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3. The Wetland Banking Concept: 



a. Wetland banking, for the purposes of this memorandum of agreement, 

 is defined as the following: The offsite creation, restoration, or enhancement 

 of wetlands, which are waters of the United States, to compensate for 

 unavoidable impacts due to roadway development, operation, and 

 maintenance activities by the Idaho Transportation Department. The bank 

 represents a net gain of wetlands to be drawn upon to offset losses caused 

 by activities which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Clean 

 Water Act. 



4. Consistency with Established Legislation, and Rules and 

 Regulations: 



a. The wetland banking program will operate within the constraints of the 

 National Environmental Policy Act, the Glean Water Act, Executive Order 

 1 1990, and all other federal and state legislation, and rules and regulations. 



b. The term wetland is defined by US ACE rules and regulations [33 CFR 

 §328.3(b)]. 



5. Areas and Activities for which Wetland Banking may be 

 Considered: 



a. The wetland bank will be considered one of the practicable mitigation 

 alternatives for ITD construction, operation, and maintenance activities. It 

 may be used only after all other mitigation methods [ie. 40 CFR §1508.20(a} 

 through (d)] have been examined and found to be Impracticable. 



b. The wetland bank will not normally be used to mitigate for the loss of 

 wetlands which are considered unique because of their physical, chemical, 

 or biological composition or ecological importance. These wetlands will be 

 identified during the early coordination phase of the environmental review 

 process and plans will normally be made for mitigation other than wetland 

 banking. 



6. Criteria for Location and Development of a Wetland Bank: 



a. ITD may use its best judgement and consultation with interested 

 agencies to locate and develop individual wetland bank sites at depleted 

 borrow sources, uneconomical remainders of right-of-way, and other 

 publicly owned properties. As a general rule, ITD will locate individual 

 wetland bank sites at locations that have the physical, chemical, and 

 biological character to support wetland development, and as close to 

 anticipated impact sites as possible. 



b. FHWA will participate in the cost of development of a wetland bank 

 when a loss to a wetland resource, attributable to a federal aid construction 

 activity, has been documented. FHWA will approve federal aid participation 



