Ecology requests reviewers for updated wetland mitigation guidance

The Department of Ecology (Ecology) is seeking participants for a local government focus group to provide early draft feedback on an update to the 2006 interagency wetland mitigation guidance. The document will go out for public comment in fall 2020.

The local government focus group will have access to the draft this month, with final comments due by July 31. Ecology may host a virtual meeting of the focus group to answer questions if needed. If you are part of a local government planning or wetland staff and would like to join the focus group, please contact Ecology staff Dana Mock (360-407-6947) no later than June 15.

Here’s some background on the mitigation guidance update:

Why do an update?
Since 2006, there have been many changes in the world of wetland mitigation that aren’t reflected in the 2006 guidance:

• A federal mitigation rule was issued in 2008.
• A wetland banking rule was adopted in 2009.
• Ecology has new wetland tools for incorporating a watershed approach and calculating mitigation gains and wetland losses.
• Lessons learned from implementation, e.g., methods for implementing perimeter buffers on mitigation sites
• Many references and web links in the documents are no longer current.

Will this guidance trigger critical areas ordinances (CAO) or shoreline master program (SMP) updates?
No, the guidance is being updated to clarify how to implement what is already in CAOs and SMPs. However, some of the tools in the document may inspire some jurisdictions to streamline or clarify their existing regulatory language during their next scheduled update.