The Environmental Law Institute is seeking nominations for the 2008 National Wetlands Awards recognizing individuals who have demonstrated excellence in wetland conservation. The awards program is cosponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Federal Highway Administration, and NOAA Fisheries. For more information, link to National Wetlands Awards. (10-4-07)

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The Environmental Protection Agency has released a draft standard specifying the parameters for mapping wetlands that will be uploaded to the National Wetlands Inventory and incorporated into the wetlands segment of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure map produced by the U.S. Geological Survey. The standard, which is based on the existing draft standard used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is intended to support the transition from traditional paper-based mapping to digital-based mapping and to serve as a national standard for wetland mapping. Comments on the draft standard are due Nov. 9, 2007. For more information, link to the Federal Register notice. (8-7-07)

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The Environmental Protection Agency has released new guidance that describes how credits generated by water quality improvements in streams, lakes, and rivers can be used by wastewater treatment plants and other industries to meet effluent limits designed to preserve water quality. The agency describes the document as the first “how-to” manual on designing and implementing water quality trading programs consistent with EPA’s 2003 National Water Quality Trading Policy. The document provides National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting authorities with tools to incorporate trading provisions into permits. For more information, link to the Water Quality Trading Toolkit for Permit Writers. (8-7-07)

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A report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides a comprehensive assessment of nutrient pollution, or eutrophication, of the nation’s estuaries. The report describes linkages between human activities upstream and coastal ecosystem health and finds that a majority of U.S. estuaries are adversely effected by nutrient loading, with can result in algae blooms, decreased dissolved oxygen, and loss of marine life habitat. The report, which is an update of a 1999 assessment of estuarine eutrophication, predicts worsening health for the nation’s estuaries in the coming decade, but cites case studies where aggressive management can reverse this trend. For more information, link to Effects of Nutrient Enrichment in the Nation’s Estuaries: A Decade of Change. (7-31-07)

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The Environmental Protection Agency Region V is sponsoring a workshop on the benefits of using compost in roadside stormwater management and erosion control. The workshop, which will be held on Sept. 13, 2007, at the Retzer Nature Center in Waukesha, Wis., will feature a roundtable discussion with experts from EPA, Iowa State University, and the Minnesota DOT. The workshop also will include an afternoon field demonstration. For more information, link to: Using Compost to Improve Storm Water Management and Erosion Control on Roadsides. (7-24-07)

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The Center for Neighborhood Technology has published a field guide intended to help environmental advocates and communities understand and advance "green" solutions to stormwater management issues. The guide offers solutions such as increasing tree canopy, planting rain gardens and native vegetation, installing rain barrels, and using permeable pavement. The guide also describes several successful local projects that employ green solutions to stormwater management issues. For more information, link to Water: From Trouble to Treasure – A Pocket Guide to "Green" Solutions. (7-10-07)

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A white paper published by the Environmental Law Institute seeks to describe the scope of Congress’s constitutional authority to protect U.S. waters in light of recent Supreme Court rulings affecting Clean Water Act coverage for certain wetlands and streams. The document identifies several sources of constitutional authority to regulate streams and wetlands, including the Commerce Clause, treaty power, and others. The document, “Anchoring the Clean Water Act: Congress’s Constitutional Sources of Power to Protect the Nation’s Waters,” is available for free download on ELI's website (registration required). (7-9-07)

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The U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a report recommending that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers improve its guidance and oversight of district permit decisions made using funds from nonfederal public entities under Section 214 of the Water Resources and Development Act. Section 214 provides the Corps with temporary authority to receive funds from entities such as cities or counties, port or local water authorities, or private companies for processing permits for projects that could affect federally regulated waters and wetlands. For more information, link to highlights and the full report. (6-8-07)

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The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have issued a joint guidance on determining Clean Water Act jurisdiction following the U.S. Supreme Court's June 2006 Rapanos ruling. The guidance specifies that wetlands and streams that flow intermittently or are linked indirectly to traditional navigable waters will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the two agencies to determine CWA jurisdiction. The guidance also identifies which waters of the United States are subject to federal jurisdiction under CWA Section 404. Comments on the guidance will be accepted until Dec. 5, 2007. For more information, link to the Federal Register notice and EPA’s website on the Clean Water Act Definition of “Waters of the United States." (6-5-07)

