NEWS OF INTEREST
Updated March 10, 2010

White House lays out plans for Gulf Coast renewal

WWLTV News - March 5, 2010
The Obama administration has laid out a strategy to deal with the catastrophic dangers of rising sea levels, hurricanes and erosion on the Gulf Coast, and on Thursday backed efforts to invest in restoring barrier islands and wetlands in Mississippi and Louisiana. Experts hailed the document as the strongest sign of support for coastal restoration on the Gulf Coast ever endorsed by a White House. The document, called a "roadmap" for the coast, says the nation's energy supply, crucial ports and waterways, vital habitat for fish and wildlife and the Gulf Coast's "rich cultural legacy" were at stake. At risk, the paper said, was "not only the economies of Louisiana and Mississippi, but also the economy of the nation as a whole." http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/86430157.htm

Council on Environmental Quality Draft Principles and Standards Sections of the ‘‘Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources Implementation Studies’’; Initiation of Revision and Request for Comments  - date extended 

Federal Registry Notice – March 4, 2010  This notice extends the comment period on a notice published in the Federal Register on December 9, 2009 (74 FR 65102). The original date that the comment period would end was March 5, 2010. That date will now be extended until April 5, 2010. For full notice, go to: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-4501.pdf

FUTURE ASWM WORKSHOPS AND SYMPOSIA

The SLAMM 6 model now supports time-varying feedbacks to the vertical accretion of wetlands. Feedbacks based on wetland elevations, distance to channel, and salinity may be specified along with a time-variable turbidity factor. The salinity module has been rewritten and improved but remains fairly simple. The SLAMM 6 graphical interface has been significantly redesigned including OpenGL 3D mapping. Wetland elevation-range parameters have been brought into the model interface and the model is considerably more flexible in this regard. Elevation and salinity by land-cover statistics are automatically produced. SLAMM 6 includes a command-line mode to support externally driven sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. For more information about this release, and how to obtain the model, please visit the following site:
http://warrenpinnacle.com/SLAMMFORUM/index.php?topic=55.0
For questions and comments about the SLAMM model please utilize the SLAMM Forum .
Link to the Technical Documentation.
http://warrenpinnacle.com/prof/SLAMM6/SLAMM6_Technical_Documentation.pdf

The report offers model language that could be incorporated into in-lieu fee program instruments being developed by state agencies and non-profit organizations and was designed to comply with the 2008 Compensatory Mitigation Rule.  It was developed using the best available information and uses examples from the approved and draft in-lieu fee instruments that were available as of December 2009. The model language should not, however, be seen as a prescriptive approach to the development of in-lieu fee program instruments. The model language offered does not represent official guidance from federal agencies, nor does it eliminate the necessity of working closely with the appropriate Corps district and Interagency Review Team to seek approval for an in-lieu fee program. The report can be downloaded for free here: http://www.elistore.org/reports_detail.asp?ID=11390

By Leah Hoenen – Cape Gazette – January 31, 2010
Sussex County is losing wetlands, and damage to wetlands is, in part, responsible for devastating flooding across the county. Environmental officials say remaining wetlands must be protected and rehabilitated. The Delaware Wetlands Conference opened to stark news that standing water inundates the county as wetlands disappear, and predictions of more of the same. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Secretary Collin O’Mara said devastation from recent flooding is a wake-up call. “This will be the new normal with climate change,” he said. Building in wetlands areas, as well as wetlands loss, has contributed to area flooding, he said. “We have people’s attention now because people are looking for solutions.” Dave Fowler, Region V board director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, said his group’s mission is to mitigate losses and suffering caused by flooding. “Floods are natural, disasters are usually man-made. A lot of our development is in the way,” said Fowler. http://www.capegazette.com/storiescurrent/201001/wetlands_flood29.html