THIRD PARTY MITIGATION INFORMATION
A wetland mitigation bank is a wetland site that had been restored, established, enhanced, or in some cases preserved to compensate for future impacts to wetlands. Permitees can purchase credits from wetland mitigation banks to meet the compensatory mitigation requirements for their projects.
SERVICE AREA:
Service area means the geographic area within which impacts can be mitigated at a specific mitigation bank or an in-lieu fee program, as designated in its instrument (33 CFR 332.2).
When reviewing the proposed service area for mitigation banks, the Corps typically employs a watershed-based rationale. The size of a bank’s service area is determined on a case-by-case basis.
In general, in Nebraska the service area should be the USGS Hydrologic Unit (HUC) 6 of the mitigation site location. The proposed site location and service area will be analyzed on a caseby-case basis to determine appropriateness as per 33 CFR 332.3(d) and 33 CFR 332.8(d)(6)(ii)(A) respectively.
CREDITS:
A credit is a unit of measure that represents aquatic functions at a mitigation site that can be utilized to offset impacts to aquatic functions from permittees and to transfer permittees’ obligations to the mitigation bank sponsor. The measurement of aquatic function is based on the physical, chemical, and biological processes that occur within the specific resource.
To determine the type of wetland credits each bank will provide, the Corps Nebraska Field Office uses Nebraska Wetland Subclasses).
To determine the type of stream credits each bank will provide, the Corps Nebraska Field Office uses the NeSCAP to quantify the increase of functional units resulting from construction.
RIBITS tracks all phases of the Mitigation Bank Instrument development process. It also tracks credit releases and sales. If you are interested in purchasing credits from a mitigation bank, you can use RIBITS to find the contact information for each bank’s sponsor.
CREDIT RATIOS:
Although Mitigation Banks typically are considered off-site mitigation, federal regulations offer flexible ratios because mitigation banks are typically the preferred compensatory mitigation mechanism. Per 33 CFR 332.3 (b)(2), since an approved instrument for a mitigation bank is required to be in place before its credits can begin to be used to compensate for impacts, use of a mitigation bank can help reduce risk and uncertainty, as well as temporal loss of resource functions and services.
NEBRASKA WETLAND RATIOS:
Click the arrow to see a general guide for credit ratios in Nebraska. This table is not all inclusive for determining a mitigation ratio. Other factors for determining mitigation ratios are outlined in 33 CFR 332.3(f). Definitions for mitigation types are defined in 33 CFR 332.2.
Purchasing from a 3rd Party Site:
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:
This document provides examples of general performance standards for a variety of mitigation sites. Final performance standards will be determined on a case-by-case basis that depends on the environmental conditions and other site specific factors.
SPONSOR INFORMATION
Mitigation bank development is a four-phase process that culminates in the certification of a wetland mitigation bank with serviceable credits. The development process is lengthy, and it can take over a year for a bank to become active. A mitigation bank becomes active only after the final instrument has been signed by the sponsor and the district engineer.
If you are interested in developing a mitigation bank, please refer to our sponsor information package to guide you through the necessary components for each phase document.
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