Breaking News: Appeals Court Halts WOTUS Rule Nationwide

On Friday, October 9, a federal appeals court halted a high-profile rule defining the scope of the Clean Water Act, marking the latest legal maneuver for the controversial rule. Judges on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio issued an order granting states’ request to stay the Waters of the U.S. rule while the court considers its legality. The order comes in response to challenges by 18 states to the Waters of the U.S. rule from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers and puts the rule on hold pending legal review. The petitioners included: Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, West Virginia, Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin.

Messerly presents to Home Builders Association

On October 6, Vince Messerly, president of the Stream + Wetlands Foundation, was guest speaker at a breakfast meeting for the Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati. Messerly’s presentation “Compensatory Mitigation and New Waters of the U.S. New Regulation” provided details on compensatory mitigation for impacts to wetlands and streams and provided details on the new Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) regulations which took effect August 28. Messerly also discussed how the local offices of the Army Corp of Engineers will implement the regulations and what homebuilders need to know about the new WOTUS regulations and how current and future projects may affected.

 

 

Messerly To Present At Upcoming Ohio Surface Water Conference

Stream + Wetlands president Vince Messerly will be a featured speaker at the Ohio Surface Water: Regulatory and Permitting Conference to be held Oct. 20 at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel in Columbus. The conference is sponsored by CLE International – a provider of continuing education programs throughout the United States and Canada. Their seminars focus on emerging legal issues and have received wide acclaim from bench and bar for the high quality of faculty (all of whom are recognized experts in their fields of specialty) and the efficient organization of detailed and useful information.
Messerly’s presentation “Mitigation Plans: Plan Preparation and Agency Review Process” will begin at 3:00 p.m. and discuss how a permit applicant and their consultant may work with the 401/404 permit reviewer to determine the best mitigation option for their project when more than one type of compensatory mitigation is available. This is in accordance with the 2008 Federal Compensatory Mitigation Rule (33 CFR parts 325 and 332) which established a hierarchy for wetland mitigation. While the hierarchy clearly establishes a preference for the use of mitigation banks, it also provides for the use of other compensatory mitigation options (if available) with approval of the mitigation plan at the discretion of the District Engineer (DE). The DE has several factors that he may consider when approving a compensatory mitigation plan.

For additional information about this informative presentation, contact Vince Messerly at Stream + Wetlands Foundation or Kerry Mason of CLE International at kerry@cle.com. When contacting Kerry, mention Messerly’s name and receive $100 off your registration fee for the conference.

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