Mitigation banking has been highlighted in a new order issued by the Secretary of the Department of Interior. Secretary Jewell signed her first Secretarial Order on October 31, 2013, calling for the establishment of a Department of Interior mitigation strategy for developments occurring on DOI managed lands. Order No. 3330 (“Order”) directs the previously established DOI Energy and Climate Change Task Force (“Task Force”) to develop a coordinated strategy on mitigation practices to “effectively offset impacts of large development projects of all types through the use of landscape-level planning, mitigation banking, in-lieu fee arrangements, or other possible measures.” Landscape level planning can include multiple biological, cultural and socioeconomic issues. The Task Force is to evaluate existing DOI mitigation programs and the efforts of other federal agencies to implement mitigation programs and then provide its recommendations within 90 days, including suggested strategies for developing polices and regulations that may be needed. The Task Force’s efforts and recommendations will be important to those developing on Interior managed lands as well as to entrepreneurs looking to provide mitigation opportunities.
The Order can be found here and more information about Troutman Sanders Ecosystems Markets practice may be found here. Please contact Shannon Varner for more information.