Mitigation Reserves Program - King County, Washington

The goal is to have the program "certified" and operational by the end of 2009 to comply with new federal rules governing in-lieu fee mitigation. On this page you will find:

• An overview of in-lieu fee mitigation
• Basic information about the revised Mitigation Reserves Program
• Links to related documents and images
• Next steps toward program certification
• Contact for more information

An overview of in-lieu fee mitigation

King County has abundant and varied natural resources. There are also more than 1.8 million people living in King County. With development there are often unavoidable impacts to natural resources. The Growth Management Act and King County Comprehensive Plan establish a framework for guiding where and how development occurs on a landscape scale, and King County's Critical Areas Ordinance (KCC Chapter 21A.24) (PDF file 513 KB) protects many of these natural environments on a site and project scale. But sometimes permitted projects create unavoidable impacts that must be "mitigated."

In simplest terms, mitigation means "lessening," or "offsetting" impacts related to development. King County Code prioritizes on-site mitigation when possible. However, if mitigation on-site or adjacent to the development site is impractical or won’t result in meaningful ecological benefit, off-site mitigation becomes an option.

For impacts to aquatic resources in King County, off-site mitigation options may include use of a mitigation bank, "permittee-responsible" mitigation, or in-lieu fee mitigation through the Mitigation Reserves Program.

In a Federal Rule (PDF file 567 KB) published in April 2008, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) define an in-lieu fee program as:

 “A program involving the restoration, establishment, enhancement, and/or preservation of aquatic resources through funds paid to a governmental or non-profit natural resources management entity to satisfy compensatory mitigation requirements... Similar to a mitigation bank, an in-lieu fee program sells compensatory mitigation credits to permittees whose obligation to provide compensatory mitigation is then transferred to the in-lieu program sponsor.”

Basics of the Mitigation Reserves Program

Since 2005, King County has been operating the Mitigation Reserves Program (MRP) as a pilot program. The program is now being revised and moving out of the pilot phase. The proposed revisions to the structure and processes for completing mitigation projects are based in large part on guidance outlined in a Federal Rule issued in April 2008 by the Corps and EPA.

Here is a step-by-step example of the process for mitigating unavoidable permitted impacts through the MRP*:

1. King County's Department of Development and Environmental Services (DDES), as the regulatory agency, works with the applicant (often a developer) to avoid and minimize environmental impacts of the proposed project.
2. DDES determines the best options for mitigating impacts: on-site if practical and feasible from an ecological standpoint; otherwise DDES gives applicant the option to mitigate off-site.
3. Off-site mitigation options may include mitigation banks, in-lieu-fee mitigation programs (the MRP or other certified programs), and permittee-responsible off-site mitigation.  
4. If the applicant chooses to use the KC MRP, the functional impacts are assessed and quantified into a number of debits associated with the impact.
5. The applicant buys credits from the KC MRP to offset the debits associated with the impact. By purchasing credits, the applicant satisfies their compensatory mitigation requirements.
6. The KC MRP directs a site selection process, choosing mitigation sites from a predefined Roster. Roster sites may be publicly or privately owned, and should be chosen based on watershed priorities established through planning efforts. 
7. The KC MRP directs one of four King County “design/build groups” to plan, implement, monitor and maintain projects at chosen sites that will achieve ecological “lift.” On balance, completed projects should result in a number of credits equal to the number of debits associated with the original impacts.

*At multiple points in the process, an Inter-agency Review Team will review and approve project proposals. The IRT is co-chaired by the Corps and the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology); other members will include representatives from tribes, local governments, and other state and federal regulatory agencies.

MRP Prospectus and Roster Site documentation

The following links lead to documents describing the proposed program in detail. On June 18, 2009, the following documents were submitted to the  Corps, Ecology, and EPA for review; there is a concurrent Public Comment period (PDF file 56 KB) through July 18, 2009:

• The Prospectus (PDF file 264 KB)  provides an overview of all elements of the MRP
• The Overview Service Area and Roster Sites map (JPG, 1.3 MB) shows all service areas and Roster sites within them.
  
• Individual Service Area maps showing Roster Sites:
• Cedar River (JPG 1.3 MB)
• Central Puget Sound / Vashon (JPG 568 KB)
• Green-Duwamish (JPG 1.2 MB)
• Lake Sammamish, Sammamish River (JPG 802 KB)
• Skykomish River (JPG 705 KB)
• Snoqualmie (JPG 1 MB)
• White River (JPG 719 KB)
  
• Proposed Roster Sites are listed in two categories:
• Natural Resource Lands Roster Sites (PDF file 31 KB) , and
• River and Floodplain Management Section Roster Sites (PDF file 36 KB)

Next steps

• King County submitted a program Prospectus to the Corps, Ecology, and EPA in mid-June 2009
• There Corps, Ecology, and U.S. EPA solicited public comments on the Prospectus from June 18 through July 18, 2009
• In summer 2009, King County will incorporate public comments and feedback from the IRT into the program Instrument
• King County will submit a final program Instrument for IRT approval in autumn 2009

Contact:

For more information about King County’s Mitigation Reserves Program, contact Michael Murphy via email or call 206-296-8008.