State and federal laws prohibit the loss of wetlands due to development. Wetland mitigation banks create wetland mitigation credits that allow developers to provide compensation before harming a wetland at another site. Wetland mitigation banks are important in engaging the private sector and power of the marketplace to sustain Florida's remaining wetlands.
Mitigation banking is designed to increase ecological benefits by increasing and protecting wetland functions, it also saves time and provides more certainty for project applicants. The availability of wetland credits does not eliminate or change state and federal regulations requiring developers to avoid and minimize wetland damage. The create a successful strategy for compensating for wetland loss due to development. Developers can purchase "credits" from the banks, subject to regulatory approval, to offset wetland losses that cannot be avoided.
Mitigation banks, that are state and federally permitted, create value by restoring degraded wetlands and are effectively managed in perpetuity. These restored or created wetland functions are referred to as "credits." Credits may be sold to developers who are required to compensate for wetlands that have been unavoidably impacted during the development phase.
Mitigation banking is defined in the Federal Guidance for the Establishment, Use and Operation of Mitigation Banks Federal Register: November 28, 1995 (Volume 60, Number 228) Pages 58605-58614 as:
Wetland restoration, creation, enhancement, and in exceptional circumstances, preservation undertaken expressly for the purpose of compensating for unavoidable wetland losses in advance of development actions, when such compensation cannot be achieved at the development site or would not be as environmentally beneficial. It typically involves the consolidation of small, fragmented wetland mitigation projects into one large contiguous site. Units of restored, created, enhanced or preserved wetlands are expressed as "credits" which may subsequently be withdrawn to offset "debits" incurred at a project development site.
Mitigation banks have a service area that is determined during the permitting process. The service area is watershed based. With details provided about your project (such as section, township, and range), Mitigation Marketing can tell you, within minutes, about the potential bank(s) that service your project site.
