CWD CWD Wetland Mitigation & Banking 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What document formally establishes the terms and conditions of a mitigation bank?
- Environmental Impact Statement
- Banking Instrument (Correct answer)
- Wetland Delineation Report
- Nationwide Permit
Correct answer: Banking Instrument
A banking instrument is the legal agreement between the Corps of Engineers and the bank sponsor that establishes a mitigation bank's terms and conditions.
Question 2: What is a 'service area' in the context of a mitigation bank?
- The area where bank workers conduct restoration
- The geographic region within which a bank's credits may be used to offset permitted impacts (Correct answer)
- The area of the bank site open to the public
- The zone monitored for water quality
Correct answer: The geographic region within which a bank's credits may be used to offset permitted impacts
A service area defines the geographic boundary within which a mitigation bank's credits can be used to compensate for permitted wetland impacts.
Question 3: Which term describes the functional uplift achieved by a mitigation bank expressed as units available for sale?
- Wetland assessment units
- Mitigation credits (Correct answer)
- Functional capacity units
- Habitat equivalency units
Correct answer: Mitigation credits
Mitigation credits represent the functional uplift achieved at a bank site and are the units sold to permittees needing to compensate for wetland impacts.
Question 4: Under the 2008 Compensatory Mitigation Rule, which type of mitigation is generally preferred over permittee-responsible mitigation?
- ILF programs only
- Third-party mitigation through mitigation banking (Correct answer)
- On-site mitigation only
- Off-site self-conducted mitigation
Correct answer: Third-party mitigation through mitigation banking
The 2008 rule generally prefers mitigation banking because banks provide greater ecological certainty through advance establishment and demonstrated success.
Question 5: What must a mitigation bank achieve before final credits are released to the sponsor?
- Completion of planting only
- Successful achievement of ecological performance standards over a monitoring period (Correct answer)
- Payment of all administrative fees
- Approval of the banking instrument alone
Correct answer: Successful achievement of ecological performance standards over a monitoring period
Credits are released incrementally as the bank achieves ecological performance standards, with final release requiring sustained success over the monitoring period.
Question 6: Which assessment method is commonly used to quantify wetland functions for mitigation credit determination?
- Functional Assessment of Wetland Ecosystems (FAZE)
- Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Approach (Correct answer)
- Wetland Rapid Assessment Procedure (WRAP) only
- Simple acreage calculation only
Correct answer: Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Approach
The Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Approach quantifies wetland functions by comparing a site to reference wetlands and is widely used for mitigation credit determination.
CWD CWD Wetland Mitigation & Banking 2
What document formally establishes the terms and conditions of a mitigation bank?