Proposed Compensatory Mitigation Regulations under CWA Section 404

On March 27, 2006, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) announced proposed revisions to regulations governing compensatory mitigation for authorized impacts to wetlands, streams, and other waters of the U.S. under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. These revisions are designed to improve the effectiveness of compensatory mitigation at replacing lost aquatic resource functions and area, expand public participation in compensatory mitigation decision-making, and increase the efficiency and predictability of the process of proposing compensatory mitigation and approving new mitigation banks. These revisions are also designed to compliment EPA's and the Corps' ongoing efforts to implement the 2002 National Wetlands Mitigation Action Plan.

Based on numerous requests, on May 16, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and EPA officially extended the public comment period for the proposed Clean Water Act Section 404 compensatory mitigation rule for an additional 30 days. The new public comment deadline is June 30, 2006. The notice announcing the 30-day extension of the public comment period was published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, May 23, 2006.

• Federal Register Notice of Extension of Proposed Rulemaking (2 pp, 58K)
• Federal Register Notice of Proposed Rulemaking(38 pp, 252K)
• Compensatory Mitigation Rule Factsheet(2 pp, 650K)
• Questions and Answers(5 pp, 74K)
• Draft Environmental Assessment, Finding of No Significant Impact and Regulatory Analysis (105 pp, 346K)
• EPA, Corps of Engineers Move to Improve Wetlands Restoration and Conservation - EPA Press Release
• Fifth Stakeholder Forum on Federal Wetlands Mitigation