I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4211

To direct the Secretary of the Army to conduct a study of mitigation banks,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 26, 1996

Mr. MCCOLLUM introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of the Army to conduct a study

of mitigation banks, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Florida Wetlands Miti5 gation Banking Study Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds the following:

8 (1) Mitigating the environmental impacts of

9 necessary development actions on the Nation’s wet10 lands and other aquatic resources is a central
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1 premise of Federal wetlands programs. While miti2 gation is required to prevent loss of the Nation’s

3 wetland resources, mitigation should be undertaken

4 in a manner that is flexible, efficient, reliable, and

5 effective.

6 (2) Mitigation banking is wetland resource res7 toration, enhancement, creation, and in exceptional

8 circumstances preservation, undertaken to provide

9 mitigation ‘‘credits’’ to offset unavoidable wetland

10 losses.

11 (3) Mitigation banks often provide greater flexi12 bility, efficiency, reliability, and effectiveness in

13 meeting mitigation requirements than on-site mitiga14 tion can and often have significant environmental

15 advantages over individual mitigation projects, such

16 as—

17 (A) maintaining the integrity of a larger

18 aquatic ecosystem by consolidating compen19 satory mitigation into a single large parcel;

20 (B) bringing together financial resources,

21 planning, and scientific expertise not practicable

22 to bring to many project-specific compensatory

23 mitigation proposals;

24 (C) reducing permit processing times and

25 providing more cost-effective compensatory
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1 mitigation opportunities for projects that qual2 ify;

3 (D) improving regulatory oversight by fo4 cusing regulatory agency resources more effec5 tively; and

6 (E) contributing toward attainment of the

7 goal of no net loss of the Nation’s wetlands by

8 providing opportunities to compensate for au9 thorized impacts when mitigation might not

10 otherwise be appropriate or practicable.

11 (4) The State of Florida has developed one of

12 the most advanced regulatory frameworks in the Na13 tion for authorizing the establishment and use of

14 mitigation banks. Florida’s statutes and regulations

15 governing mitigation banks contain provisions for

16 evaluating the suitability of mitigation banks, deter17 mining the number of mitigation ‘‘credits’’ to be

18 awarded a mitigation bank, and ensuring the success

19 and perpetual protection and management of mitiga20 tion banks. As a result, a number of mitigation

21 banks have been successfully established and used in

22 Florida.

23 (5) In determining whether Federal legislation

24 or further administrative action is necessary to en25 courage the establishment of mitigation banks, to
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1 allow for the use of mitigation banks to meet the re2 quirements of applicable Federal statutes and regu3 lations, and to ensure the proper location, success,

4 and perpetual protection and management of mitiga5 tion banks, a study of the authorization and use of

6 mitigation banks in Florida is necessary and useful.

7 SEC. 3. MITIGATION BANKING STUDY.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Army shall

9 conduct a study of mitigation banking in the State of Flor10 ida for the purpose of evaluating the potential and prob11 lems of mitigation banking. By July 1, 1997, the Sec12 retary shall submit a written report on the results of the

13 study to the President, the Committee on Environment

14 and Public Works of the Senate, and the Committee on

15 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep16 resentatives.

17 (b) CONSULTATION.—In conducting this mitigation

18 banking study and preparing the report under this section,

19 the Secretary shall consult with the following:

20 (1) The Environmental Protection Agency.

21 (2) The Natural Resources Conservation Serv22 ice of the Department of Agriculture.

23 (3) The Fish and Wildlife Service of the De24 partment of the Interior.
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1 (4) The National Marine Fisheries Service of

2 the Department of Commerce.

3 (5) The Florida Department of Environmental

4 Protection.

5 (6) The Northwest Florida Water Management

6 District.

7 (7) The Suwannee River Water Management

8 District.

9 (8) The St. Johns River Water Management

10 District.

11 (9) The Southwest Florida Water Management

12 District.

13 (10) The South Florida Water Management

14 District.

15 (c) MATTERS TO BE ADDRESSED.—The Secretary’s

16 mitigation bank study and report under this section shall

17 address all subjects relating to the effective and respon18 sible establishment, use, and perpetual protection and

19 management of mitigation banks and shall specifically ad20 dress the following issues:

21 (1) Whether Federal legislation is necessary to

22 encourage the responsible establishment, use, and

23 perpetual protection and management of mitigation

24 banks.
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1 (2) The manner in which mitigation banks

2 should be authorized.

3 (3) The legal restrictions which should be

4 placed on lands within a mitigation bank to ensure

5 the perpetual protection of that mitigation bank.

6 (4) The financial responsibility that entities es7 tablishing a mitigation bank should provide to en8 sure the success and perpetual protection and man9 agement of that mitigation bank.

10 (5) The manner in which wetland and upland

11 areas within a mitigation bank should be evaluated

12 in the award of mitigation ‘‘credits’’ to a mitigation

13 bank.

14 (6) The manner in which mitigation ‘‘credits’’

15 from a mitigation bank can be used as compensation

16 for unavoidable impacts to wetlands and other

17 aquatic resources.

18 (7) The manner in which the service area of a

19 mitigation bank should be established.

20 (8) The relationship of mitigation banks to pub21 lic acquisition or restoration programs designed to

22 restore or enhance the environment.

23 (9) The manner in which the siting of mitiga24 tions banks can be directed to assure compatibility

25 with adjacent land uses and furtherance of local or
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1 regional goals for the restoration or protection of

2 watersheds, floodplains, particular habitat types or

3 functions, and water quality.

4 (10) The procedure by which Federal and any

5 State authorizations of the establishment and use of

6 mitigation banks can be coordinated to reduce dupli7 cation and increase governmental efficiency.

8 (d) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Prior to submitting the re9 port, the Secretary shall provide notice and an opportunity

10 for public comment on the report. The Secretary shall also

11 solicit comments on the report from other States by sub12 mitting a copy of the report to the Interstate Counsel on

13 Water Policy for comment.

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