the mitigation report - National Mitigation Banking Association

Board of Directors
THE MITIGATION REPORT
Barton James
Executive Director
MICHAEL SPRAGUE
President
DONALD H. ROSS
Vice President
RANDY VOGEL
Treasurer
DONNA COLLIER
Secretary
WAYNE WHITE
Immediate Past President
STEPHEN COLLINS
Director at Large
ADAM DAVIS
Director at Large
PAMELA FETTERMAN
Director at Large
BEN GUILLON
Director at Large
TRAVIS HEMMEN
Director at Large
DOUG LASHLEY
Director at Large
WILL MCDOW
Director at Large
JAMES PARKER
Director at Large
PRESTON SMITH
Director at Large
RANDY WILGIS
Director at Large
PRESIDENT’S CORNER
WINTER 2015
Well, I’m back in the saddle again! The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of catching up with our transitioning
organization, between a new Executive Director and administrative support. As I begin to settle in and things
settle down, I first want to thank Mike Sprague, Don Ross, Randy Vogel and Donna Collier for helping me through
this transition. A special thanks to Mike for a stellar job running the Association, his continued support and active
contributions such as Mitigation Analyst and the NMBA’s new webpage. His departure was not an easy decision,
but he can again focus on running his business that suffered due to the many hours he spent carrying out the
responsibilities of the President.
Your Association has continued to push our agendas across the country with agencies and legislators. The White
House, on October 7th, released a Presidential Memorandum (PM) that directs federal agen-cies to consider
“Ecosystem Services” in their planning and decision making processes. Following that announcement on November 3rd, the White House released an additional PM calling for mitigation on impacts to natural resources while
encouraging private investment…
A related blog post from the White House can be found here.
This November 3rd release is a significant action that clearly advances banking and the need to offset re-sidual,
unavoidable impacts to wetlands and natural resources. This is what the Association has been trying to influence
for years. It is by far the strongest endorsement of banking since the 2008 Mitigation Rule and advances to preference beyond just wetlands. As these dominoes continue to fall in our favor we are also eagerly awaiting for the
agencies’ (US Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Manage-ment) implementation of the Secretary of
Interior’s strategy for mitigation. Secretary Jewell’s strategy incorporated many of the components of the NMBA’s
Universal Principle of Mitigation…
Also be on the lookout for a summary of our recently concluded Strategic Planning Session the Board conducted in
Washington DC. Nine members of your Board of Directors dedicated time and money to participate in this important effort to guide us through the next 3 to 5 years. I would also like to extend a special thanks that to Westervelt
for providing a facilitator to help guide our discussions during the session.
Now that fall continues to settle in and all your required and needed fieldwork and monitoring are com-pleted it’s
time to prepare required reports and hopefully begin to plan time for the upcoming holidays with family and
friends. From me, the Board Officers and Directors we wish you and your families a very heartfelt joyful and safe
holiday season.
www.mitigationbanking.org
PRESIDENTIAL
DIRECTIVE ON
MITIGATION
CELEBRATED
On November 3, NMBA broke the news to our
members that the White House released a
Presidential Memorandum encouraging private
investments in America's natural resources. This
policy directive will ensure equivalent standards
for all forms of mitigation and a preference for
mitigation performed in advance of impacts,
creating greater market certainty and environmental outcomes.
On the heels of the President’s action, the
Department of the Interior issued a new Departmental Manual section (DOI Policy) on the
implementation of landscape-scale mitigation,
which directs agency officials to use compensatory mitigation to offset impacts to public lands
and to tailor mitigation actions to anticipate and
address the impacts of climate change. In
addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(Corps) and the U.S. Environmental Protection
OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS FROM DC
Did you miss October 7th Obama Administration
memorandum on ‘Incorporating Natural
Infrastructure and Ecosystem Services', which
directs Federal agencies to factor the value of
ecosystem services into Federal planning and
decision-making:
For more information like this please go to
mitigationbanking.org and setup your personal
dashboard!
Agency (EPA) issued The Mitigation Rule
Retrospective: A Review of the 2008 Regulations
Governing Compensatory Mitigation for Losses
of Aquatic Resources.
double the pace of private investment from the
2014 rate of 85,000 acres per year to 200,000
acres per year within the next five years.
Since 1998 NMBA has been advocating for
viable, high-quality environmental markets that
support our members’ work. NMBA collaborates
with regulatory agencies, environmental
advocacy groups, and other stakeholders to
advance our mission. NMBA believes that when
properly framed by sound government policy,
private investment in restoration and conservation is a powerful tool to meet today’s growing
environmental challenges. These include offsets
for impacts to endangered species habitat,
natural resource damages from oil and chemical
spills, diminished water quality, and the need
for green infrastructure protection to combat
extreme weather events including storms,
floods, and drought. Additionally, strengthened
compensatory mitigation policies applied to
public lands will create net gain of publicly-owned natural resources.
