Processes to update the Wetlands Conservation Act (WCA) rules and Mandatory Categories for Environmental Review will commence in 2016. BATC recently submitted comments on both issues during the pre-rule comment period. For the
WCA rule, BATC expressed our priority of balancing conservation efforts with affordability. BATC challenged BWSR and its fellow stakeholders to consider the cost impacts on the end users impacted by the WCA rules. On the
Environmental Review issue, BATC notes that the capacity of local units of government to self-manage environmental review of potential project impacts and the redundancy of regulatory oversight, substantially reduces if not eliminates the need for mandatory category review by EAW and especially by EIS except under the most unusual circumstances. As such, any adjustment to thresholds triggering environmental review should reflect this modernization and certainly not cast a wider net for environmental review projects. As these processes commence, BATC will be
appointing stakeholder members to participate in the rulemaking process where appropriate. Supporting the effort will be BATC staff and the land use team at Larkin Hoffman, along with coordination efforts with the business community. Read BATC's comments on the WCA Rule >>
Read BATC's comments on the EQB Rule >>
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