Our Blog

Endangered Species Act

Jul28

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries (the Services) are amending regulations pertaining to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in an attempt to streamline and clarify various key implementing provisions of this long-standing and powerful Act. The three proposed regulation changes, intended to be part of a comprehensive update to help improve the efficiency and consistency of implementing the ESA, were published today in the Federal Register – opening up a 60 day comment period. The

Jul24

What a wonderful experience exhibiting and speaking at the Florida Chamber Environmental Permitting School. During our panel discussions, I talked about the Business of Mitigation Banking and Due Diligence on the Practical Considerations in Environmental Mitigation and Mitigation Banking. Did you miss the presentation? Watch it now! Full presentation deck available here: https://www.slideshare.net/VictoriaKColangelo/the-business-of-mitigation-banks

Jul24

The Everglades comprise the largest subtropical wetland ecosystem in North America and are recognized as one of the most important on the planet. They are a World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve. Home to more than 80 endangered species of plants and animals, they are the source of the water supply for one out of every three Floridians (8 million people). The economics this great system generates and makes possible rival anything else in Florida. Watch this quick 3-min animated

Jun11

The pending WOTUS (Waters of the United States) determination for regulation to our natural resources is currently in flux and we are patiently awaiting how the regulations will effect our environment. Historically, before wetland regulation and oversight, negative changes to our environment occurred; such as flooding, water quality degradation, river contamination and loss of wildlife. It’s important to have wetlands regulated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) so that projects with proposed wetland impacts obtain federal approval before filling

Jun01

Workshops throughout Florida were conducted in Tallahassee, Orlando and Ft. Myers the last week of May 2018 to share with interested parties the new proposed changes to Chapter 62-330, F.A.C. The proposed changes are pending and they are anticipating a 6 month delay due to training at the FDEP level. They also reported that FDEP will manage the 404 Program the first initial year before it is delegated to the respective Water Management Districts. The proposed changes also provide applicants the right

May15

If you are interested in learning more about the proposed Section 404 of the Clean Water Act State Assumption, please attend one of these upcoming workshops: DATE AND TIME: May 30, 2018, beginning at 8:30 am. PLACE: Department of Environmental Protection, 2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32399 A live webinar is also available for the Tallahassee Workshop; webinar participants may register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8324935087855682563. DATE AND TIME: May 31, 2018, 8:30 a.m. PLACE: Department of Environmental Protection, Central District Office, 3319 Maguire Boulevard, Orlando,

Mar30

Miriam Balladares, Hilton; Victoria Bruce, MBG, Inc; Hannah Rowe, JMT, Inc.; Todd Hosgson, FECC, Inc.; Flormari Blackburn, E Sciences, Inc., Chef (Not Pictured: Jennifer Cummings, OCPW; Kelley Samuels, AECOM; Scott Martin, Pace Labs) https://www.cfaep.org/board/ On behalf of CFAEP and TRB, we are thrilled for the 2018 Florida Association of Environmental Professionals Annual Conference and Training Symposium. This year’s conference is being hosted by the Central Florida Association of Environmental Professionals and the National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board and will

Mar29

On March 23, 2018; Governor Scott signed HB 7043 (404 assumption) into law. Below is the Governor’s letter as it sets forth a brief but important explanation of the purpose of the bill. Synopsis: This new bill will “eliminate duplicity in permitting while upholding and improving our stringent environmental protection standards.” HB 7043, “simply begins a public evaluation to identify ways we can continue to protect our environment”. The most rewarding part of this letter is the last sentence. “the Department of

Mar28

Pursuant to Section 404(g) of the CWA, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is pursuing approval from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assume the Section 404 Program and administer its own individual and general permit program. State assumption of the Section 404 Program would be limited to certain waters and does not include navigable waters of the United States. The navigability studies will also assist with determining the waters that would be retained by the Corps

Mar13

The Trump administration wants to “repeal and replace” a rule for defining which waterways are and are not protected by the Clean Water Act, and environmentalists say Trump’s proposal would leave 80 percent of all US waters unprotected. In this fourth installment of a five-part series, we see how the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers forged the current rule over four arduous years. Author: Steve Zwick Click here to