Wetland Delineation and Mitigation

In order to create a wetland bank on a site north of Renner, SD, Goeden Property LLC needed to determine the existing conditions and how the property could be restored, created or enhanced to provide compensation for off-site wetland impacts.

To complete the site evaluation, IMEG conducted a wetland delineation, collection of hydrological data and a topography survey of the site’s 117 acres and determined 106 acres were eligible to be placed in a wetland bank to compensate for the off-site wetland impacts. A wetland functional assessment for the baseline and proposed conditions was used to calculate the potential credits of the wetland bank. Once existing data was collected in the field, the design began mimicking the floodplain associated with a straightened, linear feature of the site. All reports were efficiently submitted to the appropriate authority for wetland bank approval.

Flooding, USACE regulatory changes, revisions to hydrogeomorphic analysis calculations, regulatory delays, and extreme weather conditions made the project challenging, but IMEG worked with the client and government authorities to complete the wetland bank acceptance in a timely manner.

IMEG also provided construction site observation when construction of the wetland began in late 2017. The first two phases have been completed, and the site will undergo a yearly wetland delineation and monitoring of sample points on transects and basic site information for a minimum of five years.