MITIGATION BANKING INSTRUMENT CHEF MENTEUR PASS MITIGATION BANK Brackish Marsh Restoration Project Lake Borgne Area, Orleans Parish, Louisiana Sponsored By: Chef Menteur Credit Co, LLC INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT For Brackish Marsh Restoration near Chef Menteur Pass, Orleans Parish, Louisiana I. PURPOSE OF BANKING INSTRUMENT ....................................................................... 3 II. LOCATION AND OWNERSHIP OF PARCEL ................................................................ 3 III. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................. 4 A. Baseline Conditions ...................................................................................................... 5 1. Land Use ....................................................................................................................... 5 2. Geology and Soils ......................................................................................................... 5 3. Wetland Description ..................................................................................................... 6 B. Wetland Functions to be Enhanced/Restored ............................................................... 6 C. Restoration Plan ............................................................................................................ 7 IV. Scope of Responsibilities .................................................................................................... 7 A. Sponsor ......................................................................................................................... 7 B. Mitigation Bank Review Team ..................................................................................... 7 C. Holder of Conservation Servitude ................................................................................ 7 D. Long-Term Steward (Optional) .................................................................................... 8 V. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS ...................................................................................... 8 A. Initial Success Criteria .................................................................................................. 8 B. Year Two Success Criteria ............................................................................................ 8 C. Year Five Success Criteria ............................................................................................ 9 VI. REPORTING PROTOCOLS AND MONITORING PLAN .............................................. 9 A. As-Built Reports ........................................................................................................... 9 B. Monitoring Provisions .................................................................................................. 9 VII. CONTINGENCY AND REMEDIAL ACTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES .............. 11 A. Fill Material Elevations and Area ............................................................................... 11 B. Vegetative Plantings ................................................................................................... 12 C. Force Majeure ............................................................................................................. 12 VIII. INSPECTION BY IRT AND HOLDER. ......................................................................... 13 IX. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES .......................................................................................... 13 X. BANK USE ....................................................................................................................... 14 A. Service Area ............................................................................................................... 14 B. Work Producing Credits. ............................................................................................ 14 C. Assessment Methodology ........................................................................................... 14 D. Projects Eligible to Use the Bank ............................................................................... 15 E. Requirements Prior to Release of Credits ................................................................... 16 F. Schedule of Credit Availability .................................................................................. 17 XI. LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE AND PROTECTION ................................................. 18 XII. ADDENDA TO THE MITIGATION BANK .................................................................. 20 XIII. MODIFICATION OF THIS BANKING INSTRUMENT ............................................... 20 XIV. TRANSFER OF OPERATION AND/OR OWNERSHIP ................................................ 21 XV. BANK LIFE ...................................................................................................................... 22 XVI. OTHER PROVISIONS ..................................................................................................... 22 i ATTACHMENTS: Attachment A: Federal and State Authorities Attachment B: Maps Attachment C: Site Restoration Plan Attachment D: Monitoring Report Form Attachment E: Credit Calculations MVN MCM Calculations: Wetland Value Assessment Attachment F: Transfer Agreement Letter ii INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT For Brackish Marsh Restoration near Chef Menteur Pass, Orleans Parish, Louisiana I. PURPOSE OF BANKING INSTRUMENT This Banking Instrument, consistent with federal and state authorities (Attachment A), is an agreement made and entered into by Chef Menteur Credit Co, LLC (Sponsor) and the Interagency Review Team (IRT) composed of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District (CEMVN), Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Office of Coastal Management (OCM), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). The purpose of this Banking Instrument is to establish guidelines and responsibilities for the establishment, use, operation, protection, monitoring and maintenance of the CHEF MENTEUR PASS MITIGATION BANK (Bank). The construction and restoration of wetland habitats on the Bank will be used for compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts to waters of the United States, including wetlands, that result from activities authorized under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (Section 404) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (Section 10) and/or LA. R.S. 49:214.21-214.41 and provided such activities have met all applicable requirements and are authorized by the appropriate authority. This banking instrument also defines performance standards, monitoring protocol and remedial actions, as described herein, to ensure the Bank success. II. LOCATION AND OWNERSHIP OF PARCEL The Bank is located in Orleans Parish, Township 11 South, Range 14 East. The mitigation sites fall within the landmass that is bound by the Chef Menteur Pass on the west side, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway on the north side, Lake Borgne on the south side, and the Rigolets to the east (Attachment B.1.). Specifically it is described as: A certain parcel or tract of land, located in Sections 26, 35 and 36, Township 11 South, Range 14 East, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, being more particularly described as the south half of Section 26, all of Section 35 and the west half of Section 36. (Property) The EIP Chef Menteur, LLC is the fee owner of the Property. The Sponsor will obtain and provide a tax, title and mortgage certificate, or title binder, from an approved American Land Title Association title company that demonstrates that there are no restrictions or encumbrances that will affect development of the Property as planned in this Banking Instrument, nor conflict with the environmental protections to be created by placing a conservation servitude on said Property that will burden the property for a period of 20 years. To avoid the risk of possession by a financial institution, the Property cannot be identified as collateral in other business transactions. 3 III. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The goal of the Sponsor is to establish and protect a brackish marsh wetland community as a species diverse, sustainable ecosystem by restoring unique functions, values, and services. Work required to accomplish these goals include the dredging and deposition of material to an elevation capable of supporting an intertidal brackish marsh and with tidal creeks and ponds. The proposed work would increase the habitat value for those fishery and wildlife resources utilizing these habitats. The restoration and protection associated with this project will further enhance the longevity of this landmass. Shoreline erosion and wetland loss are serious concerns in and around Lake Pontchartrain. The landfall of hurricane Katrina in southeast Louisiana destroyed thousands of acres of marsh and other coastal habitats in the Lake Pontchartrain basin. Along the shorelines of Lake Borgne the storm created breaches between the lake and interior marshes and in some cases removed large expanses of wetlands. Loss of wetlands in the Alligator Bend area has created more than 1,000 acres of open water in a complex that formerly supported relatively stable brackish marshes. Post-storm aerial photographs show the most significant losses occurred along the flanks of Bayou Platte (Attachment B.2-4). The current landscape configuration has left a large area of open water between