[Gasification] FARM REALITY

Mon Mar 31 16:36:30 CDT 2008

News for Release: Monday, March 31, 2008 

  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

  Army Corps and EPA Improve Wetland and Stream Mitigation 

  Contacts: 
  Corps of Engineers - Gene Pawlik, (202) 761-7690 / eugene.a.pawlik at usace.army.mil or     
                                 Doug Garman, (202) 761-1807 / doug.m.garman at usace.army.mil; 
   EPA - Shakeba Carter-Jenkins, (202) 564-4355 / carter-jenkins.shakeba at epa.gov 

  (Washington, D.C. - March 31, 2008)  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released a new rule to clarify how to provide compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts to the nation's wetlands and streams. The rule will enable the agencies to promote greater consistency, predictability and ecological success of mitigation projects under the Clean Water Act. 

  "This rule greatly improves implementation, monitoring, and performance, and will help us ensure that unavoidable losses of aquatic resources and functions are replaced for the benefit of this Nation. This is a key step in our efforts to make the Army's Regulatory Program a winner, and the best it can be for the regulated community we serve and those interested in both economic development and environmental protection," said John Paul Woodley, Jr., Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. 

  "This rule advances the president's goals of halting overall loss of wetlands and improving watershed health through sound science, market-based approaches, and cooperative conservation," said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, Benjamin H. Grumbles. "The new standards will accelerate our wetlands conservation efforts under the Clean Water Act by establishing more effective, more consistent, and more innovative mitigation practices." 

  Benefits of the compensatory mitigation rule include: 
  ·         Fostering greater predictability, increased transparency and improved performance of compensatory mitigation projects 
  ·         Establishing equivalent standards for all forms of mitigation 
  ·         Responding to recommendations of the National Research Council to improve the success of wetland restoration and replacement projects 
  ·         Setting clear science-based and results-oriented standards nationwide while allowing for regional variations 
  ·         Increasing and expanding public participation 
  ·         Encouraging watershed-based decisions 
  ·         Emphasizing the "mitigation sequence" requiring that proposed projects avoid and minimize potential impacts to wetlands and streams before proceeding to compensatory mitigation 

  Each year thousands of property owners undertake projects that affect the nation's aquatic resources. Proposed projects that are determined to impact jurisdictional waters are first subject to review under the Clean Water Act. The Corps of Engineers reviews these projects to ensure environmental impacts to aquatic resources are avoided or minimized as much as possible. Consistent with the administration's goal of "no net loss of wetlands" a Corps permit may require a property owner to restore, establish, enhance or preserve other aquatic resources in order to replace those impacted by the proposed project. This compensatory mitigation process seeks to replace the loss of existing aquatic resource functions and area. 

  Property owners required to complete mitigation are encouraged to use a watershed approach and watershed planning information. The new rule establishes performance standards, sets timeframes for decision making, and to the extent possible, establishes equivalent requirements and standards for the three sources of compensatory mitigation: permittee-responsible mitigation, mitigation banks and in-lieu-fee programs. 

  The new rule changes where and how mitigation is to be completed, but maintains existing requirements on when mitigation is required. The rule also preserves the requirement for applicants to avoid or minimize impacts to aquatic resources before proposing compensatory mitigation projects to offset permitted impacts. 

  Wetlands and streams provide important environmental functions including protecting and improving water quality and providing habitat to fish and wildlife. Successful compensatory mitigation projects will replace environmental functions that are lost as a result of permitted activities. 

  For more information on the compensatory mitigation rule visit: http://www.usace.army.mil/cw/cecwo/reg/citizen.htm or http://www.epa.gov/wetlandsmitigation 

  Information about the importance of wetlands is available at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/ 

  R075 

Richard Haard <richrd at nas.com> escribió:  Benjamin

Is this anecdote a real story or a humorous tale? Did it take place in 
Argentina or Brazil?

If it is true it is sad and what can you say the farmers have learned 
as a lesson.

I understand Argentina is taxing agricultural produce exported in 
order to encourage production for local consumption. Is this correct?

What solution do you think the farmers might have for their tax problem?

Bartering, Make their own biofuel?
On Mar 29, 2008, at 6:18 AM, Benjamin Domingo Bof wrote:

> La realidad del Campo
>
> Un matrimonio de productores que vivía en el campo, durante la cena 
> empezó a planear lo que harían con el dinero producido por la soja 
> sembrada en sus 100 hectáreas. Con ese dinero planeaban llevar la 
> luz a su campo y arreglar los caminos de acceso.
>
> Luego de haber trabajado la tierra arduamente durante 6 meses, de 
> sol a sol, y de haber sufrido al compás de lo que les deparaba el 
> clima, por fin llegó el momento de la cosecha...
>
> Como la soja les había rendido bien, esto es 30 quintales por 
> hectárea, lograron cargar 10 camiones...
>
> Entonces vino el maquinista que les cosechó la tan rentable soja y 
> les dijo que les iba a cobrar el 10%, a lo que el matrimonio le 
> respondió que bueno, que se llevara 1 camión...
>
> Luego vino el dueño del transporte y le dijo que les iba a cobrar un 
> flete de $85 por tonelada y como eran 300 toneladas, es otro 10%, 
> por lo que el matrimonio le dijo que bueno, que se llevara otro 
> camión...
>
> Después llamaron al acopiador para comercializara la tan rentable 
> soja y el comerciante les dijo que bueno, pero que el ESTADO había 
> dispuesto una RETENCIÓN DEL 44% sobre la rentable soja, a lo que el 
> matrimonio dijo que bueno, y entregó los 4 camiones y medio...
>
> Hasta acá van 6 camiones y medio...
>
> Más tarde vinieron Don Monsanto y Don Cargill que les dijeron que 
> los insumos retirados para su campaña de soja representaban $600 por 
> hectárea y entonces por las 100 hectáreas era un 25% de lo 
> producido, entonces se llevaron 2 camiones y medio...
>
> Y ya se llevaron 9...
>
> El hombre la mira desolado a la mujer y le dice: 'Y bueno Vieja, al 
> menos NOS QUEDA 1 CAMION DE LA TAN RENTABLE SOJA...'
>
> Pero por último llega el contador y les dice que COMO GANARON 1 
> camión, TIENEN QUE PAGARLE AL ESTADO el 35% de IMPUESTO A LAS 
> GANANCIAS, el 1,2% del IMPUESTO AL CHEQUE y el 1% de IMPUESTO A LOS 
> BIENES PERSONALES... Así que me llevo el acoplado y USTEDES SE 
> QUEDAN CON EL CHASIS.
>
> Aunque parece un cuento... ESTA ES LA REALIDAD DEL CAMPO...!!!
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
>
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>

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