Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers Role in Wetlands Mitigation W' Michael Dennis, Ph'D' Pres

1
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers Role
in Wetlands MitigationW. Michael Dennis,
Ph.D.President/Senior ScientistBreedlove,
Dennis Associates, Inc.
2
Mitigation

• Action(s) taken to offset adverse impacts of
  dredging or filling wetlands. Typically required
  for virtually all projects requiring an
  Individual Permit (IP) under Section 404 of the
  Clean Water Act (CWA) and Section 10 of the
  Rivers and Harbors Act. May also be required for
  projects authorized by a General Permit or
  Nationwide Permit.

3
Mitigation Memorandum of Agreement

• Issued March 12, 1990 jointly by the U.S.
  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the
  Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers (ACOE)
  Memorandum of Agreement Between the
  Environmental Protection Agency and the
  Department of Army Concerning the Determination
  of Mitigation Under the Clean Water Act Section
  404 (b) (1) guidelines.
• Articulates ACOE policies and procedures used in
  determining type and level of mitigation.

4
Sequencing process 1 under the MOA (based on
compliance with Section 230.10 (a) and (d) of the
404 (b) (1) guidelines.

• Avoidance (alternatives review) to the extent
  practicable
• Minimization (reduction of impacts) to the extent
  appropriate and practicable
• Compensatory mitigation (offsetting loss of
  functions and values) to the extent appropriate
  and practicable

• 1 Deviation from sequencing process may occur
  only when the EPA and the ACOE agree that the
  proposed discharge can reasonably be expected to
  result in environmental gain or insignificant
  environmental losses.

5
Avoidance

• Least environmentally damaging practicable
  alternative (Section II C.1.)
• Alternatives must be available, capable of being
  done, and satisfy project purpose considering
  costs, existing technology, and logistics.

6
Minimization

• Through project modifications and permit
  conditions 40 Code of Federal Regulations
  230-10(d)
• Based on values and functions of the aquatic
  resource being impacted
• Must be available, capable of being done, and
  satisfy project purpose considering costs,
  existing technology, and logistics
• Compensatory mitigation may not be used to
  satisfy minimization requirements of 40 U.S.C.
  230.10(d)

7
Compensatory Mitigation

• Required for all remaining unavoidable adverse
  impacts of functions and values to aquatic
  resources.
• No net loss of functional values
• Assessed by applying aquatic site assessment
  techniques, recognized by experts in the field,
  fully considering ecological functions included
  in the guidelines.
• Assessment methods HGM, WRAP, MWRAP

8
Compensatory Mitigation

• On-site in-kind
• On-site out-of-kind
• Off-site in-kind
• Off-site out-of-kind

9
Types of Mitigation

• Restoration
• Enhancement
• Creation
• Preservation

10
Other Mitigation Alternatives

• Mitigation Banking - Federal Guidelines for the
  Establishment, Use, and Operation of Mitigation
  Banks 60 Federal Regulation 58, 605-02
• Federal Guidance on the Use of In-Lieu-Fee
  arrangements for Compensatory Mitigation under
  Section 404 of the CWA and Section 10 of the
  Rivers and Harbors Act, Fed. Reg. November 7,
  2000, Volume 65, No. 216, Pages 66913 - 66917

11
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers Role
in Wetlands MitigationW. Michael Dennis,
Ph.D.President/Senior ScientistBreedlove,
Dennis Associates, Inc.