Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Mitigation banking was developed in the United States with the aim of conserving wetlands (while still allowing development) by working towards a goal of "no net loss of wetlands", developing from compensatory mitigation policies under section 404 of the Clean Water Act. [4]
"No Net loss" is the United States government's overall policy goal regarding wetlands preservation. The goal of the policy is to balance wetland loss due to economic development with wetlands reclamation, mitigation, and restorations efforts, so that the total acreage of wetlands in the country does not decrease, but remains constant or increases.
The idea of "no net loss" emerged in the United States as a goal for applying environmental mitigation measures (such as mitigation banking) to wetland conservation. [14] This was motivated by the historic and ongoing loss of wetlands - over half of the original wetlands in the lower 48 states have been lost.
In the United States, compensatory mitigation is a commonly used form of environmental mitigation and, for some projects, it is legally required under the Clean Water Act 1972. Compensatory mitigation is defined by the US Department of Agriculture as "measures to restore, create, enhance, and preserve wetlands to offset unavoidable adverse ...
Wetlands act like a sponge to absorb heavy rainfall and help recharge the state's groundwater resources. House Bill 1383 would further strip protections for Indiana's few remaining wetlands.
Conservation banking is derived from wetland mitigation banks that were created in the early 1990s. Through Federal agency efforts, mitigation banks were created to focus on preserving wetlands, streams, and other aquatic habitats or resources and offered compensatory mitigation credits to offset unavoidable effects on the habitats or resources ...
The process comes under the section 404 of the US Clean Water Act 1972, the US Army Corps of Engineers regulations [20] and the commitment to "no net loss" of wetlands habitat. As part of mitigation banking, compensation for impacts to river banks, known as "stream riparian zones", may be required.
A N.C. Department of Environmental Quality analysis said as many as 2.5 million acres of wetlands could be at risk under the new law.