Mitigation Rule Coming Soon

By the time this issue reaches your desk, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may have already published the much-anticipated proposed rule concerning wetland mitigation. Experts say the rule will probably be released in March. It is a response to a rider attached to the 2003 defense spending bill that required the Corps to establish performance standards for mitigation projects by 2005. As this issue goes to press, the rule is nearing completion of interagency review and comment.