PICKENS
COUNTY, Ala., Sept. 17,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Westervelt Ecological Services
(WES) has received approval for the Sipsey River Mitigation Bank
(SRMB) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the
Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). The project
is located 20 miles west of Tuscaloosa,
Alabama. This is the first bank approved to provide wetland
and stream compensatory mitigation credits within the Sipsey River
watershed (Hydrologic Unit Code 03160107). It is WES' fourth
compensatory mitigation bank in the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Basin
and 12th mitigation bank in the USACE's Mobile District.
The SRMB totals 517 acres and includes over 25,000 linear feet of
streams. The USACE approved mitigation credits for 501 acres of
enhancement in bottomland hardwood wetlands and 8,800 linear feet
of restoration in intermittent streams.
Establishing a high functioning mitigation bank in the watershed
is important to protect and restore priority habitats. The site is
within an area identified as a strategic habitat unit for
protection by our public, private, and NGO partners in
conservation. In order to guarantee long-term ecological success
and sustainability, mitigation banks, such as the SRMB, require
intensive management, monitoring, financial assurances, and legal
protections.
The bank is well situated to assist permit applicants pursuing
Section 404 permits for development projects in and around the
City of Tuscaloosa, and within
Marion, Fayette, Lamar, Pickens, Tuscaloosa, and Sumter Counties. Before applicants can use
these mitigation credits to offset their unavoidable impacts to
streams and wetlands, the permit applicant must follow the
mitigation sequence of avoidance, minimization, and then
mitigation, as established by the Clean Water Act. Advantages for
our clients in the public and private sectors include reduced
permitting time and severance of liability.
WES is excited to expand upon our available mitigation credits
in Alabama. To learn more about
the project or to inquire about mitigation credits, please contact
Casey Rigsby at (334) 339-0010 or
via email at crigsby@westervelt.com.
About Westervelt Ecological Services: Providing conservation
on a landscape scale is the mission of Westervelt Ecological
Services. A division of The Westervelt Company, a 140-year-old land
stewardship company based in Tuscaloosa,
Alabama, Westervelt Ecological Services offers mitigation
credits and other enduring ecological solutions for developers and
businesses who need to mitigate impacts to wetlands or species
across the country. To learn more, visit
www.wesmitigation.com.
Contact:
John Wigginton (334) 821-1999 or
jwigginton@westervelt.com (Bank Manager)
Casey Rigsby (334) 339-0010
or crigsby@westervelt.com (Credit Sales)
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sipsey-river-mitigation-bank-receives-agency-approval-302250713.html
SOURCE Westervelt Ecological Services