Navigating the Turbulent Waters of US Environmental Policy
Environmental markets offer a way for regulated industries to meet their legal obligations efficiently and economically, but those obligations are changing, as are the environmental markets that have evolved to meet them. Find out more at the Ecological Restoration Business Association’s Fourth Annual Policy Conference in March.
19 February 2020 | US environmental policy is in a state of flux not seen in decades, with Obama-era wetland and habitat policies being rolled back, new water-quality provisions are being expanded, and the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) facing its first overhaul since its inception.
This turbulence has profound implications for both the environmental health of the United States and the economic health of the restoration economy.
If you’re part of the restoration economy and concerned about how these regulatory upheavals can impact your livelihood, then the Ecological Restoration Business Association’s (ERBA) Fourth Annual Policy Conference is for you.
As an Ecosystem Marketplace reader, you can receive a discount of up to $400 by clicking here and entering the code“2020ERBAPCX.” The Ecosystem Marketplace rate is $595, which is $200 less than the last-minute rate for ERBA members and $400 ess than the rate for non-members.
Conducted under Chatham House Rules from March 4-6 in Washington, DC, the event offers an opportunity to interact with legal experts and policymakers from key federal and state agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Why Attend?
The three-day event offers frank and focused discussions with people at the center of US environmental policy, as well as an opportunity to network with other members of the ecological restoration sector. Here is a look at our coverage of last year’s event:
“In Ecological Restoration, High Costs Trump Regulatory Rollbacks”
What’s on the Agenda?
Congressman Garret Graves (R-LA) will open the event on the afternoon of March 4. , A member of House Transportation & Infrastructure and House Natural Resources committees, he will offer his take on how industry can support resiliency policies for threatened communities and infrastructure.
On March 5, former Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) official Tim Male will open the high-level session with a discussion on the Trump Administration’s Water Policy and Mitigation Priorities for 2020, featuring Ryan Fisher, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) and Lee Forsgren, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water, Environmental Protection Agency.
After that, the event offers a series of deep dives into critical issues ranging from the current state of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulations, the pending Compensatory Mitigation rule-making, the proposed changes to NEPA, and the expansion of water quality trading, among other issues.
The list of speakers is constantly updating, but you can find the current agenda here, as well as last year’s final agenda here.
The Ecosystem Marketplace discount code, again, is 2020ERBAPCX.
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