Want to help double the pace of private
investment in green infrastructure?
Not yet a member of NMBA- Join today. Now is
the time to ensure NMBA has the necessary
resources to insure this policy directive is fully
implemented. Your support will guarantee
increased private capital investment in green
infrastructure under an invigorated public
private partnership. Full implementation will
cut permitting times for development projects,
reduce government cost, and increase predictability in the building and replacement of
critical infrastructure. If you know others that
make their living from the $25B natural
restoration industry, but are not yet members of
NMBA please ask them to join or drop our Executive Director, Barton James and email at
[email protected] or call (202)
577-3990 and we will work with you to get
them to join the NMBA family.
November 19th at 11am Eastern Time
NMBA Member Exclusive call
Join us on November 19th at 11am Eastern Time
for a NMBA Member Exclusive call to learn more
about this new policy and why we expect to
Already a NMBA member, thank you for your
support! It was your support that allowed for
NMBA collaborate on policy like this. Please get
in your 2016 membership renewal as soon as
possible. We are counting on you.
You may view the latest post here.
– through the Info Share Showcase, Posters, and
a variety of Supporting Opportunities, and of
course participating as an attendee. Plus,
NMBA’s Annual Meeting will be held the first day
of the Conference.
Wrangle Up Your Team and Save the Date for the
2016 National Mitigation & Ecosystem Banking
Conference, May 10-13, 2016, in Fort Worth,
Texas! On the fence about coming? Become a
2016 Associate Member of NMBA and receive a
$300 Voucher for use at this year’s conference!
Missed the Call for Participation deadline? There
are still many other ways to participate in 2016
www.mitigationbanking.org
Visit www.mitigationbankingconference.com
GUM ISLAND PROVIDES ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR TEXAS COASTAL PROJECTS
Mitigation Solutions USA’s Gum Island site is
now available to provide high-quality permittee-responsible compensatory wetland mitigation.
Houston, Texas—Mitigation Solutions USA
(MSUSA) is proud to announce that our Gum
Island Permittee-Responsible Mitigation site is
now available to offset wetlands impacts in the
Beaumont, Orange and Port Arthur area.
Gum Island is located in Orange County and
boasts multiple aquatic habitat types including
tidal fringe, high marsh, and freshwater
emergent wetlands. To align with continued
economic growth in the state of Texas, Gum
Island is designed as a crucial resource for the
maritime and petrochemical industries including LNG facilities near Port Arthur, Orange and
Beaumont. Strategically situated adjacent to the
Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area near
the Sabine-Neches waterway, the site will help
restore valuable coastal wetlands and transition
estuary habitat while filtering water before
emptying into Sabine Lake and the Gulf of
Mexico. Gum Island will primarily help to offset
impacts in Orange, Chambers, and Jefferson
counties.
The Port Arthur/Beaumont area is growing
rapidly and compensatory mitigation is limited.
Gum Island has the potential to provide USACE
(United States Army Corps of Engineers)
approved mitigation for new development
requiring 404 permitting.
HOW MSUSA PROVIDES PERMITTEE-RESPONSIBLE MITIGATION (PRM)
Permittee-Responsible Mitigation can provide
impact offsets to fulfill USACE compensatory
mitigation requirements in areas that do not
have available mitigation bank credits. MSUSA
serves PRM clients through the entire regulatory process. With the help of a technical team of
experts, we provide clients with solutions that
are equivalent in standard to purchasing credits
from existing mitigation banks. With a custom
PRM project from MSUSA, developers can rest
assured that their project meets USACE
requirements and conforms to their individual
project needs.
About MSUSA
MSUSA was founded in 2007 and has since
been instrumental in creating environmental
mitigation and conservation in Texas, Arkansas,
Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Alaska. Along with
its affiliates, MSUSA has invested over 60
million dollars in developing wetland and
stream mitigation as well as species conserva-
www.mitigationbanking.org
tion projects. MSUSA has 19 Mitigation Banks
and 1 Conservation Bank in various stages of
completion. For areas not currently served by a
mitigation bank, MSUSA has 16 Permittee-Responsible Mitigation Sites.
LISA BRICARELL
[email protected]
713-812-9000
FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT OF THE IMPACT
OF NMBA’S OUTREACH WORK
BEN GUILLON, CFA
NMBA Board Member, and Managing Director, Conservation Finance WRA, Inc.
