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Mitigation Banks and In-Lieu Fee Programs. Corrie Veenstra Ecologist Federal Highway Administration Office of Project Development and Environmental Review. Presentation Goals. Provide Audience with an Understanding of Mitigation Basics of Mitigation Banks and In-Lieu Fees(ILF)
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Mitigation Banks andIn-Lieu Fee Programs Corrie Veenstra Ecologist Federal Highway Administration Office of Project Development and Environmental Review
Presentation Goals • Provide Audience with an Understanding of Mitigation • Basics of Mitigation Banks and In-Lieu Fees(ILF) • Distribution of Banks and ILF
What Is Mitigation? Restoration, establishment, enhancement, or preservation of wetlands, streams or other resources for the purpose of offsetting unavoidable adverse impacts .
Permittee Mitigation Bank or In-lieu Fee Mitigation Options • Identify property • Design wetland • Approval from Regulatory agencies • Construct wetland • Monitor the site 10 years or more • Maintain and monitor site in perpetuity • Property restrictions • Buy credits
What are Mitigation Banks ? • Large Scale Sites • Banker • Agreement/Instrument • Service Area • Credits
What are In-Lieu Fee Programs? • Watershed • Sites not identified • Instrument • Service Area • Credits • Temporal loss Diagram from:www.fergusonfoundation.org
What are Conservation Banks/ILF? • Threatened and Endangered Species • Endangered Species Act
Differences • Mitigation Banks: • Public or private sponsor • Site secured & project initiated in advance of debits • Corps has no authority over bank expenditures • In-lieu fee programs: • Government or non profit conservation organization • Fees often received before implementing project • Corps approves project funding
Corps/EPA Regulations • Long Term Management Plan for ALL mitigation sites • Easement • Legal Instrument ensuring protection in perpetuity
Program Comparison Source: RIBITS (Regulatory In-Lieu fee Banking Internet Tracking System)
Sponsorship of Bank Sites Information from RIBITS (Regulatory In-lieu fee Bank and Information Tracking System)
More Information Contact Information: • Email: Corrie.veenstra@dot.gov • Phone: (202)366-8168 Helpful Links: • Regulatory In-lieu fee & Bank Information Tracking System http://ribits.usace.army.mil • FHWA’s Everyday Counts http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/everydaycounts/index.cfm • Mitigation Banking Fact Sheet: http://www.epa.gov/wetlandsmitigation/