WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated a project/review area of approximately 115.85 acres located 0.23 miles south of Highway 30, between Dunn Road and Central Steel Road in Section 21, Township 81 North, Range 6 East, within the city limits of Camanche, in Clinton County, Iowa; Latitude 41.808166 and Longitude -90.264219.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The east portion of the proposed bank site contains a freshwater pond and existing shrub-scrub and emergent wetland. The west portion of the site is currently used as crop cover. In the southwest corner there is a perennial stream that flows northwest to southeast through the area. The surrounding area consists of a railroad, commercial, residential, agricultural and forested properties.
PROJECT PURPOSE/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:
• Provide economically efficient and flexible mitigation opportunities when wetland and/or stream mitigation is required.
• Support the national goal of no net-loss of waters and wetlands of the United States.
• Contribute to the long-term health of Iowa’s waterways.
• Enhancement of physical, chemical and/or biological processes that occur in aquatic ecosystems.
• Create a dynamically stable stream system using “soft” bank stabilization, capable of providing appropriate sediment transport.
• Enhance or restore additional wildlife habitat within the Copperas Duck Watershed.
• Compensate for wetland losses in a manner which contributes to the long-term ecological function of the watershed within which the bank is located.
• Reduce temporal losses of wetland and stream functions.
• Provide additional flood storage capacity to help prevent flooding downstream of the Bank.
• Provide for an additional area for the storage and natural break down of pollutants within the Copperas Duck Watershed.
• Promote natural attenuation of excess nitrogen through hydrological restoration efforts that also align with the goals of the Water Quality Improvement Plan.
• Establishing firebreaks for prescribed burns and regulated hunting practices, ensuring compatibility with the prairie wetland complex while adhering to all applicable guidelines and laws to promote conservation and prevent ecological predation impacts.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION/BANK ESTABLISHMENT: The bank sponsor proposes to complete activities on approximately 115.85-acres of property owned by the bank sponsor. This project would result in the generation of emergent wetland and stream compensatory mitigation credits. The goal of this project is to restore 17.27-acres of emergent wetland, enhance 61.68-acres of emergent wetland, and establish 25.27-acres of buffer to generate an initial estimate of 54.44 wetland credits. The project will also restore approximately 1,434 linear feet of stream with buffers to generate an initial estimate of 15,434 stream credits.
Wetland restoration will primarily be achieved through shallow excavation of current upland areas on the west side of the existing wetlands. Tile lines, if present, will be broken, removed, plugged, or otherwise disabled to discourage anthropomorphic wetland drainage. A stop-log structure or other water-level control structure may already be present beneath Central Steel Road. If present, this structure may need to be modified to help control water levels for vegetation maintenance activities. If not present, a control structure may need to be installed.
Wetland enhancement will be primarily focused on invasive species control and establishing native vegetation where it is removed. Control methods will involve a combination of water level manipulation, physical control using an amphibious mower, and chemical control using an amphibious or herbicide capable drone.
Stream restoration will focus on the use of soft-engineering practices, such as wood-based structures and native vegetation. Some use of stone will be likely required at critical junctures, such as the outfall of the culvert beneath Dunn Road. The stream will be re-aligned and re-meandered eastward. The alignment will split near the southern bank boundary, creating two arms of the tributary. This will allow a portion of the stream to feed the Bank wetland hydrology, while maintaining some flow to the property owner to the south. The exact design of this diversion will be determined in the mitigation banking instrument (MBI). Other proposed in-stream restoration techniques may include but are not limited to: channel re-alignment/re-meandering, bank reshaping, fabric encapsulated soil lifts, live stakes, sod mats, toe wood, beaver dam analogs or post-assisted log structures, rock riffles or rock-and-log riffles.
Additional information on construction/restoration techniques, target plant community types, and detailed planting plans will be completed prior to the submission of the draft Mitigation Banking Instrument.
SERVICE AREA: The proposed mitigation bank will be in the Mississippi Service Area.
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