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STATE 404 ASSUMPTION, October 2020 Update

Oct28

A pending decision would authorize the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to assume administration of the federal Clean Water Act, section 404 dredge and fill permitting program from the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). If approved, FDEP would issue federal 404 permits instead of USACE, thus FDEP will be the lead agency in Florida for administering the State 404 Permit Program. The strategies and priorities for permit review, compliance monitoring and enforcement of permits, and against persons conducting unauthorized discharges

Sep09

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided notice on August 20, 2020, that they received a complete package from the State of Florida requesting to assume administration of a Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 program. The CWA established the Section 404 program, under which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) may issue permits for the discharge of dredged or fill material into “waters of the United States” as identified in the CWA. Section 404(g)(1) of the CWA provides states

Aug20

1. Benefits to the Environment Establishment of a mitigation bank brings together financial resources, biological planning and scientific expertise. Consolidating these resources increase the potential for long-term successful mitigation that maximizes contribution to the environment. A large scale mitigation bank project has the opportunity to maintain the integrity of the aquatic ecosystem. The complexity of a wetland is difficult to encompass in a small development project. The larger mitigation bank has a better chance of encompassing all necessary biological functions. 2. Save

Jul29

The 2020 Florida Chamber Environmental Permitting Summer School Conference was one of the first conferences in the country to gather since the outbreak of Covid-19. The conference was well attended with the current circumstances of COVID-19, and great Social Distancing measures were taken. The new approach of the HYBRID Conference Format seemed to work out very nicely. There were approx. 452 total attendees, which consisted of Sponsors, Exhibitors, Speakers and Attendees: 287 virtual (64%) & 165 in-person (36%), while the

Jul10

Introducing the United States Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) New Final Prospectus Template. Use this guide to submit the Prospectus, the Initial Step to Obtain a Mitigation Banking Instrument (MBI) for the ACOE. This document will initiate the planning and review process by the appropriate agencies. Prior to submitting a prospectus, bank sponsors are encouraged to discuss their proposal with the appropriate agencies (e.g., pre-application coordination). View the USACE Prospectus

Jul06

On June 22, 2020, President Donald Trump signed The Navigable Waters Protection Rule to define the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS). The new rule repeals the 2015 Clean Water Rule which will limit the extent of federal regulation. However, it will provide a consistent and clear definition of the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS). Throughout the U.S., Court challenges are already underway, and states have conflicting rulings. This new rule reverts regulations to the 1986 version of WOTUS. Under the

Jun24

The Navigable Waters Protection Rule to define “Waters of the United States” became effective on June 22, 2020 and will replace the Step One Rule published in October, 2019. For the first time, the agencies are streamlining the definition so that it includes four simple categories of jurisdictional waters, provides clear exclusions for many water features that traditionally have not been regulated, and defines terms in the regulatory text that have never been defined before. Congress, in the Clean Water Act, explicitly

Jun03

Victoria Bruce at The Mitigation Banking Group, Inc. links interested buyers and sellers of wetland mitigation banks throughout the state of Florida. Since 2004, Bruce has been in the mitigation banking industry and through this experience her network of mitigation bankers throughout the state of Florida connects mitigation bankers that want to sell wetland mitigation banks with mitigation bankers, investors, private equites, agriculture investors that want to purchase wetland mitigation banks. In 2019, Victoria Bruce connected the buyer and seller of two

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Mitigation Banking Update April 2020

Hi Everyone! Just a quick update from my home office Winter Springs, Florida. Everything is good and things are moving along despite the obvious slowdown. We remain hopeful that the worst is behind us and we will be back to normal again soon.

Apr01

Back in February 2020, Bruce had the pleasure of going on a wetland delineation in Sanford, Florida with Bill Griffy of Ecological Consulting Solutions, Inc. The landowner was uncertain what he was able to do or not do with the property for development purposes. An environmental consultant, like Bill Griffy, can do a wetland delineation for your project to see where the wetland lines lay and also determine the quality of the wetland depending on the Location & Landscape, Water