WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States (WOTUS), wetlands, associated with Barber Creek and the Wapsipinicon River. The proposed site is located within Section 34, Township 81 North, Range 3 West, Clinton County, Iowa at Latitude 41.780377 and Longitude -90.599763.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The site consists of undeveloped land, land used for agricultural purposes, and existing areas of wetland along Barber Creek and the Wapsipinicon River. Adjacent areas to the north and west of the site are currently used for agricultural production. Barber Creek, the Barber Creek Wildlife Management Area, and the Wapsipinicon River border the site to the south. East of the site is agricultural land and a private residence.
PROJECT PURPOSE/BANK OBJECTIVES: The fundamental objective of compensatory mitigation is to offset environmental losses resulting from unavoidable impacts to WOTUS authorized by Department of the Army Permits. Other objectives include: restoration and enhancement of wildlife habitat, supporting long-term ecological health and functionality of the Barber Creek and Wapsipinicon River systems, reducing the temporal losses of wetlands, and improving water quality within the Mississippi Service Area.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION/BANK ESTABLISHMENT: The bank sponsor proposes to complete activities on 74.35 acres of privately owned property that would result in the restoration and enhancement of both forested and emergent wetland mitigation credits. The goal of the bank is to enhance/restore emergent and forested wetlands and upland buffer to generate 32.01 total credits. Wetland enhancement/restoration construction would include minor grading, disabling subsurface tile, constructing small berms, wetland seeding, tree plantings, and invasive species management to introduce and enhance species diversity. A wetland delineation was completed to help determine current conditions and the determination of credits. Success criteria are under development and are required to be met in order to generate credit for the proposed activities. A more detailed project description is located within the Prospectus on the
Regulatory In-lieu Fee and Bank Information Tracking System (RIBITS; link provided in “Comments” section, below).
SERVICE AREA: The proposed bank service area will be the Mississippi Service Area in Iowa.
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