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DEP Confirms Local Governments Can Use Mitigation Bank Credits

Jul02

DEP Confirms Local Governments Can Use Mitigation Bank Credits On September 10, 2025, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a memorandum clarifying a question that has come up among water management districts: whether mitigation bank credits can be used to offset wetland impacts regulated outside of the Environmental Resource Permit program, specifically under local pollution control programs. DEP’s position is clear. The use of mitigation bank credits for this purpose is allowable under Florida law.   The Statutory Basis Section 373.4135(2), F.S.,

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Florida Expands Mitigation Bank Credit Use Beyond Traditional Service Areas

Jun30

Florida Expands Mitigation Bank Credit Use Beyond Traditional Service Areas In 2025, Florida made the most consequential updates to its wetland mitigation banking framework since the program’s inception in the 1990s. Writing in The Florida Bar Journal, Susan Roeder Martin provides a practical overview of two major changes: a new pathway for mitigation bank credits to be used outside of a bank’s traditional service area, and a standardized credit release schedule across the state. The following is a

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Colbert Cameron Mitigation Bank Converts from Ratio Credits to UMAM Credits

Jun29

Wetland Mitigation Bank Credit Update   On May 8, 2026, Colbert Cameron Mitigation Bank converted the assessment method from RATIO Credits to UMAM Credits. This wetland mitigation bank in Volusia County services St. Johns River Basin (Basin 18), Econlockhatchee Nested Basin (Basin 19), Lake Jesup Basin (Basin 23), and the Northern Third of the Southern St. Johns River Basin (Basin 20). This update for the Colbert Cameron Mitigation Bank, which was permitted in 1996, prior to UMAM (2005), has been grandfathered in to

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Water Quality Enhancement Areas & Credit Trading Rules

Jun24

Water Quality Enhancement Areas (WQEAs) & Credit Trading: A Comprehensive Guide to Florida’s Latest Rules Florida is expanding its approach to compensatory mitigation and water quality improvement. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has finalized new rules governing Water Quality Enhancement Areas (WQEAs) and is updating existing water quality credit trading programs to align with recent legislative changes, particularly Senate Bill 1532, signed into law in 2024. For environmental consultants, mitigation bankers, and project owners, understanding the difference between these two

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The Key Provisions of Florida SB 848

Jun23

The Key Provisions of Florida SB 848 CS/CS/SB 848 makes several targeted changes to Florida’s Environmental Resource Permit framework. Here is what the bill actually requires.   Credit Responsibility Transfers to the Generator When an ERP applicant purchases a Water Quality Enhancement Area credit, legal responsibility for meeting applicable water quality treatment requirements transfers from the buyer to the WQEA credit generator. This mirrors the structure of wetland mitigation banking, where credit purchase shifts long-term compliance obligations away from the developer.   Compensating

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Process of Obtaining Wetland Mitigation Credits for Proposed Wetland Impacts

Jun18

Florida’s Water Quality Enhancement Areas: What the New ERP Rule Means for Developers and Consultants Understanding the process of obtaining authorization for wetland mitigation is crucial for any development project. The process starts with obtaining an environmental consultant who will conduct a wetland delineation, identifying potential impacts to wetlands based on your site plan. Each wetland will be marked as an individual polygon if multiple wetland impacts exist. It’s important to note that you only need to purchase wetland mitigation credits for

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The Business of Mitigation Banks

Jun10

The Business of Mitigation Banks: 5 Critical Components 1. Land and Location Not every property qualifies as a mitigation bank. The ideal site contains degraded wetlands with restoration potential. The goal is to create ecological uplift by restoring hydrology. Pristine land is not a candidate. Degraded land that can be meaningfully restored is. Adjacent land matters too. A site surrounded by residential development is generally not suitable. The strongest candidates are properties that fill a missing corridor between existing conservation or state-owned lands.

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SB 848 Makes Regional Stormwater Treatment a Standard Compliance Tool in Florida

Jun10

Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 848 into law on May 6, 2026, giving Florida engineers and developers a clearer statutory pathway to use regional stormwater treatment systems to satisfy Environmental Resource Permitting requirements. The bill authorizes Regional Stormwater Management Systems and Water Quality Enhancement Areas as standard compliance tools, moving off-site treatment from a regulatory exception to a routine design option. What SB 848 Actually Changes The bill does not alter Florida’s underlying stormwater performance standards. Those remain in the ERP

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Florida’s Water Quality Enhancement Areas: What the New ERP Rule Means for Developers and Consultants

Jun04

Florida’s Water Quality Enhancement Areas: What the New ERP Rule Means for Developers and Consultants Florida’s Environmental Resource Permit program is expanding. Starting July 1, 2026, a new category of ERP will allow landowners to construct natural treatment systems, earn enhancement credits, and sell those credits to developers and other ERP applicants who need to offset water quality impacts. These systems are called Water Quality Enhancement Areas, or WQEAs. Florida DEP held its fourth public workshop on this rulemaking on May

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