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US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS AND WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENTS OF <br />ECOLOGY AND FISH AND WILDLIFE INTERAGENCY REGULATORY GUIDE ON <br />ADVANCE PERMITTEE -RESPONSIBLE MITIGATION <br />DECEMBER 2012 <br />The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Washington State Departments of Fish and Wildlife, <br />Ecology and Transportation have developed the Interagency Regulatory Guide on Advance <br />Permittee -Responsible Mitigation (Guide), dated December 2012, prepared to address questions <br />raised by the Mitigation that Works Forum and their report, "Making Mitigation Work" (Ecology <br />pub. #08-06-018). The report includes a recommendation to "expand appropriate use of advance <br />mitigation'. The Guide is intended to help applicants in developing advance mitigation <br />proposals, and explain how advance mitigation sites may be used to mitigate for unavoidable <br />impacts. This Guide works within existing regulatory authorities and is not intended to expand <br />or restrict any existing regulatory authorities. <br />The regulatory agencies, in signing this document show their support for advance mitigation <br />because it provides mitigation in advance of impacts so the temporal loss of functions common <br />with concurrent mitigation is eliminated or reduced. The risk of mitigation sites not achieving <br />the targeted improvement to wetlands, water quality, and/or fish and wildlife habitat are <br />eliminated because advance mitigation sites will not generate credits until the targeted functions <br />are achieved and the site is proposed for use by an applicant. This Guide provides information <br />on how an advance site can be proposed for regulatory approval, and how a site can, be used to <br />provide aquatic resource mitigation. This Guide is intended to provide flexibility and <br />emphasizes using a watershed approach in planning and designing sites, while operating within <br />existing regulatory frameworks. <br />The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Washington State Departments of Fish and Wildlife <br />and Ecology will use this Guide to provide applicants with information on what is needed when <br />proposing and using an advance mitigation site. <br />Z/,/Je0,/ WM/z Date_ P% Ofj <br />Michelle- W er, Chief Regulatory Branch <br />U.S. Army Corps of Engineers <br />Gord n White, Program Manager <br />Department of Ecology <br />84�� Vuv�' <br />Lia Veneroso, Assistant Director <br />Department of Fish and Wildlife <br />Date -/'Z --/L7, O/CL <br />Date <br />