The wetland mitigation process involves the prevention of losses to natural wetland areas within the United States. New regulations have been put into effect that require any damage of wetlands over 1/10 acre in size to be mitigated. This will help meet the Government's goal of No Net Loss of wetlands. The first requirement for any proposed construction on wetland areas is to find an alternative site. However, sometimes, wetland impacts are unavoidable. These wetland impacts may result from construction of highways, railroads, industrial areas, and development areas. The second requirement is to minimize damage and the third requirement is to mitigate damages to the wetland (on site if possible). On-site mitigation of wetland requires the creation of a wetland on the project site. Many times, on-site mitigation is not acceptable due to the nature of the site in consideration of soil types, elevations, and the nature of the construction process. The third option is to mitigate damages off-site. This can be accomplished in two separate ways. One way of mitigating damages off-site is by purchasing additional land to create wetlands, which can be a risky, time consuming process. Another way to mitigate damages off-site is to purchase wetland mitigation credits from an approved wetland mitigation bank. The G. William Coulthard Wetland Mitigation Bank will provide a cost-effective, timely source of off-site wetland mitigation for public and private projects that require Permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The bank will also provide an option to agricultural producers who require wetland mitigation to stay in compliance with the Food Security Act.
The G. William Coulthard Wetland Mitigation Bank will be the first private wetland mitigation bank in the State of Iowa. This site is privately owned and does not receive any public funds or grants.
A wetland mitigation bank can offer substantial financial savings and eliminate maintenance and monitoring liability.
Financially, the bank will provide a low cost alternative for mitigation compared to the development of an off-site mitigation area. Landowners developing their own off-site mitigation area must pay for suitable land, wetland delineation studies, engineering reports, earth work, planting costs, seeding costs, maintenance costs, and annual supervision. Along with the tangible financial obligations of creating an off-site area there are several time consuming intangible costs involved as well. The permitting process alone can take anywhere from several months to a year and the possibility of failure would still remain.
The landowner of an off-site mitigation area is liable for the success of the wetland project for a five year period. The liability created from the development of an off-site mitigation area is extensive. Should the area be deemed a failure the landowner would be required to take remedial action in order to ensure that the wetland remains functional for a five year period. A landowner could incur significant rebuilding cost on top of the original construction cost of the off- site mitigation area. A developer or agricultural producer who purchases wetland credits from a wetland mitigation bank would face no uncertainty about the success of the wetland mitigation area. Without the uncertainty and liability involved with the creation of an off-site mitigation area the developer or agricultural producer could concentrate on his/her current project.
The G. William Coulthard Wetland Mitigation Bank consists of approximately 63.0 acres of wetland and associated areas. The site is located in Harrison County along the Young's Ditch which drains into DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. The actual official number of wetland credits that will be available has yet to be determined. Several different types of wetlands are involved in this site. The site will contain shallow water areas, emergent wetland areas, scrub-shrub wetland areas, forested wetland areas, and upland buffer areas. This site is ideal waterfowl habitat and wetland habitat.
This site will have a permanent conservation easement which will prevent any future development. The Conservation Easement is held by the Harrison County Conservation Board. Although this site will still be privately owned, the owners will allow the use of the property for wetland restoration studies and educational purposes with the appropriate reservations.
The G. William Coulthard Wetland Mitigation Bank will service a very distinct area within Iowa. The north and south service area boundary will start at the Iowa/Missouri border and extend north to Sioux City. The east and west service area boundary will start at the western border of Iowa and extend east to the foothills of the Loess Hills. Any projects that require off-site mitigation within this service area will be allowed to purchase credits from the wetland mitigation bank. The following counties in Iowa are within the service area: Fremont, Pottawattamie, Mills, Harrison, Monona, and Woodbury. Wetland impacts outside the service area may also be mitigated at this bank with the approval of state and Federal regulatory agencies.
Wetland credits are now available in the G. William Coulthard Wetland Mitigation Bank. However, credits are limited and reservations are being accepted at this time.