Why Do Federal Agencies Rely on ARNI Designations in Environmental Permitting?

The term ARNI stands for aquatic resources of national importance. It is used by federal wetland regulators to justify elevated review of environmental permits. However, this term is not defined in any federal agency’s regulations, and it is not a legislatively created term. The EPA uses ARNI as a reason to deny or give extra scrutiny to permits, but it is unclear how they can do this without a clear definition. The process of elevated review for ARNIs involves removing the decision from the district engineer and giving it to the assistant secretary of the army for civil works. The EPA and the corps have an agreement called the ARNI MOA which allows the EPA to request special review for certain types of aquatic resources. However, the agreement doesn’t actually define what an ARNI is. There are some factors that can determine if a permit dispute is eligible for special review. In the past, the EPA has used the term ARNI to refer to a wide variety of aquatic areas like wetlands, rivers, and estuaries. In Florida, the EPA requested special review for a phosphate mining permit because they thought the project would harm a wetland area that is important for providing freshwater to a national estuary and for people’s drinking water. The EPA said the project would cause unacceptable damage to the wetland and required the permit applicant to make changes in their environmental impact statement. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is disagreeing with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about permits for mining operations. They think the EPA’s decisions are not based on good science. They want to work together better in the future. In North Carolina, the EPA and the National Marine Fisheries Service also asked for more review of permits for phosphate mining because they think it will harm important natural areas and fish. The term ARNI was created by the Corps in 1992 and is used in permits for projects that could impact important aquatic resources. However, the term is not clearly defined and has led to issues with permit reviews by agencies like the EPA. These agencies are using the ARNI label to justify stricter reviews, which has caused problems for permit applicants. There are already existing regulations for reviewing special aquatic sites, so the ARNI label may not be necessary. Agencies should follow these existing regulations instead of relying on the ARNI label. The EPA uses the terms “special aquatic sites” and “ARNIs” to describe certain environmental areas. But it’s unclear when to use each term, and it’s causing confusion for people applying for permits and their lawyers. This confusion is especially problematic in Florida, where the EPA is using the term “ARNI” more often. This uncertainty is costing applicants a lot of time and money. The EPA needs to either stop using the term “ARNI” and stick to “special aquatic sites,” or clarify exactly what an ARNI is. Until they do that, applicants will continue to struggle with this confusing issue. Applicants for projects in special aquatic sites need to be aware of the challenges that come with the term ARNI. They should evaluate potential project sites to see if they fit the ARNI classification, and be ready to explain why alternative sites with ARNIs were not chosen. It’s important to communicate with agencies and use special aquatic sites terminology and regulations to support why the proposed project site is not an ARNI. The Clean Water Act and the EPA’s Dispute Resolution process are important resources to understand these regulations. The article discusses various letters and correspondences between different environmental agencies and organizations. It also mentions the authors’ credentials and the source of the article. The article was originally published in a legal newsletter and is reprinted with permission.

In simple language, the article is about letters and emails between different environmental groups. It was originally published in a newsletter and talks about different environmental laws and regulations.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/why-do-federal-agencies-rely-on-arni-designations-in-environmental-permitting/