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August 8, 1990 POL-3025 



Page 3 of 10 



Mitigation is sequenced so that compensation is employed 

 only after avoidance and minimization of impact are incor- 

 porated to the greatest extent possible. 



Wetland mitigation should include performance standards, 

 evaluation of the success of mitigation for five years 

 and modification or restoration at earliest opportunity to 

 ensure success of mitigation. 



4. Wetland Fills Will Only be Approved for Water Dependent 

 Proj ects 



In the review of U. S. Army Corps of Engineers' Section 

 404 permits, WDW will recommend against approval o£ fills 

 that cause an alteration to wetlands unless Section 404 

 (b) (1) analysis demonstrates there is no practical 

 alternative and the project is needed. 



5. Wetland Degradation Will be Avoided and Acreage and Function 

 Will be Preserved 



WDW will only accept a loss of wetland area, function or 

 value at a site when the loss is unavoidable (no alterna- 

 tive exists) and when any loss of wetland area, function 

 and value is fully compensated. Compensation will be 

 accepted as mitigation only after the proposal has been 

 designed to minimize impacts to wetlands and adjacent 

 uplands. 



6. Wetland Compensation Will be Coordinated With Other Agencies 



WDW will coordinate with the Environmental Protection 

 Agency, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine 

 Fisheries Service, Washington Department of Fisheries, 

 Washington Department of Ecology, affected tribes and 

 local governments to ensure WDW approved compensation is 

 agreeable to all the resource agencies. ' WDW will work 

 with other resource agencies to develop goals for wetland 

 mitigation, monitoring and contingency plans. 



