Wetland rules stir debate – Los Angeles Times Annotated

Regulators emphasize creation of wetlands in exchange for those destroyed.

From the Associated Press
11:41 AM PDT, March 31, 2008

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration announced requirements Monday that would encourage developers to compensate for the destruction of wetlands or streams by paying for the creation of new ones elsewhere, sometimes many miles away.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced the regulation’s final approval Monday, saying it will help to replace wetlands and streams that are destroyed or severely impacted in construction or other activities.”It will accelerate our wetlands conservation effort by establishing a more effective, consistent mitigation process,” said Benjamin Grumbles, the EPA’s assistant administrator for water.

The regulation encourages expanded use of “mitigation banking,” in which a developer can obtain a permit to destroy a wetland or stream if the developer agrees to invest in wetland creation or enhancement elsewhere.

But environmentalists worried the new mitigation policy could encourage wetlands destruction and overall wetlands loss.