§ 33.1-223.2:1. Wetlands mitigation banking
When authorization is required by federal or state law for any project affecting wetlands and such authorization is conditioned upon compensatory mitigation for adverse impacts to wetlands, the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner is authorized to expend funds for the purchase of, or is authorized to use, credits from any wetlands mitigation bank, including any owned by the Department, that has been approved and is operating in accordance with applicable federal and state guidance, laws or regulations for the establishment, use and operation of mitigation banks as long as: (1) the bank is in the same U.S.G.S. cataloging unit, as defined by the Hydrologic Unit Map of the United States (U.S.G.S. 1980), or an adjacent cataloging unit within the same river watershed, as the impacted site, or it meets all the conditions found in clauses (i) through (iv) and either clause (v) or (vi) of this subsection; (2) the bank is ecologically preferable to practicable on-site and off-site individual mitigation options, as defined by federal wetland regulations; and (3) the banking instrument, if approved after July 1, 1996, has been approved by a process that included public review and comment. When the bank is not located in the same cataloging unit or adjacent cataloging unit within the same river watershed as the impacted site, the purchase or use of credits shall not be allowed unless the Commissioner demonstrates to the satisfaction of the agency requiring compensatory mitigation that (i) the impacts will occur as a result of a Virginia Department of Transportation linear project; (ii) there is no practical same river watershed mitigation alternative; (iii) the impacts are less than one acre in a single and complete project within a cataloging unit; (iv) there is no significant harm to water quality or fish and wildlife resources within the river watershed of the impacted site; and either (v) impacts within the Chesapeake Bay watershed are mitigated within the Chesapeake Bay watershed as close as possible to the impacted site or (vi) impacts within U.S.G.S. cataloging units 02080108, 02080208, and 03010205, as defined by the Hydrologic Unit Map of the United States (U.S.G.S. 1980), are mitigated in-kind within those hydrologic cataloging units, as close as possible to the impacted site. After July 1, 2002, the provisions of clause (vi) shall apply only to impacts within subdivisions of the listed cataloging units where overlapping watersheds exist, as determined by the Department of Environmental Quality, provided the Department has made such a determination by that date.
(1996, c. 736; 1999, c. 8.)
Sections: Previous 33.1-221.1:6 33.1-221.1:7 33.1-221.1:8 33.1-222 33.1-223 33.1-223.1 33.1-223.2 33.1-223.2:1 33.1-223.2:2 33.1-223.2:3 33.1-223.2:4 33.1-223.2:5 33.1-223.2:6 33.1-223.2:7 33.1-223.2:8 NextLast modified: April 3, 2009