Political Quotes

“this amendment on wetlands mitigation banking has been cleared by both sides, and has been reviewed by EPA and the Corps who have no objection. It is, I believe, consistent with administration policy. It is supported by the Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the National Wetlands Coalition. I believe this amendment is good for wetlands protection. It promotes private sector efforts to protect wetlands, and it saves money that can be used on highways or other authorized uses under this act. This is a win-win-win amendment. Now, let me tell you what the amendment does. It simply provides, when highway projects result in impact to wetlands that require compensatory mitigation--a big word saying: If you take away a wetland here, you have to restore a wetland there so we do not have any loss of wetlands. That is required under current law. Here in this amendment we say that preference can be given, to the extent practical, to private sector mitigation banks. The amendment mandates that the banks be approved in accordance with the administration's Federal guidance on mitigation banking issued in 1993. It requires that the bank be within the service area of the impacted wetlands. Mitigation is usually accomplished by restoring or creating other wetlands. Isolated, on-site mitigation projects are expensive and often costly to maintain.”