Mitigation Information

Wetland Mitigation Banking Clean Water Act Section 404 HOW DID WE GET HERE? In the 1960’s the Federal Government encouraged land drainage and wetland destruction In 1970’s, increasing awareness that wetlands are valuable areas that provide important environmental functions.   In 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was implemented to govern environment protection standards In 1972, The Clean Water Act was established to ADDRESS Water quality standards of: WATER POLLUTION Eliminating discharge of untreated wastewater   Section 404 of CWA Requires a permit before impacts are made to a waterbody, including

Lake Jesup Wetland Mitigation Wetland Mitigation Options in Lake Jesup Basin, Florida There are no mitigation banks within the Lake Jesup Basin in Florida. However, there are offsite parcels of land that can be utilized as compensatory mitigation for unavoidable wetland disturbances in Lake Jesup Drainage Basin/Watershed. Mitigation Credits can be purchased from an offsite mitigation area that is preserved with a conservation easement and donated to SJRWMD for the land to be managed in perpetuity. The mitigation needs to stay

My Career in Environmental Restoration began as an intern in 2004, since then I have worked closely with landowners who provide preservation, restoration and enhancement of large tracts of land to manage crucial ecosystems. To obtain a mitigation banking permit takes approx 2-8 years, and the landowner must have a conservation easement on the land as well as a Short Term & Long Term Trust Fund to ensure the land is managed in perpetuity. The Environmental Protection Division (EPA) authorizes wetland

The application of compensatory mitigation policy in the U.S. is responsible for slowing the loss of wetlands that protect coastal communities, for keeping rivers and streams clean for drinking and recreational use, for protecting the remaining stronghold habitats of our nation’s treasured wildlife — all while allowing the economy to continue to grow. Corporations and governments internationally accept compensatory mitigation as a sensible and necessary way of doing business while protecting public values. https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/340092-no-cleaning-up-after-ourselves-is-not-un-american/

Mitigation Banking 101 What is a Mitigation Bank? Mitigation Banks are large-scale wetland and/or stream restoration and enhancement projects that are established in areas where continued development will require impacts to these important aquatic resources. The restoration work completed at a mitigation bank generates a net gain of wetlands and/or stream in a given area, which is quantified based on the resulting ecological benefit to generate a number of mitigation “credits” . The mitigation bank is protected in perpetuity, via a conservation

As of April 2019, Florida has 81 Federally permitted mitigation banks and 32 mitigation banks that are pending the federal permitting process. As you can see from the map below, the service areas that mitigation banks represent is majority of the state of Florida. The mitigation banking industry is growing strong since its inception in the 1990’s. The mitigation banking industry grants private landowners credits for investing in restoration; landowners can then sell these credits to developers who

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) will assume permitting duties under section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act. HB 7043, which passed the Legislature March 8, creates the framework for the permit assumption. Details of the program will be worked out with various Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) between DEP and the EPA, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and (likely) the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Stay Tuned!