|
Wetland Policy and Replacement Standards
The Dakota County Transportation Department is responsible for obtaining permits from various Federal, State, and local agencies if roadway construction projects alter wetlands, streams or lakes. Wetland alteration permits are issued by the Corps of Engineers under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources issues Public Waters Permits for alterations to any lake or stream listed on their Protected Waters Inventory. These two agencies have been issuing wetland permits since the early 1980's.
The Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act (WCA) was enacted in 1991 in an attempt to provide more local control over wetland decisions, close gaps on Federal and State loopholes regarding permissible wetland alterations, and to streamline the wetland permitting process. In 1996, the WCA was revised and required the State of Minnesota to be the responsible entity for replacing altered wetlands when improving existing roadway corridors for safety purposes. New roadway construction projects that alter wetlands must still be replaced by the Dakota County Transportation Department or by the local road authority. The Minnesota Department of Transportation is responsible for all roadway construction projects that fall under their jurisdiction.
Both the Federal and State agencies responsible for wetland permitting have adopted replacement standards similar to the WCA. Currently the WCA requires that wetland acres impacted on a project by project basis be replaced at an equal ratio. In addition, the WCA also requires public value credit at an equal ratio in the form of water quality treatment ponds or upland buffers. For example, a project that involves one acre of wetland fill would be required to replace one acre of wetland and one acre of water quality treatment ponds or upland buffers.
Wetland banking is a concept by which larger tracts of wetlands are restored or created to offset future projects that alter wetlands. The wetland banking process involves a formal review process with Federal, State and local agencies and is administered by the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources.
This page was last updated on: 12/09/2008
|
|