Low Cost.
In traditional off-site mitigation, landowners must pay for suitable land,
engineering reports, wetlands studies and earth work before new wetlands
can be created. Once created, these new wetlands are subject to
additional annual supervision and maintenance costs to ensure their
survival. In addition, intangible costs associated with the
liability issue make it nearly impossible for a landowner to accurately
estimate the ultimate cost of traditional off-site mitigation. By eliminating
these expenses, KCWMB provides a mitigation solution with a substantial
cost savings.
Elimination of Liability. In traditional off-site mitigation the
developer and landowner are liable for the success of a wetland project
over a five year period. Since the creation of wetlands is an expensive,
complex and time-intensive process, a developer can incur significant
costs to rebuild a wetland project if it should fail. A developer who
buys wetlands from KCWMB faces no uncertainty about a mitigation project's
success because KCWMB assumes all liability. In essence, KCWMB has been
approved by the agencies, which eliminates the developers' mitigation
responsibilities.
Comprehensive Solution. Developers can spend up
to 18 months gaining approval for a wetland mitigation plan. Each plan
requires approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Texas Parks &
Wildlife, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the Texas
General Land Office. Since KCWMB has been pre-approved by these agencies,
landowners are released from this time-consuming task which frees them to
focus on their development project.
Premier Wetlands Location. The selected site borders on Cypress
Creek and two of its tributaries. These tributaries plus the topography
of the surrounding land ensures that KCWMB has an abundant long-term natural
supply of water through rain and run-off. The soil in this area is also
conducive to wetlands. Indeed, parts of the land were wetlands prior
to their conversion to rice fields in the 1930's. The hydrology and
geology are both highly favorable to wetlands creation and insure that
these wetlands will survive for generations.
Successful Completion and Operation. KCWMB has created a diverse wetland
habitat which has been reviewed and approved by the government's wetland experts.
Thus the public is assured that any wetland impaction offset by KCWMB will be mitigated
by fully functioning, self-sustaining new wetlands. Because KCWMB has created these
wetlands prior to selling, KCWMB prevents the temporal loss of wetlands
typically caused during traditional mitigation.
Biological Diversity. KCWMB has more than 130 acres currently
functioning as wetlands, and the entire site is almost 580 acres. KCWMB
encompasses more type of habitats than "postage stamp" parcels
and provides more secluded interior habitat. This large scale and habitat
diversity fosters a greater variety of wetland plants and animals. As
a result, the environment benefits from having one large, high quality
wetland rather than several traditional "postage stamp" off-site
wetlands.
Professional Design and Management. KCWMB works closely with wetland
experts and governmental agencies to design, build and monitor these wetlands.
KCWMB has the resources, desire and economic incentive to ensure the long-term
success of these wetlands, ensuring that they will continue to thrive
for the benefit of future generations.
Benefits to Government Agencies
Monitoring and Compliance. KCWMB in essence consolidates numerous
small off-site wetland mitigation projects, allowing agencies to more efficiently
use their limited resources when reviewing mitigation projects. This consolidation
improves the agencies' ability to monitor projects, thereby improving their efforts
to restore, create and enhance wetlands for mitigation purposes.
