Sustaining Port Development through Impact Mitigation

This paper discusses innovative environmental compensation used in port development. Sustainable development can be complicated by costly regulatory requirements. These requirements stem from the National Environmental Policy (NEPA) and Clean Water Acts (CWA). Federal and state NEPA and CWA versions require identification and evaluation of adverse impacts and methods to avoid, minimize or mitigate them. While some projects find political support helpful in addressing environmental and social conflicts more frequently, designs are used that are environmentally compatible but may limit development. Environmental issues are routinely related to physical attributes that control a site's ecological importance and sensitivity. Taking advantage of local physical attributes to re-nature sites and avoiding maintenance often provides missing but significantly important ecological functions and values with wide ranging benefits. Using natural conditions in designs that create maintenance free habitats that otherwise do not exist, can generate significant benefits. Good projects are environmentally compatible, great ones are beneficial.