Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Natural Resources
NR 300-399 - Environmental Protection - Water Regulation
Chapter NR 350 - Wetland Compensatory Mitigation
Section NR 350.006 - Site crediting

Universal Citation: WI Admin Code ยง NR 350.006

Current through August 26, 2024

(1) For mitigation bank projects under ss. NR 350.008 to 350.009, and permittee-responsible mitigation projects under s. NR 350.011, the department may evaluate the wetland function that will be restored, created, enhanced, or preserved by a mitigation project with any of the following methods:

(a) A wetland functional or condition assessment method such as the Wisconsin rapid assessment method, or another department approved method designed to measure wetland impacts.

(b) A crediting system tied to wetland type and acres.

(2) The location of existing wetland boundaries for use in calculating acreage of wetland at a mitigation site shall be made by a mitigation sponsor through the completion of a wetland delineation under s. 281.36(2m), Stats., or by an alternative method approved by the department.

(3) If the department uses a crediting system, the department shall calculate the appropriate amount of credit produced by a mitigation site based on information provided in the compensation site plan under s. NR 350.007(6) and may also use field collected data by the department or by a partner agency.

(4) Reestablishment of hydrology, land contours, and native plant communities on a former wetland site with hydric soils will receive up to one credit for every one acre restored.

(5) Rehabilitation of multiple wetland functions on an existing wetland site will generally receive less credit than reestablishment but may receive up to one credit for every one acre restored.

(6) Credit for enhancement of degraded vegetation on an existing wetland site will generally receive less credit than reestablishment or rehabilitation but may receive up to one credit for every one acre enhanced. Proposed activities that result in conversion of one wetland type to another wetland type will generally not be given credit. The department may consider calculating credit for these activities on a case-by-case basis when the mitigation sponsor demonstrates that conversion activities will enhance wetland functions.

(7) The department will only allow creation if the department determines that the planned creation will provide significant wetland function. Any creation accepted by the department will generally receive lower credit than reestablishment or rehabilitation but may receive up to one credit for every one acre created. A permittee-responsible mitigation project involving creation shall adequately compensate for adverse impacts to wetlands.

(8) The department will allow preservation at less credit than other restoration or enhancement activities if the proposed mitigation project meets all of the following criteria:

(a) The mitigation project will preserve wetland resources under demonstrable threat of destruction or adverse modifications. Threat of destruction or adverse modifications includes water quality degradation, water quantity loss, or habitat destruction as the result of development, logging, mining, or other land use changes that are imminent based on demonstrable evidence on or adjacent to the proposed mitigation site.

(b) The mitigation project will preserve wetland resources that provide important physical, chemical, or biological functions for the watershed.

(c) The mitigation project will preserve wetland resources that contribute significantly to the ecological sustainability of the watershed or are considered rare and high-quality wetlands.

(d) The mitigation project permanently protects the preserved site through an appropriate real estate or other legal instrument, such as a conservation easement or title transfer to a public agency or land trust.

(9) The department may allow credit for wetland areas according to their mitigation activity type if a mitigation project proposes to include areas of shallow or deep marsh if all of the following are met:

(a) The shallow or deep marsh areas on the site may receive credit if they provide increased wetland function, meet approved performance standards, and allow the other areas of the site to provide increased wetland function and meet performance standards.

(b) The shallow or deep marsh areas of the site are ecologically suitable to the landscape as evidenced by historic and current site conditions and are proposed to be constructed according to the best available scientific understanding of natural, self-sustaining conditions.

(10) If engineered structures that require active management, such as berms, dikes, or water control structures, are proposed to be constructed on the site, all of the following apply:

(a) The structures must only be necessary to restore the site to the extent practicable considering historic and current site conditions, historic and current watershed features, and will result in wetland communities that are appropriate for the hydrology on site and in the proximate watershed.

(b) The mitigation sponsor shall provide maintenance and monitoring plans, identify the person or entity responsible for long-term maintenance, and identify financing mechanisms to ensure continued operation of those structures and these shall be reviewed by the department as part of a compensation site plan under s. NR 350.007(4).

(11) The department may require a buffer zone on the mitigation site boundary to protect the site from potential adverse impacts from neighboring land uses or conditions. The department may award less credit for restoration, enhancement, or creation activities in a buffer zone than for similar restoration, enhancement, or creation activities not occurring in the buffer zone.

(12) If a mitigation project includes areas of vegetation establishment on uplands, the department will allow credit at no higher than one credit for every four acres established and the total upland buffer credits on a project shall not exceed 25 percent of the total mitigation project credits. Any credits produced from upland restoration activities will be released as wetland credit based on the proportion of the total acreage projected for each proposed wetland type.

(13) The department will not award mitigation credit for projects used primarily as stormwater or wastewater treatment facilities or similar projects under s. NR 103.06(4).

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