Recently, the Army Corps of Engineers announced a release of 8.8 additional credits at Big Darby Hellbranch mitigation bank located near Columbus, Ohio. Click here for more information.
Recently, the Army Corps of Engineers announced a release of 8.8 additional credits at Big Darby Hellbranch mitigation bank located near Columbus, Ohio. Click here for more information.
The Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), H.R. 3080, passed the House of Representatives on
Wednesday with an overwhelming 417-3 vote. The $8.2 billion bill would authorize port, dam, flood protection and environmental projects throughout the country, as well as drastically reduce the time it takes for project approvals by consolidating or eliminating duplicative studies, permitting concurrent reviews, and streamlining environmental reviews. Additionally, the bill would incrementally increase expenditures out of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund so that our nation’s ports can remain competitive on a global level. Finally, to prevent the bill from adding to the deficit, the WRRDA
deauthorizes $12 billion worth of projects from past water infrastructure bills. Click here to read more.
Ohio Wetlands Foundation is pleased to announce that they are restoring 9.0 acres of wetlands at the Little Stillwater mitigation site located in Franklin Township, Harrison County, Ohio. The Little Stillwater site is land that is owned by the Harrison County Board of Commissioners and is located just west of Tappan Lake. The Little Stillwater site has
potential for additional wetland restoration that could be used by permit applicants to fulfill compensatory mitigation requirements in the Tuscarawas River watershed. Ohio Wetlands Foundation is working with the Commissioners to oversee design, construction, planting, monitoring and management of mitigation projects at the site.
Harrison Hub Facility – a new gas fractionation, or separation, plant – is being constructed by Utica East Ohio Midstream (UEOM) in Scio, Ohio located in Harrison County. Ohio Wetlands Foundation is completing a 9.0 acre wetland restoration project for UEOM to help meet the compensatory mitigation needs of this very important economic development project.
A proposed new rule sent to the White House for interagency on review Sept. 17 aims to clarify which waters and wetlands are protected under the Clean Water Act. The rule from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers attempts to provide greater clarity about which waters are subject to Clean Water Act jurisdiction and greater certainty about which activities require Clean Water Act permits. The EPA’s Science Advisory Board released for public comment a draft scientific report, “Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence.” This report combines more than 1,000 peer-reviewed articles about how smaller, isolated water bodies are connected to larger ones and represents the state-of-the-science on the connectivity and isolation of waters in the United States. To read more, click here.
On September 13, Ohio Wetlands Foundation received an additional credit release at Pearson of 27.9 credits. To read more about Pearson, click here.
On August 19, George Elmaraghy, chief of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s (OEPA) division of surface water announced his resignation effective September 13. Elmaraghy has worked at the Ohio
EPA for more than 30 years. In 2005, he took over as head of the division of surface water (DSW). As chief of the DSW, he oversaw the Section 401 and Isolated Wetlands permitting sections as well as the Section 402 permitting section (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). For more information, click here.
On Monday, August 12, excavating contractors George J. Igel, Inc. broke ground on the Granger Wetlands Mitigation Bank in Medina County. Construction is estimated to be completed by fall for fall and spring wetland planting to take place. Read more about the Granger mitigation bank here.
Ohio Wetlands Foundation is a proud sponsor of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Celebrity Charity Golf Classic on August 5 at Wedgewood Golf and Country Club in Powell, Ohio. This year’s event benefits A Kid Again, a program that enriches the lives of children and their families with life threatening illnesses by providing healing times of respite through fun-filled group activities and destination adventures.
Day one of the hydric soils training course sponsored by Ohio Wetlands Foundation in Canfield, Ohio is underway! The course, held in the McMahon Hall conference room of the Mill Creek Metropark, runs from April 16 through April 17 and includes both lecture and field work. Instructors include Frank Gibbs of Wetland and Soil Consulting Services, LLC, Steve Probonick of ODNR and Jon Reedstrom, a resource soil scientist working with the USDA NRCS.