What are the STEPS to take for a landowner who may need to purchase compensatory mitigation for a potential adverse wetland disturbance?

What are the STEPS to take for a landowner who may need to purchase compensatory mitigation for a potential adverse wetland disturbance?

First Step is to get in touch with a wetland environmental consultant to do a wetland delineation per your site plans and score the wetlands to find out if the wetland is considered based on the Quality: Low, Medium or High. This will give us the accurate number of credits needed for the proposed wetland disturbance multiplied by the acreage of impact.

Depending on the quality and acreage/square feet to be impacted will determine how many credits are needed. An analysis will be performed by an environmental consultant to seek if the condition of the wetland to be disturbed is insufficient, has minimal level of support, less than optional, or fully supports wetland & surface water functions.

For example, let’s say you have 1 acre of average quality wetland, the mitigation credits are $120,000.00/Credit; the price would be approx. $84,000.00/acre ($120,000.00 x 0.7). Credits can be sold as low as 0.01 credit or 0.1 credit depending on the mitigation bank. Therefore, for 0.25 acres of wetland impact, you would assume approx. $21,600.00.

Second Step is to have the same wetland environmental consultant to help you submit an application with SJRWMD and/or FDEP, which will have the conditions of the required mitigation to offset the proposed impact.

Once the mitigation credits are paid in full and the necessary permits are issued for your Environmental Resource Permit (State) and/or Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit (Federal) then you can move forward with your project!

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