1. Project Location: The proposed bank site consists of an approximately 72.56-acre parcel with 7,733feet of existing streams along an unnamed tributary of Honey Creek, four miles south of Wapello, within Section 22, Township 73 North, Range 3 West, Louisa County, Iowa. See attached location maps. Latitude 41.110944 N, -91.187563 W.
2. Bank Objectives: The fundamental objective of compensatory mitigation is to offset environmental losses resulting from unavoidable impacts to waters of the United States (WOTUS) authorized by Department of the Army Permits. Other objectives include: to provide economically efficient and flexible mitigation opportunities, support the national goal of no net-loss of Waters of the United States, enhance or create additional wildlife and aquatic habitat, reduce flooding by restoring oxbows and reconnecting the stream to its natural floodplain, and improve water quality by reducing sediment loading and nutrients.
3. Project Description/Bank Establishment: The bank sponsor proposes to perform stream restoration along reaches of a perennial stream (4,283ft) and two intermittent streams (1,094ft and 981ft) that flow into Honey Creek, then into the Iowa River approximately 2.25 miles downstream from the bank site. Stream restoration for this project will include bank reshaping, installation of a step pool structures, construction of riffles, and the reestablishment of adjacent oxbows. Reconnecting each stream reach to its natural floodplain will be a central feature of the Bank’s restoration plan. Native buffer areas will also be reestablished and restored along the streams. The streams currently have steep, highly eroding banks which increase sediment and lack or have little connectivity to the floodplain. A wetland delineation was completed in August 2023. The delineation found one 0.31 acre forested oxbow wetland, two perennial streams, to two intermittent streams and two ephemeral streams (oxbows). After IRT approval of this prospectus, a reference stream will be identified and analyzed to fine tune stream restoration details on the Bank. Additional construction details will be included in the Mitigation Banking Instrument.
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