AUTHORITY: Pursuant to the Final Rule for the Compensatory Mitigation for Losses of Aquatic Resources, referred to as the Mitigation Rule (33 CFR Parts 325 and 332, and 40 CFR Part 230), dated April 10, 2008; this notice announces a prospectus submitted for the establishment of a Mitigation Bank (MB) within the State of Oklahoma.
MITGATION BANK (SPONSOR):
Conservation Equity Investment Two, LLC
c/o Conservation Equity Partners, LLC
1215 Wright Drive, Nacogdoches, Texas 75964
Tamara Wood 936-404-3818
tamara@conservationep.com
PROJECT LOCATION: The proposed Washita Mitigation Bank (WMB) site consists of approximately 69.1 acres of land located near the town of Sulphur, Murray County, Oklahoma. The site can be accessed via Koller Road extending north from East State Highway 7, east of Sulphur. The coordinates for the approximate center point of the property are North Latitude 34.5292963 and West Longitude 96.9267175 (Attachment A, Exhibit 1).
PURPOSE AND PROPOSED DESCRIPTION: The prospectus outlines the proposal for developing and operating the MB, which is known as the banking instrument. After public comments are received and any issues are resolved on the prospectus, the Sponsor will submit a draft banking instrument to the District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District. The District Engineer will then distribute the draft banking instrument to the Interagency Review Team (IRT), which is made up of the Corps and the pertinent state and federal resource agencies. The IRT will review the banking instrument and coordinate with the Sponsor on any issues until a final banking instrument is completed. Finally, the District Engineer will review the final instrument and make a decision to approve or not approve. Below is an excerpt from the MB Sponsor’s WMB prospectus:
The primary purpose of developing the WMB is to conduct ecological restoration to reestablish and retain biodiversity, health, ecological function, and resilience to historically disturbed and impacted private lands, using the compensatory driven mitigation banking program.
The ecological and nature-based goals of the project are to successfully establish and restore stream functions associated with wetlands and non-wetland Waters of the United States (WOTUS) and to perpetually protect rare and difficult-to-replace habitats.
A compatible societal and capitalistic goal for creating the WMB is to create a means of providing compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts to WOTUS that result from Corps permitted impacts requiring compensatory mitigation within the approved WMB service area in accordance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (Federal Water Pollution Control Act) and/or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899) provided such use has met all applicable requirements and is authorized by the Corps.
Development of the WMB will result in the re-establishment of approximately 2,350 linear feet (LF) of degraded intermittent streams (UT-2), as well as restoration and/or enhancement of 1,439 LF of perennial stream (UT-1a), and intermittent stream (UT-1b). Approximately 40.5 acres (ac) of riparian buffer impacted by previous agriculture and gravel mining will be enhanced to native riparian buffer habitat during the course of the project (Table 1). Planned activities will result in stable, high functioning stream channels through Priority 1 stream restoration, other stream restoration and/or enhancement activities, and restoration/re-establishment of adjacent riparian buffer habitat including wetlands.
These stated goals will be quantified and achieved through an interactive process with the IRT, culminating with the development and approval of a Mitigation Banking Instrument (MBI), which will outline specific details for the stream re-establishment, stream enhancement, and riparian buffer enhancement, including long-term management and financing mechanisms.
A key component of the MBI (forthcoming) is detailed in the Mitigation Work Plan that has been prepared to optimize uplift and successfully attain desired ecological conditions, while also meeting or exceeding ecological performance standards. The Mitigation Work Plan will be constructed to accomplish the following site-specific objectives, which are also shown in Attachment A, Exhibit 2.
Objectives:
1) Protect the 40.5 ac streambank (150 ft. buffer on both sides of restored/enhanced streams) in perpetuity with a conservation easement held by an approved land trust.
2) Protect an additional 28.6 ac of the watershed (additional 150 ft. buffer – 300 ft. total) by placing a deed restriction on portions of the property that will restrict future development, habitat loss, etc.
3) Eliminate and cease non-compatible land uses within the MB area.
4) Re-establish stable stream characteristics (pattern, profile, and dimension) utilizing Natural Channel Design to 2,350 LF of the intermittent channel UT-2 that is currently channelized due to aggregate mining.
5) Restoration and/or enhancement of UT-1a (perennial – 1,439 LF) and UT-1b (intermittent – 2,685 LF) that currently exhibits multiple culverts and vehicular crossings, loss of floodplain connectivity in areas, eroding and sloughing banks, and other impairments. Restoration plans are still being developed, but potential restoration strategies can include:
• Channel reconstruction at the elevation of the historic floodplain (Priority 1 restoration).
• Establishing a new floodplain at the existing channel elevation (Priority 2 restoration).
• Removing culverts and vehicular crossings.
• Streambank stabilization and plantings.
• Removing portions of an abandoned elevated railroad to reestablish natural hydrology regimes.
6) Buffer Restoration/Establishment (including wetlands within the buffer) to 40.5 ac within the MB (150 ft. buffer on both sides of restored / enhanced streams) to reduce erosion.