Wetland Regulation and Mitigation Banking
Wetland Regulation
Florida wetlands are regulated at the federal, state, and sometimes at the local level. As such, those impacting wetlands must navigate a complex web of agencies each of which are responsible for regulating and enforcing various statutory acts, administrative rules, guidance and policies designed to protect wetlands. For example, at the federal level, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is charged with enforcing fill discharge components of the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act. Wetland impact activities may also be governed by the Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) program administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Some local governments in Florida also operate wetland regulatory programs independent of the state and federal programs and the local governments’ zoning regulations. These local wetland regulatory programs tend to be similar to the state and federal programs in their review and requirements, but can take a local rather than regional view regarding the location of mitigation.
Our firm has extensive experience and depth handling wetland regulation and can help you navigate the difficult and complex layers involved in obtaining permits, defending enforcement actions, and shaping wetland policy. Our team approach gives our clients the benefit of decades of experience across multiple layers of agencies at each level of government.
Mitigation Banking
The need for wetland mitigation in Florida has spawned a new and growing industry – wetland mitigation banking – focused on restoring, enhancing, and preserving wetlands and natural areas on large tracts of land to provide a mitigation option for others. A typical mitigation bank involves the voluntary preservation of a large land tract by subjecting that land to a conservation easement or fee simple donation, and then restoring, enhancing or creating wetlands, surface waters, or uplands contained within that tract. These efforts are assessed for the ecological value generated and are assigned mitigation "credits." These mitigation credits can then be sold and "debited" to offset unavoidable wetland impacts in other locations.
Our firm has been working in the area of mitigation banking since its inception and our team of lawyers has worked to establish many mitigation banks and shape governing laws, regulations and polices related to this field.
Practicing Attorneys : Richard S. Brightman, Miguel Collazo, III, Frank E. Matthews, Eric T. Olsen, D. Kent Safriet, Amelia A. Savage, Susan L. Stephens and Angela Morrison Uhland.