Stream and Wetland Mitigation

Streams and wetlands in the Chagrin watershed provide flood control, erosion control, and water quality protection services to communities and landowners. Much of CRWP’s work focuses on encouraging members and landowners to develop in ways that maintain these services. Streams and wetlands in the watershed are, however, channelized, filled, and otherwise impacted by development and these impacts will continue. As a part of the permitting process mandated by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), developers may be required to complete compensatory mitigation for these impacts. Compensatory mitigation requires the protection, enhancement, or restoration of streams and wetlands commensurate with proposed impacts. Often this mitigation results in the protection or creation of wetlands and streams far from the original watershed and the net loss of flood control, erosion control, and water quality protection services to communities and landowners.

What is Mitigation?

Mitigation options vary based on the resource being impacted. General options for mitigation include completing a restoration of a stream, wetland or lake habitat, enhancing an existing wetland, stream or lake habitat, or preserving a high quality stream, wetland, or lake habitat. Applicants for permits to impact wetland resources are encouraged to look for potential restoration wetlands before looking for wetland creation, enhancement or preservation opportunities. Stream mitigation may include bank stabilization using biotechnical erosion control techniques, riparian corridor protection or establishment, in-stream habitat enhancement, or re-establishment of flood plain areas. Lake mitigation may include enhancing fish habitat along the shore.

CRWP has been working with interested members and individual property owners to identify potential mitigation and restoration sites and to complete preliminary conceptual mitigation plans to move these projects forward. The purpose of the conceptual plan is intended to guide applicants and facilitate obtaining approval from regulatory agencies to proceed. Although, these conceptual plans provide a direction and conceptual approach based on initial site information, further evaluation and analysis of the project area will be necessary to ensure project success. Completing stream or wetland restoration or enhancement on your property will require naturally vegetated buffers, monitoring for 5 years, permanent protection of the mitigation area through conservation easement or deed restriction, and planting native plants.

In addition to restoring or maintaining the functions of area streams and wetlands, these mitigation projects offer many benefits to communities, including p otential revenue generation on community owned properties and solutions to local stormwater management problems.

If any communities or private citizens are interested in exploring possible options for stream or wetland mitigation on their property, please contact Amy at CRWP at (440) 975-3870 or alh@crwp.org.