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Pact Sheet'
<br />V1'etland Banking at Former ~9ine Lands:
<br />An Ecolol;ical Solution with Economic Benefits
<br />T{lis •fact sheet is intended to educate comnlunilies, aline lane! owners, pote)uiully responsible
<br />parties, companies, and othc~rinterestcd individuals about theopportultities associu1ec111'id1 reusin~;r
<br />.lornler aline lct-lds to C reate 1+~etlund hculks. /t is one of a series of papers that desc•rihe a raricty o>~
<br />tools that c•an he used to reuse.Jornler mining SIte.S. OIIIPI• IOplc'S 1)1 t171S Sel'lE'.S' 1)1('JUde cclrhon
<br />sequestration, 11•uter•qualitl•eredits, «rxllund consen~utial. This paper_focllses on one tool, wetlu)xl
<br />banking, that nluy he applicable 10 0111' a .Sl11UIl pe)"CC:71t[!ge r~~~the fornu~r aline Icnuls througlunlt 1hE'
<br />counn•v. flvwever, given tlu~ number Of former mine lands, II1ut Slnall pel'CE'.71taf;E' ))lal' rc~prese)1t
<br />thousands of ~uctuul sitec. TI1is docanne,rr also describes the opportunities and limitations ELSSOCI(I!P(1
<br />117th 1lJ'lllg !vale)' yualih~ h-uding c'-•edits lllld /))'OVIde.S' I'e50U)•Ce alJCl CO11taC1 1)1~01'nlati011.
<br />Introduction
<br />Across the United States hundreds of thousands
<br />of former mine lands lie idle or abandoned.
<br />Although they were once productive sources of
<br />raw Itlaterials fur thriving industries they may
<br />now contaminate the environment. 44'etland
<br />banking may provide a solution to the problems
<br />caused by former mine lands- a solution that
<br />not only returns idle land to productive use, but
<br />also benefit, the environment, the property
<br />owner, and the local community.
<br />Wetland banking, the restoration, creation, or
<br />enhancement of wetlands to offset tiriure
<br />development impacts to other wetlands, was
<br />designed as a compensatory mitigation
<br />mechanism to support the wetland preservation
<br />requirements of the 1972 Clean Water Act
<br />(CWA). Today, wetland banking is a
<br />commonly employed compensatory mitigation
<br />approach and one which can produce numerous
<br />benefits at t~lrlner mine lands.
<br />`Ve:~tland l;anking'Ccrmti
<br />(?n-tiitr('rtmprn~atnrt \lili~arion:'tLrrc;c<!r;ttiott.
<br />.:rcatinn, c,r ca:itiir..:tn:.nt ,,f tcrtinnaa an~Liu other
<br />act~.tatic rrxauri:~> ;,t uCt~i^, t:natat.!~atlc d~cr;c• nnk~ac!s
<br />,; h"icl; rrtn;a:::tt?..r a!t ap(~r:~kuiutc mc•a,ttrr, h:,~ c beta
<br />talon tit nunimi~e ck,ttn.it~c. (m-site cctntp~~n:au,r}'
<br />niiti;aatirnuceur>, ~!;st.enr „r c,u::is:u,rt~tvi:h the
<br />Il,CatlUn i+t rlt: c{:i ll'. !'. _'.,~ N'irt,itl,l ~.
<br />Oft-~ilr ('nntpen,atnrc ~liti~ation; l.'eltLtcing-the
<br />Itut.ti;ttt,in~,~r ~i,ttna~ai •,~;r:l;tn~t; anc c,r aaua;ic
<br />t~~;;,~ur~e> thn,ut;li ihccrcatirn, rc-ctnna:i<,n.<u
<br />rnh:incrm~t;t of i,intiLu reouri., ::. ;: tacati:ut c,th;;r
<br />;h;ut the :u'ca, n~ur the ,ianta~:cri resuurcas.
<br />Kankin~ Instrument: F;sc-ntiall~, the instruinont is a
<br />~l~~rununt :itat +~~~.ulm;. the aco11C u(t';e ~+'etlanJ hank,
<br />including th lth}':irtl ::nd Ira! ~harr,cteristirs of iltr
<br />hank ,uul hu~~~ the hank tt'ill b~ e~,[akrlish„d^nd
<br />oltera~,eti.
<br />K:utk Sp,unsur::\ny'~ublic or pnvat~~ .ntity
<br />reslunuibl:~ f,tr e~rthlish'it:}, anu, in ntu,t circuntsranccs
<br />„V•~crautt~ ;' miti~~ati,ttt bank.
<br />ticrvicc :~rca; l itc cicsi~,r::ucd :uea (::L., tvater~het!.
<br />c~ntn~:~) t+~hetein;t hank can rettsonahlt he~e~perte~i to
<br />ktr,?vidc api,roktriatr ~untltcr,sation ti,r itn~act to
<br />tteti;utds anchor other a,Vuane ra;ourcc;.
<br />As this paper will describe in greater detail,
<br />wetland banking at former mining sites
<br />rc: l'<<:c'rnI Hrrid,tnce: fro' thr~ Fa'tui~l;~irrrt~•rtt,
<br />(lirerutin+t ~r! t/iti;:;~rti+rn Rrnrk.~'. N,wcntber 1
<br />t This document does not represent official US EPA polity ar guidance. Rather this material presents
<br />alternative approaches which may lead to environmental improvements at mining sites.
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