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A mitigation bank is a business venture in which a large wetland is restored to generate wetland credits for sale to developers or others who need to offset unavoidable wetland impacts.
Each bank has a service area in which it may sell credits, subject to the approval of each removal-fill permit. State and federal regulatory agencies oversee bank plans and release credits to the banker only after performance measures are met.
The bank owner must make arrangements to maintain and manage the wetlands in perpetuity.
DSL encourages the establishment of additional mitigation banks in areas where there is a large amount of development activity. The Portland metro region and the entire I-5 corridor currently have a high demand for mitigation.
Preferred bank sites provide the same type of wetlands as those that are in the path of development in the region. Good locations for banks are sites adjacent or close to other protected natural-habitat areas such as refuges, river corridors and floodplains.
Bank locations should not conflict with adjacent land uses, such as airport approach routes where increased bird use could pose a hazard to aircraft.
Establishing a mitigation bank
Buying bank credits
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