Session #10: Unrealistic Regulations Coming to a Port Near You!
Over the past few decades, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District (Corps) has issued hundreds of individual construction permits and numerous programmatic general permits for projects in or over marine waters in the state of Washington. The Corps is required, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), to consult with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on all actions that may affect a threatened or endangered species, or their habitat. The Corps then incorporates the recommendations from NMFS’s consultations into the conditions of their permits.
Recently, the Seattle Corps decided not to issue a new programmatic general permit for projects in or over waters due to the development of the Salish Sea Nearshore Programmatic Consultation. This consultation includes a calculator that establishes credits and debts for your project. This type of consultation is being piloted in the Salish Sea and then it will be implemented in each corps district office. The pilot program is not going well as ports in the Seattle area are not able to complete it for their projects. From the preserved wood industry, the consultation limits the use of preserved wood products among other things.