Mitigation Banking

What is wetland mitigation?
Wetland mitigation is the process of applying for, and receiving, a permit from the
jurisdictional agencies which allows the applicant to impact wetlands on the condition
that the impacts are offset with wetland creation, enhancement, or preservation. In
Northeast Florida, these agencies are the Army Corps of Engineers and the St. Johns
River Water Management District.

What is a mitigation bank?
The Environmental Protection Agency defines a mitigation bank as a wetland, stream,
or other aquatic resource area that has been restored, established, enhanced, or preserved
for the purpose of providing compensation for unavoidable impacts to other aquatic
resources. A mitigation bank is created when an entity like Town Branch, LLC reaches
a formal agreement with, and receives permits from, the appropriate regulatory agencies
which establish liability and certain performance standards, management and monitoring
practices. The parties will also agree on a bank’s service area and the amount of
compensatory mitigation credits the bank may sell to third parties. The mitigation bank
must be located in an area of regional ecological significance.

Benefits of wetland mitigation banking
The Army Corps of Engineers and the St. Johns River Water Management District now
strongly prefer the use of wetland mitigation banks over individual on-site methods of
mitigation. Wetland mitigation banks have proven to be more beneficial to the ecology,
in addition to being more time and cost effective for the individual or entity creating the
impacts.