Federal agencies have proposed to revise requirements for what developers must do to make up for wetlands damaged or destroyed by construction projects. One result, agencies say, would be to encourage use of “mitigation banks.” These entities control preserved or newly created wetlands tracts and sell “credits” to builders to offset wetlands losses elsewhere. But the regulation also drew criticism from environmental groups.
Benjamin Grumbles, the Environmental Protection Agency’s assistant administrator for water, says the proposal, published March 28 in the Federal Register, “takes us to the next level” in wetlands conservation and restoration (see www.epa.gov/wetlandsmitigation). He says the rule, proposed by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, will speed the pace of restoring wetlands, increase accountability and provide “clear, results-oriented standards” for replacing lost tracts.