Wetland Mitigation

Missouri is losing its wetlands at an alarming rate - already more than 85% of the state’s wetlands have been lost to farming and development. Despite federal laws designed to protect what is now recognized as a vital resource, suburban sprawl continues to eat into what few wetlands remain.

Wetlands are complex ecosystems that provide a variety of essential functions. Wetlands improve water quality, stabilize shorelines, and provide natural flood control and aesthetic beauty. They also support a wide variety of plant and animal life, including rare and endangered species and migratory birds. In recognition of the need to protect these important functions, the federal government has passed laws designed to stem the loss of our nation’s wetlands. Unfortunately these laws are not being consistently applied.

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, if enforced , could provide important protection for wetlands. Section 404 prohibits harmful impacts to wetlands when such impacts can be avoided. When the impacts are unavoidable, they must be mitigated. Mitigation is simply the offsetting of wetland losses. Thus, if a proposed development activity is found to have unavoidable, negative impacts on a wetland, those impacts must be compensated for either by enhancing an existing wetland or by creating an entirely new wetland.

Unfortunately, the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) has repeatedly failed to enforce the avoidance-of-harmful-impacts requirement of the Clean Water Act. The Coalition has found examples in which the Corps has also failed to properly monitor wetland mitigation projects. In some cases, it appears that the required mitigation is not even occurring. Given the complexity of wetland ecosystems, it is uncertain whether lost wetlands can be replaced by simply “building” new ones. Existing research indicates that successful wetland creation requires a degree of care and sophistication not commonly seen in these projects. (National Research Council, 2001, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, 2001)

With the goal of improving wetland mitigation in Missouri , the Coalition is conducting a study of a select group of mitigation projects. The study will determine whether the Corps is, in fact, enforcing the wetland mitigation mandates of the Clean Water Act. When violations are discovered, the Coalition encourages the Army Corps of Engineers to take enforcement action against the violator. The Coalition is also identifying developers that fail to replace the wetlands and streams that they have destroyed, in compliance with their Corps-issued permits. The Coalition is seeking solutions to adequately restore these missing waters and wetlands.