Committee Chair

Tucker, John C.

Committee Member

Spratt, Henry; Guthrie, Elizabeth

Department

Dept. of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Each year, the nation as a whole loses nearly 58,000 acres of wetlands. The national goal of both the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers is to achieve no net loss of wetlands. Wetlands law allows for mitigation of wetland impacts with the implied assumption that the mitigation will adequately compensate for the wetland loss. Mitigation banks are becoming a popular mitigation option. Mitigation banks, due to their large size and ample mitigation ratios, make a significant contribution to the national goal of no net loss. This study evaluates three mitigation banks currently operating in Tennessee. The evaluation is based on the success criteria established in the Memorandums of Agreement specific to each bank in order to determine if each bank is successfully achieving a no net loss of wetlands through the mitigation it provides. This study found that wetland mitigation banking in Tennessee is achieving the national goal of no net loss through generous mitigation ratios and well planned restoration. Despite the current level of success, the mitigation banking process in Tennessee needs changes that would make it even more successful and efficient. Monitoring reports need to be completed and submitted in accordance with firm timetables. Additionally, regulators should establish clearly defined standards for the material content of all monitoring reports. The critical element for monitoring reports should be consistency of content and quality. These changes, along with the establishment of smaller, more regional mitigation banks would greatly improve mitigation banking in Tennessee.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I want to thank my wife, Rachel, for encouraging and supporting me as I pursued this degree. I owe a great deal of thanks also to my parents for their love and support of me. I also greatly appreciate the expertise and helpfulness of John Tucker for guiding me through the process of completing this thesis and for his willingness to serve as the chairperson of my graduate committee. I also thank Elizabeth Guthrie and Henry Spratt for serving on my graduate committee and making recommendations that shaped the course of my research. Thanks also to Virginia Coleman and Marketa Shutters for helping me to meet departmental deadlines and their general willingness to help me complete the requirements of this course of study. Finally and most importantly, thanks be to God!

Degree

M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science.

Date

12-2001

Subject

Wetland mitigation banking--Tennessee; Wetlands--Monitoring--Tennessee

Discipline

Environmental Monitoring

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

vi, 55 leaves

Language

English

Call Number

LB2369.2 .S544 2001

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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