Wetland Mitigation Banking in Florida: From Regulation to Credit Sales
On August 19, 2026, Victoria Bruce, CEO of The Mitigation Banking Group, joined two fellow experts at the Tampa Bay Association of Environmental Professionals (TBAEP) August luncheon to walk through how a wetland mitigation bank comes together in Florida, from the legal framework to construction to credit sales.
The Legal and Regulatory Framework
Susan Roeder Martin, Esq. of Nason Yeager Gerson Harris and Fumero opened with the basics, tracing mitigation banking back to its roots in the 1972 Clean Water Act and the shift away from “postage stamp” on-site mitigation managed by homeowners associations. She covered the dual permitting structure banks operate under today, an Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) at the state level and a Mitigation Bank Instrument (MBI) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the federal level, along with how credits are calculated using the Uniform Mitigation Assessment Method (UMAM).
From Site Feasibility to Long-Term Management
Chris Keene, Senior Environmental Scientist at Barge Design Solutions, brought the ground-level view. He outlined what makes a site a strong mitigation bank candidate, from ecological lift potential and credit demand within the service area, through permitting, construction, and the years of operational management, prescribed burning, planting, and monitoring, that follow before a bank is considered self-sustaining.
Due Diligence to Credit Sales
Victoria Bruce closed with the business side MBG manages every day: economic due diligence, proforma analysis, and the market factors that shape where and how credits sell. She also addressed two developments reshaping the Florida market, the SB 492 proximity factor that took effect July 1, 2025 and governs how out-of-service-area credits are priced, and the shifting federal landscape under WOTUS and Section 404, including a pending petition for rehearing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
The full presentation is available below.
Have questions about wetland mitigation credits, service areas, or bringing a bank to market in Florida? Contact The Mitigation Banking Group for guidance.
Source: Presentation materials from Susan Roeder Martin (Nason Yeager Gerson Harris and Fumero), Chris Keene (Barge Design Solutions), and Victoria Bruce (The Mitigation Banking Group), presented at the TBAEP August 2026 luncheon.
