Compensation in wetlands

Abstract

Compensation in the wetland context generally refers to actions taken to offset residual impacts of activities that adversely affect wetlands. Compensation will typically occur as the third stage of the avoid-mitigate-compensate sequence; that is, compensation is utilized when a development project cannot avoid wetland impacts, and steps to mitigate or minimize those unavoidable impacts do not reduce the impact level to zero or some minimal threshold. Depending on the jurisdiction, compensation may also be called an offset or compensatory mitigation or similar terms. A compensation requirement can be part of a policy that seeks to achieve an overall "no net loss" of wetland area and/or function. For example, regulations promulgated by the US Environmental Protection Agency and US Army Corps of Engineers (2008), the wetland regulatory agencies under the US Clean Water Act offer working definitions.