News Summary for 3/24-4/4

Meetings / Seminars
- WSJ ECO:nomics, Creating Environmental Capital conference - was invite only/$$$ & w/lots of big-wigs. Wal-mart: we’re not sure when we’ll get to 0 waste and 100% renew NRG. GE: capitalizing on green tech. Governator: re-think nuclear? Rainforest Action Network: kickin’ it old school, crashes party & slams ADM re: palm oil (w/schoolchildren petitions, no less). Summary of conference
- WQT – just came across a 2/21 PA Sen Repub Policy Committee hearing on Ches Bay nutr reduction goals. Speculations on why nutr trading isn’t going gangbusters. Main points below, audio file here
- C – Western Climate Initiative Offsets Subcommittee – discussed what will qualify as offsets under WCI’s cap&trade (incl role of forestry, ag). Draft proposal out ~May. PPTs

News
- WL miti – EPA/Corps issue official reg’s on wetland miti (had been just guidance). Changes: gives pref to miti from (in order): mitigation banks, in-lieu fee programs, ~on-site mitigation (big change b/c on-site was previously 60% of miti); watershed-scale miti gets pref; in-lieu held to miti bank standards; approval process has timelines. Regs, detailed analysis, news story
- All things Mitigation - Ecosystem Marketplace’s Mitigation Mail
---Species recovery credits – if there’s TES habitat on gov land, agency (ex – Army) can shift respons of protecting habitat to adjacent landowners. Criticisms: less accountabil than cons banking (mngt/monitoring plans, ecological milestones); no endowments to cover unforeseen exp; long-t mngt stays w/ landowner (as opposed to a cons group); less/no transparency (/landowner confidentiality).
---Pomo tribe (CA) creating WL miti bank to miti for development w/in their lands
---GA school board to set up a WL miti bank on their lands
---WA state lets local gov give final approval of WL banks
---rural WA credits go for $75k, Seattle/Belleview credits go for $400-500k
---new 500-acre bank in MS

-WQT – MD announces final [point-to-point source] nutrient trading. Have to upgrade WWTPs before can trade.
- WQ – Nature article on study of (72 US) streams’ ability to absorb N: 10-20% w/in 1 hour. As incr N loads, “precipitous drop” in abil to absorb. Impli: if incr N (say, from incr biofuels prod), more N pollution/dead zones. Mullholland et al., 2008, Nature, vol. 452.

- All things C - Ecosystem Marketplace’s V-Carbon News
---TNC has vol C credits to VCS & CCS standards from project in LA, pricey ($20/credit)
---JPMorgan buys UK C offset co
---Env Defense has RFP for potential offset providers on new FightGlobalWarming.com, which helps co’s buy hi-qual C offsets
- C – new WY legis: 1) estab state reg framework for C seq projects, 2) gives owners surf rights the rights to underground CO2 storage
- C – AgraGate (subsidiary IO Farm Bureau) does 15-yr forestry contracts (afforest, sust mngt), pools credits, sells on CCX, pays landowners (- service fee). Currently has 100 contracts/60k acres afforest in southern US.
- C – CCX C prices rising, from low of $1.70 last year to $5.70 last week (b/c all 3 pres candidates are talking about C cap&trade)
- C seq – forest industry study concludes managed forests seq 2x more C than unmanaged

- Planning – program/tool Corporate Ecosystem Services Review (WRI) - ~EMS-ish, but easier, review risk/opp/strategies from ecosys service perspective. xls/ppt/cases to help
- Planning –Ecosystem Services: A Guide for [public sector/gov] Decision Makers (WRI)- a how-to framework for taking es into account in economic/social policy decisions. Story/case study provides ex of how to imple
- Woody biomass –NV plant (designed to power prisons) halts production. Blames USFS, says can’t get supply; USFS counters: we have S, it’s just transport $$ to get to plant.
- Incen for conserve – article re: 3,600 forestland conservation easements in US, held by 16 states & 355 cons org’s (from survey of land trusts/gov easement holders w/ ~50%response rate). Failure to address shortcomings (lack/poor baseline, record keeping, professional mngt plans) = lose legitimacy.
- Incen for conserve – 1st time in 2 years farmers can sign up for CSP in these watersheds
- Info – Dovetail report, basic explan of forest opp’s in eco-markets, emph on C (16p)

- Internat PES – WWF/CARE Guatemala studies on: hydro, eco val, w’shed selection, legal framework (in Spanish). Contact
vreyes@wwfca.org
- Certification – WWF new focus on certif., how it can val env services (can you get a price premium?, actually impr biodiv?, does is impr rural incomes?). Contact Pablo.gutman@wwfus.org
- PES – new website, ex’s of PES around the world

New Corps/EPA wetland mitigation regulations

242 pages of fun wetland mitigation regulations. Prior to the "Final Rule", there were no official regulations, just guidance doc's. Emphasizes landscape-scale wetland mitigation in the watershed context. Specifically gives the following order of preference for mitigation type: mitigation banks, in-lieu fee programs, and then on-site mitigation. All types of mitigation have equivalent standards now - including planning requirements, financial assurances, monitoring, and ecologically-based performance standards. Future in-lieu fee programs will have to step up, but all current in-lieu fee programs will be grandfathered to previous guidance.

In the past, 60% of wetland mitigation had been done onsite. That won't be the case in the future. There is also quick mention that wetland mitigation that's done using federal $s (WRP, CREP, etc) cannot be sold --no double-dipping. BUT these federally-funded wetlands *could* double-dip and sell endangered species credits, where applicable.
Regulations
Analysis of regs
EcosystemMarketplace news story, CNN news story