APPELLATE RULING BACKS EPA FLEXIBILITY FOR WETLANDS MITIGATION

摘要

A recent federal appellate ruling rejecting environmentalists' challenge to a wetlands permit could provide early backing to an upcoming rule EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will soon issue governing permit requirements for mitigating wetlands losses due to development projects. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled Jan. 3 in Bering Strait Citizens For Responsible Resource Development v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, et al. to grant the Corps and EPA considerable discretion over mitigation requirements contained in wetland permits, holding that regulators can pursue mitigation measures even after a development permit is issued as long as the mitigation measures are "adequate."