Victoria

About Victoria

This author Victoria has created 78 entries.

USFWS Ends Blanket ESA Protections for Newly Listed Threatened Species

Sep25

USFWS Ends Blanket ESA Protections for Newly Listed Threatened Species The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has ended automatic “blanket” protections for species newly listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Going forward, protections for a newly listed threatened species will depend on the species-specific Section 4(d) rule issued alongside its listing, rather than defaulting to the same broad prohibitions that apply to endangered species. What’s Changing Previously, a species listed as threatened automatically received the same take prohibitions as an

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What Is an Environmental Resource Permit and Who Applies Most

Sep15

What Is an Environmental Resource Permit and Who Applies Most Nearly every construction or land development project in Florida that touches wetlands, surface waters, or stormwater systems needs an Environmental Resource Permit (ERP). New data from Sachs Media shows just how much permitting activity a handful of applicants have driven over the past two decades, and the results say a lot about who is shaping Florida’s built and natural landscape. What Is an Environmental Resource Permit An ERP is issued by the

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DOJ Seeks Rehearing in Florida Section 404 Permitting Case

Aug27

DOJ Seeks Rehearing in Florida Section 404 Permitting Case The U.S. Department of Justice has petitioned the full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear a case challenging the EPA’s 2020 approval of Florida’s authority to issue Clean Water Act Section 404 dredge-and-fill permits. The Aug. 7, 2026 filing asks the full court to revisit a divided three-judge panel’s March 27, 2026 decision in Center for Biological Diversity v. Zeldin. Background In 2020, the EPA approved Florida’s application to assume Section 404

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How to Submit a New ERP Application Through SWFWMD’s e-Permitting System

Aug25

How to Submit a New ERP Application Through SWFWMD’s e-Permitting System On July 7, 2026, the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) launched Appian, a new e-permitting system that replaces the water management information system (WMIS) for new Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) applications. Any application already in progress in WMIS will continue to be reviewed there. Every new ERP application now moves through Appian. Here is what changed and how to submit a new application under the updated system. What

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Wetland Mitigation Banking in Florida: From Regulation to Credit Sales

Aug24

Wetland Mitigation Banking in Florida: From Regulation to Credit Sales On August 19, 2026, Victoria Bruce, CEO of The Mitigation Banking Group, joined two fellow experts at the Tampa Bay Association of Environmental Professionals (TBAEP) August luncheon to walk through how a wetland mitigation bank comes together in Florida, from the legal framework to construction to credit sales. The Legal and Regulatory Framework Susan Roeder Martin, Esq. of Nason Yeager Gerson Harris and Fumero opened with the basics, tracing mitigation banking back

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DEP Confirms Local Governments Can Use Mitigation Bank Credits

Jul02

DEP Confirms Local Governments Can Use Mitigation Bank Credits On September 10, 2025, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a memorandum clarifying a question that has come up among water management districts: whether mitigation bank credits can be used to offset wetland impacts regulated outside of the Environmental Resource Permit program, specifically under local pollution control programs. DEP’s position is clear. The use of mitigation bank credits for this purpose is allowable under Florida law.   The Statutory Basis Section 373.4135(2), F.S.,

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Florida Expands Mitigation Bank Credit Use Beyond Traditional Service Areas

Jun30

Florida Expands Mitigation Bank Credit Use Beyond Traditional Service Areas In 2025, Florida made the most consequential updates to its wetland mitigation banking framework since the program’s inception in the 1990s. Writing in The Florida Bar Journal, Susan Roeder Martin provides a practical overview of two major changes: a new pathway for mitigation bank credits to be used outside of a bank’s traditional service area, and a standardized credit release schedule across the state. The following is a

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Colbert Cameron Mitigation Bank Converts from Ratio Credits to UMAM Credits

Jun29

Wetland Mitigation Bank Credit Update   On May 8, 2026, Colbert Cameron Mitigation Bank converted the assessment method from RATIO Credits to UMAM Credits. This wetland mitigation bank in Volusia County services St. Johns River Basin (Basin 18), Econlockhatchee Nested Basin (Basin 19), Lake Jesup Basin (Basin 23), and the Northern Third of the Southern St. Johns River Basin (Basin 20). This update for the Colbert Cameron Mitigation Bank, which was permitted in 1996, prior to UMAM (2005), has been grandfathered in to

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Water Quality Enhancement Areas & Credit Trading Rules

Jun24

Water Quality Enhancement Areas (WQEAs) & Credit Trading: A Comprehensive Guide to Florida’s Latest Rules Florida is expanding its approach to compensatory mitigation and water quality improvement. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has finalized new rules governing Water Quality Enhancement Areas (WQEAs) and is updating existing water quality credit trading programs to align with recent legislative changes, particularly Senate Bill 1532, signed into law in 2024. For environmental consultants, mitigation bankers, and project owners, understanding the difference between these two

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The Key Provisions of Florida SB 848

Jun23

The Key Provisions of Florida SB 848 CS/CS/SB 848 makes several targeted changes to Florida’s Environmental Resource Permit framework. Here is what the bill actually requires.   Credit Responsibility Transfers to the Generator When an ERP applicant purchases a Water Quality Enhancement Area credit, legal responsibility for meeting applicable water quality treatment requirements transfers from the buyer to the WQEA credit generator. This mirrors the structure of wetland mitigation banking, where credit purchase shifts long-term compliance obligations away from the developer.   Compensating

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