Title
Department of Transportation recommending the Board adopt and authorize the Chair to sign Resolution 149-2019 authorizing the Director of Transportation, or designee, to execute agreements for purchase of mitigation credits of up to $175,000, individually for each agreement, from mitigation and conservation banks for improvements, maintenance, and operations of Capital Improvement Program projects and public facilities allowing for the program implementation process to function more efficiently.
FUNDING: N/A
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
In accordance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and regulatory agency approval of Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and maintenance projects, the projects may require purchase of mitigation credits in accordance with jurisdictional policies of regulatory agencies such as, but not limited to, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps).
The Department of Transportation (Transportation) notifies the regulatory agency that a project may substantially affect existing protected sensitive species or habitat resources. After review of the project’s description, agencies determine if the project will impact protected sensitive species, riparian habitat, aquatic resources, or oak woodland habitat, and may be mitigated in the form of purchasing credits from an approved mitigation or conservation bank. Once a bank is determined to have the necessary credits to purchase, an agreement is drafted and the purchase amount is calculated based upon the loss of species or habitat.
It has been Transportation’s practice to bring every agreement to the Board for approval regardless of the purchase amount. The purchase of these mitigation credits may be as little as $2,000 or as much as $251,000. For efficiency, Transportation is requesting a limit of $175,000 per agreement as the Director of Tr...
Click here for full text