EnviroScience (formerly ClearWater Environmental Consultants) has conducted wetland and stream delineations, including GPS mapping of these features on over 100,000 acres in North Carolina alone. Our delineation and subsequent verification with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are key parts of successful land development planning.
Wetlands-Stream Mitigation
EnviroScience (formerly ClearWater Environmental Consultants) conducts Wetland and Stream Mitigation Planning and Implementation as required to replace the loss of wetland and stream function and values. Compensatory mitigation is defined as the restoration, creation, enhancement, or, in exceptional cases, preservation of wetlands and/or other aquatic resources for the purpose of compensating for unavoidable impacts.
The Mitigation Sequence
- Avoid – Adverse impacts to aquatic resources must be avoided, and no discharge shall be permitted if there is a practicable alternative with less adverse impact.
- Minimize – If impacts cannot be avoided, appropriate and practicable steps must be taken to minimize adverse impacts.
- Compensate – Appropriate and practicable compensatory mitigation is not just a requirement, but a crucial step for unavoidable adverse impacts which remain. The amount and quality of compensatory mitigation may not substitute for avoiding and minimizing impacts.
