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�I <br />US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS <br />a S7"r <br />AND WASHINGTON STATES"' <br />US Array corps <br />DEPARTMENTS OF ECOLOGY AND <br />of Engineers <br />FISH AND WILDLIFE <br />Seattle District <br />INTERAGENCY REGULATORY GUIDE ON <br />ADVANCE PERMITTEE -RESPONSIBLE NIITIGATION <br />DECEMBER 2012 <br />Purpose <br />The purpose of this Interagency Regulatory Guide on Advance Permittee -Responsible Mitigation <br />(Guide) is to identify the circumstances under which the Seattle District, U.S. Army Corps of <br />Engineers (Corps) and the Washington State Departments of Ecology (Ecology) and Fish and <br />Wildlife (WDFW) will consider advance permittee -responsible compensatory mitigation for <br />unavoidable impacts to aquatic resources. Nothing in this Guide either diminishes or expands the <br />regulatory authorities of these agencies. This Guide is meant to provide assistance to applicants <br />proposing to establish an advance mitigation site and to explain how a site might be used as <br />mitigation. This Guide supersedes the definitions for advance and excess mitigation found in <br />"Wetland Mitigation in Washington State — Part 1: Agency Policies and Guidance," (2006 Joint <br />Guidance) March 2006, pages 33 and 34, Chapter 4, section 4.11. This Guide complements <br />WDFW's mitigation policy (POL-M5002). <br />Definition of Permittee -Responsible Advance Mitigation <br />In the context of this Guide, advance mitigation is a form of permittee -responsible compensatory <br />mitigation constructed in advance of a permitted impact. Permittee -responsible mitigation is defined <br />by 33 CFR 332.2 as aquatic resource restoration, establishment, enhancement, and/or preservation, <br />undertaken to provide compensatory mitigation, for which the permittee retains full responsibility. <br />Applicants conduct advance mitigation at their own risk. Even if compensatory mitigation activities <br />are themselves authorized by a permit, establishing compensatory mitigation in advance of the <br />impacts does not create any presumption or guarantee that a proposed future impact will be <br />authorized, or that the advance compensatory mitigation will be considered adequate and/or suitable <br />mitigation for any specific future project. <br />Mitigation credits may be generated on an "advance mitigation" basis by establishing an advance <br />mitigation site designed to compensate for future expected impacts. Alternatively, advance <br />mitigation can also be combined with concurrent mitigation required by a Federal, State, or local <br />permit, where the concurrent mitigation site provides additional area beyond the immediate <br />mitigation requirements, and/or the site provides additional functions in excess of what is required <br />for the permitted impact. The excess mitigation generated at a site would be established in advance <br />of, and would generate credits for use against, expected future impacts. In these cases, the area being <br />set aside for advance mitigation must be clearly identified and documented to distinguish from the <br />area being used as concurrent mitigation. <br />1 The 2006 Joint Guidance can be found online at: <br />hU://www.ecy. wa. gov/programs/sca/wetlands/mitigation/2uidance/index.htmi <br />