Virginia Administrative Code › Title 4 - CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES › Agency 20 - MARINE RESOURCES COMMISSION › Chapter 390 - WETLANDS MITIGATION - COMPENSATION POLICY › Section 4VAC20-390-50 - Supplemental guidelines

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. If
				compensation is required, then the following guidelines should be given due
				consideration and, if appropriate, may be included as conditions of the permit.
				In any case, on-site compensation at the project site is the preferred location
				alternative with off-site, in the same watershed, as a consideration when
				on-site is not feasible. Locating a compensation site outside the river basin
				of the project is not acceptable unless it is done as part of a
				state-coordinated program of ecological enhancement. The sequence of acceptable
				mitigation options should be as follows: On-site, off-site within the same
				watershed or mitigation bank in the watershed, or through a proffered payment
				of an in-lieu fee if on-site and off-site compensation are shown by the
				applicant to be impractical considering the project location.
B. Use of on-site and off-site compensation.
				When on-site or off-site compensation is required as a condition of permit
				approval, the following items should be considered. The commission or wetlands
				board may wish to condition any approval on the receipt of an acceptable
				compensation plan before issuance of the final permit for an approved project.
1. A detailed plan, including a scaled plan
				view drawing, should be submitted describing the objectives of the wetland
				compensation, the type of wetland to be created, the mean tide range at the
				site, the proposed elevations relative to a tidal datum, the exact location,
				the areal extent, the method of marsh establishment and the exact time frame
				from initial work to completion. The plan should also include plans for
				replanting areas where vegetation fails to grow.
2. Once the grading is completed at the
				planting site, it should be inspected by a competent authority to insure that
				the elevations are appropriate for the vegetation to be planted and that the
				surface drainage is effective.
3.
				The compensation plan and its implementation should be accomplished by
				experienced professionals knowledgeable of the general and site-specific
				requirements for wetland establishment and long-term survival.
4. A performance bond or letter of credit
				should be required and remain in force until the new wetland is successfully
				established; a minimum of two growing seasons and a required planting success
				rate established by the commission or wetlands board has been
				achieved.
5. The compensation marsh
				should be designed to replace as nearly as possible, the functional values of
				the lost resource on an equal or greater basis. In general this means creating
				a marsh of similar plant structure to that being lost. This may not be the case
				where a lesser value marsh is involved (i.e. Group 4 or 5 wetlands). A minimum
				1:1 areal exchange is required in all cases. The ratio of required compensation
				to approved loss should be specified by the commission or wetlands board and
				may be based on the use of the Function Specific Credit Calculation Method
				established by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and contained in
				the Guidelines for the Establishment, Use and Operation of Tidal Wetland
				Mitigation Banks in Virginia.
6.
				The compensation should be accomplished prior to, or concurrently with, the
				construction of the proposed project. Before any activity under the permit may
				begin, the permittee must own all interests in the mitigation site that are
				needed to carry out the mitigation.
7. All reasonable steps must be taken to
				avoid or minimize any adverse environmental effects associated with the
				compensation activities themselves.
8. In selecting a compensation site, one
				aquatic community should not be sacrificed to "create" another. In cases where
				dredged material must be placed overboard, the area may be used to create
				marsh, oyster rock or improve the resource value of the bottom.
9. The type of plant community proposed as
				compensation must have a demonstrated history of successful establishment in
				order to be acceptable.
10.
				Manipulating the plant species composition of an existing marsh community, as a
				form of compensation, is unacceptable.
11. Nonvegetated wetlands should be treated
				on an equal basis with vegetated wetlands with regard to compensation and
				mitigation, unless site-specific information indicates one is more valuable
				than the other.
12. Both short-term
				and long-term monitoring of compensation sites should be considered on a
				case-by-case basis. For unproven types of compensation the applicant will be
				responsible for funding such monitoring as is deemed necessary.
13. Conservation or other easements to be
				held in perpetuity should be required for the compensation marsh. Easements
				accepted by the commission will be processed in accordance with the provisions
				of § 28.2-1301 of the Code of Virginia.