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A report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office explores concerns that the EPA’s stormwater program imposes an undue burden on some communities. GAO was asked to examine current progress in implementing the stormwater program, the extent to which the program burdens communities, the accuracy of EPA’s estimates of program costs, and the data available for assessing program burden. The report concludes that further implementation of the program by communities, which is still in its early stages, and better collection of cost data by EPA are needed to determine the program’s overall impact. For more information, link to highlights and the full report. (5-31-07)

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The National Cooperative Highway Research Program has issued a report establishing guidelines for the selection of snow and ice control materials that minimize environmental impacts. The report is the result of research conducted under NCHRP Project 06-16 to develop guidelines for DOT maintenance managers to select snow and ice control chemicals and abrasives based on an evaluation of their cost, performance, and impacts on the environment and infrastructure. For more information, link to NCHRP Report 577: Guidelines for the Selection of Snow and Ice Control Materials to Mitigate Environmental Impacts. (5-22-07)

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The Environmental Protection Agency released an updated version of its watershed management program, “Better Assessment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint Sources” (BASINS 4.0). The agency describes the program as a “multi-purpose environmental analysis system that integrates a geographical information system (GIS), national watershed data, and state-of-the-art environmental assessment and modeling tools into one convenient package.” The new version now runs on nonproprietary, open source, free GIS software that can be installed on a personal computer. For more information, link to EPA’s BASINS website. (4-23-07)

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The Council on Environmental Quality issued the third in a series of annual reports detailing how federal agencies are implementing President Bush's goal to restore, create, or improve 3 million acres of wetlands by Earth Day 2009. The report highlights the accomplishments to date in meeting the goal Bush announced Earth Day 2004, including a total of 2,769,000 acres restored, protected, or improved. The report finds that federal agencies, in partnership with states, communities, tribes, and private landowners, remain on "track to meet or exceed this goal." For more information, link to Conserving Americas Wetlands 2007: Three Years of Progress Implementing the President’s Goal. (April 2007)

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The Environmental Protection Agency released on April 18, 2007, the Watershed Plan Builder, a new web-based tool for improving watershed planning by states and local communities. The application is designed to help local organizations develop integrated watershed plans to meet state and EPA requirements. After entering relevant data, the tool produces an outline of a comprehensive watershed plan for a specific watershed and walks the practitioner through various steps in the planning process. The Watershed Plan Builder will be available for beta testing for six months, and EPA will host a webcast on May 2, 2007. For more information, link to Watershed Plan Builder.

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued an internal memorandum April 9 on the status of the March 28, 2006, proposed rule on compensatory mitigation for losses of aquatic resources. The memorandum from John Paul Woodley, Jr., Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), is directed to the Corps’ director of civil works and provides an update on the consideration of over 20,000 public comments and potential revisions to the proposed rule. The memorandum encourages agency regulatory staff to continue processing mitigation project proposals efficiently and in accordance with existing guidance, pending the development of the final rule. It also reminds agency staff of the importance of continued attention to proposals for the establishment and use of mitigation banks and In-Lieu Fee projects. The memorandum indicates that a revised draft or final rule is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register by December 2007. For more information, link to Memorandum on Compensatory Mitigation Proposed Rule.

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A review of the revised and reissued U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ nationwide permits, particularly those regularly used by transportation projects, is included in the April 2007 issue of the TRB Committee on Environmental Issues in Transportation Law’s newsletter, Natural Lawyer.   Transportation-related permits include NWPs 3, 12, 13, 14, 18, and 23. The newsletter also provides a summary table on the revised nationwide permits. To access the newsletter, link to The Natural Lawyer April 2007.

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The U.S. Army Corps issued its revised Nationwide Permits (NWPs) on March 12, 2007. The Corps reissued the 43 existing NWPs, issued six new NWPs, reissued 26 existing general conditions, and issued one new general condition. The Corps also reissued many of the NWP definitions, and provided 13 new definitions. For more information, link to the Final Notice on Reissuance of Nationwide Permits.

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The National Cooperative Highway Research Program released a report April 5 on state transportation agency strategies to address National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II requirements. The research under NCHRP Project 25-25, Task 16, focused on determining how state agencies have ensured compliance with the NPDES Phase II requirements for construction activities as well as the stormwater management program for regulated municipal separate stormwater systems. For more information, link to State Transportation Agency Strategies to Address NPDES Phase II Requirements.

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