As a NMBA Board Member and active participant NMBA’s Emerging Markets Committee I
often feel like I have an insider’s view of the
important work NMBA is doing quietly behind
the scenes to benefit our industry. We often
don’t take the time to provide an update beyond
what is shared in committee discussions and on
during the monthly Industry Call. I recently had
the privilege of organizing for NMBA members
get know you meeting with Mike Thabault the
Assistant Regional Director for Fish and Wildlife
Service's Mountain Prairie Region (Region 6Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming). ).
This meeting is part of NMBA’s Emerging
Markets Committee's outreach commitment for
2015, where we set a goal of having face-to-face
meetings with key regional decision makers
across the USFWS throughout 2015, to complement the relationships we have built with
National staff.
Living in Colorado Region 6 is my backyard, so it
made perfect sense for me to step up and help
organize this meeting. But to be honest I took on
this project on for another reason. Our target for
is in charge of the Ecological Services program
that includes implementation of the Endangered Species Act for the region, so I wanted to
ensure any discussions about the greater sage
grouse, USFWS mitigation policy or mitigation
on public lands and equivalency I was part of
and became a resource to Mike and his team.
I’m pleased to share with you that may be
following the sage grouse/species banking
market developments that NMBA received
strong assurance from Mike that conservation
banking is a very important tool in the toolbox
of the service and that the region recognizes the
high standard that bankers are held to. We also
discussed topics that are critical to our industry
such as the availability of staff to review banking
www.mitigationbanking.org
documents, the use of public land for mitigation
or the development of alternatives to conservation banks, such as credit exchanges. The discussion was open and transparent and Mike offered
his opinion and suggestions on how to improve
the use of conservation banks in the region.
Meetings like remind me that it is important for
our members to establish a partner relationship
with the different regions of the service to
ensure that our interest are taken into account
and protected. Having seen the power of this
face-to-face meeting first hand I highly encourage you to be lookout for participation information for other Regional Meetings with the
USFWS, and try to make one in an are you work
in or are considering working in. To hear more
highlights from this meeting and future
meetings please join in on the Emerging
Markets Committee monthly calls held the first
Tuesday of the month at 2:00 PM Eastern, our
next call will take place November 3rd.
STANDING GUARD
Dear Association Members,
Between the House Leadership race drama, Presidential debates and candidate polling phone calls at all hours of the day it can seem that politics is nothing
more than political theatre. For many of you Washington, D.C. is far-off place that often times seems irrelevant to your business but, in fact, decisions made
by the Administration and Congress can and do impact our industry. For example, the 2008 Mitigation Rule brought order to the restoration industry and
made wetland banks the first priority in the hierarchy for mitigation.
In September I had the pleasure of hosting NMBA's Board in D.C. for the association's first strategic planning session, charting our course for the next 3-5
years. We took full advantage of the expertise we had in town and also held a mini fly-in, meeting with key regulators from across the Administration and
Congress. During those meetings it was obvious that NMBA truly is where the industry’s best and brightest come together to leverage smart decision
making and collaborative action to shape a positive future for your business and the entire mitigation banking industry.
During those meetings we continued to underscore the importance of the national restoration industry, and beat the drum with key policy makers that
now is the time for creating a national coordinated mitigation strategy. We left those meetings invigorated that our advocacy efforts are paying off. The
November 3rd Presidential Memorandum (PM) on mitigation is a great example of that return on investment. This policy directive when implemented will
double the pace of private investment in this industry over the next five years.
Please plan to join us for a very Special November Industry Update call (Thursday, November 19th at 2PM Eastern), as we discuss in detail what the PM truly
means to you, your business, and how our industry call ensure this policy directive is fully implemented.
Advocacy successes like the PM are not done alone, so thank you for your support of NMBA! As we prepare for 2016 and implementing this policy we need
your support now more than ever. With this in mind, I am hoping to clarify the membership dues renewal process. As you may have noticed, dues invoices
for last year were sent out late. This error impacted our operations and left many members confused. I want to personally apologize for that confusion and
clarify that NMBA membership dues run on a calendar year from January 1 – December 31. In an effort to give ample time to members to renew for 2016,
annual invoices were sent in October. We appreciate your understanding during this operational shift and your continued support. Your prompt payment
will help NMBA safeguard the future of our industry.
Thank you for everything you do for NMBA. Please don’t hesitate to contact me; I can be reached at (202) 457-8409 or [email protected].
Onward & Upward,
Barton C. James
Executive Director
107 S. West Street, #573, Alexandria, VA 22314
O: 202-457-8409 M: 202-577-3990
www.mitigationbanking.org
www.mitigationbanking.org
WASHINGTON INSIGHTS
FROM NOSSAMAN
Since we last communicated a great deal of
news has come out of Washington, D.C., and we
had to make some changes to our update even
as we were going to print! In September, the
pope came to town, the RAPID Act passed the
House, the Speaker announced his resignation,
and the search for a new Speaker consumed
House Republicans until Paul Ryan of Wisconsin
was sworn in on October 29. The Administration
continues working on issues of importance to
mitigation bankers and we expect to see some
announcements in the new future. In particular,
the Council on Environmental Quality has been
working with federal agencies on a Presidential
Memorandum on mitigation, which is expected
to be released imminently.
