Research Reports

Significant attention has been paid over the past 20 years to improving the third step in the mitigation sequencing requirement of the Clean Water Act § 404 regulatory program—-compensatory mitigation—-to ensure that the compensation being provided is ecologically effective, self-sustaining, protected in perpetuity, has “assurances of long-term sustainability and stewardship,” and ultimately meets the program’s goal of no net loss. This report focuses on the first two steps in the sequencing process which, to date, have received far less attention: avoidance and minimization.

This ELI-authored EPA report considers the interactions of climate change and aquatic invasive species (AIS). It analyzes the existing scientific literature on the effects climate change will have on AIS and considers provisions for adaptation to changing conditions in existing state AIS management plans. Based on this analysis, ELI offers five recommendations for states to maintain and improve state AIS management programs and activities in a changing climate.

Over the past decades, and especially since the 1992 “Earth Summit,” many African countries have incorporated environmental provisions into their constitutions.

ELI’s report, Halting the Invasion in the Chesapeake Bay, examines the complex issues faced in addressing the issue of aquatic invasions in the Chesapeake Bay. The report analyzes laws and regulations that affect aquatic invasive species prevention efforts, such as the pet trade, importation of aquarium fish, aquaculture, and other commercial enterprises, and makes recommendations intended to harmonize inter-state efforts in the Chesapeake Bay under existing authorities and to strengthen the existing legal infrastructure.