Builders. The lawsuit continues, and the Corps has been tinkering with the permit classifications ever since. The latest round of proposals was unveiled in August and Studt says the final rules to be published Jan. 15 have several minor changes from that August proposal.