The week of September 21 was a blockbuster in
D.C. Pope Francis traveled to the city for his first
visit to America, and it went off without a hitch.
On Thursday of that week, Pope Francis made
history as the first Pope, as head of state of the
Holy See, to address a Joint Meeting of Congress.
This was especially important for Speaker
Boehner, who has worked for 20 years to have a
Pope address Congress. His emotions were
evident for all to see that day, and he cited Pope
Francis’ visit as a turning point in his decision to
resign from Congress at the end of October. The
Speaker’s decision consumed D.C. for several
weeks, as House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced he was running, and jockeying
began for several leadership slots. After a
bruising few weeks of running for the Speaker’s
gavel, on October 8, McCarthy told his
colleagues he was pulling out of the race, and
everyone started looking to Paul Ryan as a unity
candidate. Ryan decided to run after many
meetings with various factions within the House
Republican conference yielded an understanding that they could work together.
Several pieces of legislation that managed to
pass the House during this turmoil are of interest
to NMBA members. H.R. 348, the Responsibly
and Professionally Invigorating Development
Act of 2015, or the RAPID Act, passed the House
on September 25. Introduced by Rep. Tom
Marino (R-PA), the bill streamlines the permitting process for federally funded and permitted
infrastructure projects. It creates a lead agency
to manage environmental reviews throughout
the permitting process, and includes deadlines
by which milestones must be completed. The
www.mitigationbanking.org
bill’s House passage illustrates the significant
interest in Congress to reform the complicated
federal permitting process. As NMBA has been
asserting, using advanced mitigation in the
permitting process creates major efficiencies.
The Senate has not considered S. 280, legislation
with the same goal, introduced by Senators Rob
Portman (R-OH) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO),
but the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the bill on
August 4 and some of the relevant language has
been added to the Senate version of the surface
transportation bill. We will continue to monitor
this legislation for its impacts on mitigation
banking.
Also of interest to Congress was the 6th Circuit
Court of Appeals ruling on October 9 leading to a
nationwide stay preventing EPA and the Army
Corps from enforcing the WOTUS rule. This may
embolden Congressional efforts to block the rule
through Appropriations measures and authorizing legislation.
Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc.
Vol. 23, No. 8
Page 1 of 2
October 14, 2015
Waters of the U.S.: Back to Basics (for now)
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a nationwide stay of the Clean
Water Rule nationwide on October 9, saying it was prudent to do so while
litigation continues over the legality of the new EPA regulation which had
gone into effect on August 28, 2015. This means that for now the Waters of
the U.S. (WOTUS) will be defined as they have been since the last
rulemaking in 1986. It is our understanding that EPA and the Corps will be
advising their staff nationwide to stop using the new Rule and to resume
application of the previous regulations and guidance while the court case
proceeds.
The court considered “the pervasive nationwide impact of the new Rule on
state and federal regulation of the nation’s waters,” and determined that
“the status quo is best preserved by leaving the Rule alone.” Interestingly,
the court has not decided “whether this court has exclusive jurisdiction to
review the Rule.” Thus we expect continued confusion as various courts
weigh in.
1
The court issued the stay in response to a petition from 18 states for
review of the Clean Water Rule, and extended the stay to maintain
nationwide uniformity during the litigation process; an August 27 decision in
the federal district court of southeastern North Dakota had already stayed
2
the regulation in 13 states.
WSSI will continue to update you as the Clean Water Rule saga continues.
If you have questions about how the Clean Water Rule or the suspension of
it may impact your projects, please contact Mike Rolband, Mark Headly,
Dan Lucey, Mike Klebasko, Ken Wallis, or Ben Rosner.
1
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin
2
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,
Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming
Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc.
Page 2 of 2
R:\WSSI Marketing & PR Information\Newsletters\2015\CleanWaterRule_blocked_Oct2015
\WSSI_FieldNotes_Oct14-2015.pdf
www.mitigationbanking.org
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This special membership level is reserved for those who intend to help create a lasting, positive legacy for NMBA and
the industry. To discuss your interests in this top-tier of membership at the association call Barton James at 202-457-8409
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Full Members: Annual Membership $5,500
Full membership comes with a full set of benefits to match. Mitigation Bankers, corporations and larger NGOs enjoy the
highest level of services and support with Full Membership.
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Non-bankers and non-profits will enjoy some of the same high-value benefits and at a lower annual membership dues rate.
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