EP 1165-2-502
30 Sep 99
accordance with ER 200-2-2, and the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR,
Parts 1500-1508). The documentation and other requirements of NEPA apply to ecosystem
restoration initiatives as they would to other water resources development initiatives.
a. Mitigation. Ecosystem restoration studies and projects are carried out for the purposes of
protecting or restoring ecological resources as part of a feasibility or reformulation study,
reevaluation of an authorized project, or as part of an operations and maintenance (O&M) activity.
Mitigation activities address unavoidable adverse environmental effects of new project
construction and operation, and are generally planned and implemented concurrently with new
project development. Guidance on mitigation of fish and wildlife impacts is found in ER 1105-2-
100. Since the purpose of ecosystem restoration is to provide environmental benefits, projects
should be formulated and designed to avoid any requirement for compensatory fish and wildlife
mitigation. Districts should consider the broader ecosystem and biodiversity implications of
impacts to fish and wildlife resources when developing fish and wildlife mitigation alternatives.
b. Mitigation Banking. The objective of a mitigation bank is to provide for the replacement of
the chemical, physical and biological functions of wetlands and other aquatic resources which are
lost as a result of authorized impacts. Conceptually, there is no net gain in ecological value as a
result of the creation and operation of a mitigation bank. Therefore, the Corps' permanent
ecosystem restoration authorities under Section 1135 of WRDA 86, as amended; Section 204 of
WRDA 92, as amended; and Section 206 of WRDA 96 will not be used for the creation of
mitigation banks or mitigation credit for the non-Federal sponsor. However, feasibility studies may
consider joint ecosystem restoration and mitigation banking projects, as long as the Corps'
financial participation in the project is limited to the ecosystem restoration element, as discussed in
PGL 46, "Use of Mitigation Banks for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Projects".
c. Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste (HTRW) Concerns. Ecosystem restoration
projects should be designed to avoid HTRWs. The guidance contained in ER 1165-2-132,
"Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste (HTRW) Guidance for Civil Works Projects" is
applicable.
10. Cooperation with Others. The cooperative efforts of multiple Federal agencies as well as non-
Federal interests will often be necessary to achieve ecosystem restoration goals. Successful
restoration at the landscape level will depend on program coordination among those agencies
responsible for management decisions on the separate ecosystem components. In addition,
cooperative efforts which effectively combine Federal investments can potentially achieve greater
ecosystem restoration benefits than individual agencies could achieve alone.
a. Corps ecosystem restoration efforts should complement and be complemented by the
various authorities of other Federal and state agencies, Indian tribes and private groups, such that
common management and restoration objectives are identified early in the study process. To the
extent possible, they should be planned in accordance with goals and objectives established as part
of ongoing regional or watershed planning and management efforts. The Corps will, in some
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