For the reasons cited above, in recent years stream channelization has been greatly curtailed in the U.S., and in some instances even partially reversed. In 1990 the United States Government published a "no net loss of wetlands" policy, whereby a stream channelization project in one place must be offset by the creation of new wetlands in another, a process known as "mitigation."
The major agency involved in the enforcement of this policy is the same Army Corps of Engineers, which for many years was the primary promoter of wide-scale channelization. Often, in the instances where channelization is permitted, boulders may be installed in the bed of the new channel so that water velocity is slowed, and channels may be deliberately curved as well. In 1990 the U.S. Congress gave the Army Corps a specific mandate to include environmental protection in its mission, and in 1996 it authorized the Corps to undertake restoration projects. The U.S. Clean Water Act regulates certain aspects of channelization by requiring non-Federal entities (i.e. state and local governments, private parties) to obtain permits for dredging and filling operations. Permits are issued by the Army Corps with EPA participation.