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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Florida Wetlands Miti-
gation Banking Study Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Mitigating the environmental impacts of
necessary development actions on the Nation’s wet-
lands and other aquatic resources is a central
premise of Federal wetlands programs. While miti-
gation is required to prevent loss of the Nation’s
wetland resources, mitigation should be undertaken
in a manner that is flexible, efficient, reliable, and
effective.
(2) Mitigation banking is wetland resource res-
toration, enhancement, creation, and in exceptional
circumstances preservation, undertaken to provide
mitigation ‘‘credits’’ to offset unavoidable wetland
losses.
(3) Mitigation banks often provide greater flexi-
bility, efficiency, reliability, and effectiveness in
meeting mitigation requirements than on-site mitiga-
tion can and often have significant environmental
advantages over individual mitigation projects, such
as—
(A) maintaining the integrity of a larger
aquatic ecosystem by consolidating compen-
satory mitigation into a single large parcel;
(B) bringing together financial resources,
planning, and scientific expertise not practicable
to bring to many project-specific compensatory
mitigation proposals;
(C) reducing permit processing times and
providing 
more 
cost-effective 
compensatory
mitigation opportunities for projects that qual-
ify;
(D) improving regulatory oversight by fo-
cusing regulatory agency resources more effec-
tively; and
(E) contributing toward attainment of the
goal of no net loss of the Nation’s wetlands by
providing opportunities to compensate for au-
thorized impacts when mitigation might not
otherwise be appropriate or practicable.
(4) The State of Florida has developed one of
the most advanced regulatory frameworks in the Na-
tion for authorizing the establishment and use of
mitigation banks. Florida’s statutes and regulations
governing mitigation banks contain provisions for
evaluating the suitability of mitigation banks, deter-
mining the number of mitigation ‘‘credits’’ to be
awarded a mitigation bank, and ensuring the success
and perpetual protection and management of mitiga-
tion banks. As a result, a number of mitigation
banks have been successfully established and used in
Florida.
(5) In determining whether Federal legislation
or further administrative action is necessary to en-
courage the establishment of mitigation banks, to
allow for the use of mitigation banks to meet the re-
quirements of applicable Federal statutes and regu-
lations, and to ensure the proper location, success,
and perpetual protection and management of mitiga-
tion banks, a study of the authorization and use of
mitigation banks in Florida is necessary and useful.
SEC. 3. MITIGATION BANKING STUDY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Army shall
conduct a study of mitigation banking in the State of Flor-
ida for the purpose of evaluating the potential and prob-
lems of mitigation banking. By July 1, 1997, the Sec-
retary shall submit a written report on the results of the
study to the President, the Committee on Environment
and Public Works of the Senate, and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep-
resentatives.
(b) CONSULTATION.—In conducting this mitigation
banking study and preparing the report under this section,
the Secretary shall consult with the following:
(1) The Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) The Natural Resources Conservation Serv-
ice of the Department of Agriculture.
(3) The Fish and Wildlife Service of the De-
partment of the Interior.