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An Assessment Framework for Making Compensatory Mitigation Determinations in California
Citation:
SUMNER, R. R., B. Orme, P. A. JONES, J. Collins, AND M. E. SCOZZAFAVA. An Assessment Framework for Making Compensatory Mitigation Determinations in California. Presented at 2012 National Mitigation and Ecosystem Banking Conference, Sacramento, CA, May 08 - 11, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
Efficient gathering and use of assessment information will improve the ecological effectiveness of compensatory mitigation.
Description:
Efficient gathering and use of assessment information will improve the ecological effectiveness of compensatory mitigation. It also will make for more efficient regulatory decision-making. Recognizing these facts, the California Water Board worked in collaboration with the USEPA and other partners to develop a practical assessment framework for making compensatory mitigation determinations in California. The framework describes how agency staff and mitigation practitioners can use monitoring and assessment information to plan and review mitigation projects, including mitigation banks. The framework is based on the watershed approach as specified in federal regulation and pending state regulatory rules. The goal of the watershed approach, in the context of the framework, is to sustain and improve the abundance, diversity and condition of aquatic resources in a project watershed area. Watershed profiles are used as a graphical representation of that criterion. The framework itself is comprised of seven environmental review factors that are organized around use of a simple checklist. They are: Impact site description Impact site condition Mitigation category Mitigation consistency with watershed profile and watershed goals Mitigation site suitability – Landscape review Mitigation site suitability – Field review Mitigation performance standards Each review factor is aligned with the type of information used in its assessment. Three levels of information are considered in an evaluation: Landscape-scale mapped information, rapidly gathered field information, and more intensively gathered field information. The level of information used in assessment is commensurate with the risk of impacts caused by a dredge or fill project and the uncertainty associated with mitigation success. Results from the assessment are used to inform mitigation needs and crediting including adjustments made to standard mitigation ratios. The assessment framework for mitigation continues to undergo refinement based on lessons-learned from transportation projects in California. Special attention is focused on insuring that the framework functions in a way that is consistent with standard operating procedures adopted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.