Compensating for Wetland Losses Under the Clean Water Act Book

	Executive Summary	1
1	Introduction	11
	Important Terms	13
	No Net Loss and the Section 404 Program	16
	The Committee's Task	20
2	Outcomes of Wetland Restoration and Creation	22
	Introduction	22
	Five Wetland Functions	27
	Factors That Contribute to the Performance of Mitigation Sites	35
	Recommendations	45
3	Watershed Setting	46
	Watershed Organization and Landscape Function	46
	Wetland Function and Position in the Watershed	47
	Watershed-Scale Patterns of Wetland Losses	57
	A Watershed Template for Wetland Restoration and Conservation	58
	Conclusions	59
	Recommendations	59
4	Wetland Permitting: History and Overview	60
	Evolution of Compensatory Mitigation Requirements in the CWA Section 404 Program	60
	General Mitigation Requirements	61
	General Corps Mitigation Requirements	63
	CWA Section 404 Mitigation Requirements	64
	Mitigation Banking	67
	In-Lieu Fees	69
	The Clean Water Act and the Goal of No Net Loss	70
	Section 404 Permit Process	73
	Inspection and Enforcement	80
5	Compensatory Mitigation Mechanisms Under Section 404	82
	Location of the Compensatory Mitigation Action	83
	Legal Responsibility for the Mitigation	86
	Relationship of Mitigation Actions to Permitted Activities (Timing)	88
	The MBRT Process	91
	Stewardship Requirements	91
	A Taxonomy	92
	Recommendation	93
6	Mitigation Compliance	94
	Mitigation Planning	95
	Mitigation Design Standards	97
	Project Implementation	101
	Compliance with Permit Conditions	103
	Mitigation Ratios	108
	Monitoring of Mitigation Projects	110
	Monitoring Duration	112
	The Compliance Record	113
	Conclusions	121
	Recommendations	122
7	Technical Approaches Toward Achieving No Net Loss	123
	Operational Guidelines for Creating or Restoring Wetlands That Are Ecologically Self-Sustaining	123
	Wetland Functional Assessment	128
	The Floristic Approach	129
	Habitat Evaluation Procedures and the Hydrogeomorphic Approach	131
	HGM as a Functional Assessment Procedure	132
	Recommendations	136
8	Institutional Reforms for Enhancing Compensatory Mitigation	138
	Introduction	138
	A Watershed-Based Approach to Compensatory Mitigation	140
	Improvements in Permittee-Responsible Mitigation	149
	Expectations for the Regulatory Agency	154
	Third-Party Mitigation	160
	Support for Increased State Responsibilities	165
	Recommendations	166
	References	169
	Appendixes
A	Survey of Studies: Comparison of Mitigation and Natural Wetlands	189
B	Case Studies	199
	Everglades National Park	199
	Coyote Creek Mitigation Site	201
	North Carolina Wetland Restoration Program	208
C	Analyses of Soil, Plant, and Animal Communities for Mitigation Sites Compared With Reference Sites	211
D	California Department of Fish and Game, South Coast Region; Guidelines for Wetland Mitigation	217
E	Examples of Performance Standards for Wetland Creation and Restoration in Section 404 Permits and an Approach to Developing Performance Standards	219
F	Memorandum for Commanders, Major Subordinate Commands, and District Commands, April 8, 1999	234
G	Army Corps of Engineers Standard Operating Procedures for the Regulatory Program	239
H	Selected Attributes of 40 Common Wetland Functional Assessment Procedures	285
I	Function, Factors, and Values Considered in Section 404 Permit Reviews	292
J	Biographical Sketches of Committee Members	294
	Glossary	299
	Index	305