City of Columbia, Missouri Proposed Umbrella Wetland & Stream Mitigation Bank Hinkson Creek and Perche Creek Sites (Bank Prospectus) City of Columbia Columbia, Missouri Boone County, Missouri TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES OF PROPOSED MITIGATION BANK ....................2 II. ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF THE BANK ......................................................1 III. BANK OWNERSHIP AND LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT 2 IV. RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT..........................................................................................2 V. SERVICE AREA FOR THE MITIGATION BANK SITE .......................................................2 VI. NEED AND TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY .............................................................................6 VII. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE SPONSOR 6 VIII. MITIGATION PLAN REQUIREMENTS FOR BANK SITE ..............................................7 A. Ecological Context .............................................................................................................. 6 B. Objectives 7 C. Site Selection and Baseline Information ............................................................................. 8 1. Area Land Use ................................................................................................................ 8 2. Hydrology ...................................................................................................................... 8 3. Soils................................................................................................................................ 8 4. Vegetation ...................................................................................................................... 9 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1: Project Coordinates ..................................................................................................................... 1 FIGURE 2: The Geographic Extent of Bank Service Areas Within Missouri .......................................................................................................................... 4 FIGURE 3: City of Columbia Mitigation Bank Primary Service Areas Map ................................................................................................................................. 5 APPENDIX REFERENCE MAPS City of Columbia, Umbrella Wetland & Stream Mitigation Bank Page 1 City of Columbia, Missouri Proposed Umbrella Wetland & Stream Mitigation Bank I. INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES OF PROPOSED MITIGATION BANK The City of Columbia (Sponsor) is proposing to develop an umbrella mitigation banking instrument that will govern the operation and the maintenance of the proposed Hinkson Creek mitigation site and the Perche Creek mitigation site. Additional mitigation sites may be proposed in the future under this umbrella banking instrument. The two initial bank sites will be constructed in order to restore aquatic and terrestrial habitats and enhance the existing habitats of approximately 90-120 acres of wetland and the establishment and/or enhancement of approximately 17,000 feet of stream buffer on Perche Creek and approximately 22,000 feet of stream buffer along Hinkson Creek for a mitigation bank that will provide compensatory mitigation for City of Columbia infrastructure construction projects with unavoidable wetland and/or stream impacts. The proposed Umbrella Wetland and Stream Mitigation Bank (Bank) will be established and constructed at two locations either within City limits or adjacent to and bordered by Hinkson and Perche Creeks in Boone County, Missouri (Figure 1). Figure 1: Project Coordinates Site Latitude Longitude Sec/Twn/Range Hinkson Creek 39o 00’ 30.89” 92o 15’ 28.02” Sec. 15,22 & 27, T49N, R12W Perche Creek 38o 54’ 46.75’ 92o 25’ 31.93” Sec. 29, 30 & 31, T48N, R13W II. ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF THE BANK The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) approval of this Instrument constitutes the regulatory approval required for the City of Columbia, Missouri Umbrella Wetland and Stream Mitigation Bank to be used to provide compensatory mitigation for Department of the Army permits pursuant to 33 C.F.R. 332.8(a)(1). This Instrument is not a contract between the Sponsor or the Property Owner and the USACE or any other agency of the federal government. Any dispute arising under the Instrument will not give rise to any claim by the Sponsor or the Property Owner for monetary damages. This provision is controlling notwithstanding any other provision or statement in the Instrument to the contrary. The Sponsor proposes to create/restore/enhance/preserve a total of approximately 480 acres of wetland/stream and wetland/stream buffer at the Bank at two sites: Hinkson Creek – This site, owned by the City Solid Waste Utility, is located on part of the City’s landfill property. This project will include approximately 10,000 feet of stream buffer along Hinkson Creek. The site will be developed primarily for stream credits through riparian corridor improvements i.e., tree plantings and preservation of existing riparian areas that are owned by the Sponsor. Depending on site design, a small wetland could be developed in the southeast corner within the existing agricultural field. Perche Creek – This site is approximately 420 acres in size and is owned by the City Sewer Utility. The site is located at the confluence of Hinkson and Perche Creeks and is proposed to be developed for compensatory wetland and stream mitigation credits. The current land use is a mix of agricultural row crops and hay fields along with the existing floodplain riparian and scour/oxbow features. The Sponsor proposes to restore/enhance City of Columbia, Umbrella Wetland & Stream Mitigation Bank Page 2 approximately 90-120 acres of wetland and restore/enhance approximately 21,700 feet with 200-300 foot stream buffers at the Perche Creek Site. Both sites are bordered or bisected by Hinkson and/or Perche Creek. The Bank is located entirely within the Hinkson Creek watershed and at the confluence with Perche Creek, which is in the Lower Missouri-Moreau (HUC 10300102) and within or adjacent to the city limits of Columbia, Missouri. Hinkson Creek is classified as intermittent (Class C) upstream of Route 163 in Columbia and perennial (Class P) downstream of Route 163 within Missouri’s Water Quality Standards (10 CSR 20-7.031), with the designated beneficial uses of irrigation, livestock and wildlife watering, protection of warm water aquatic life and human health (fish consumption), whole body contact recreation (Category B) and secondary contact recreation. The dominant soil types at the Bank are 1) Moniteau, a poorly-drained silt loam, 2) Haymond, a well-drained silt-loam, 3) Wilbur, a moderately well-drained silt loam, 4) Perche, a moderately well-drained silt loam, and 5) Carlow, a poorly-drained silty clay. The existing riparian corridors average 50 feet in width at both sites and are primarily made up of silver maple and sycamore with some cottonwood and miscellaneous hard mast species. III. BANK OWNERSHIP AND LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT The Sponsor purchased these properties through fee-simple title acquisition in the mid-1980s and 1990s. Upon assurance of Bank acceptance, the Sponsor will place a restrictive real estate covenant or an approved integrated natural resource management plan with an annual appropriation in the city’s budget that assures the properties will be maintained as wetland, stream and upland habitats in perpetuity. The Sponsor will own the Bank until all the compensatory mitigation credits are debited and the Sponsor will retain the Bank, thereafter, as natural resource type public land. The Sponsor will be the Owner/Operator of the Bank and the Sponsor will be responsible for the implementation of any long-term and/or adaptive management plans, approved by the Corps of Engineers, for the life of the Bank or for as long as the city owns the Bank properties. A conservation easement that includes prohibited uses for the Bank properties will be filed with the appropriate county of city office upon a fee simple sale of one or both properties. IV. RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT Wetland and stream credits have not yet been determined. Credits generated by the construction of this Bank are intended to be used as compensation for City of Columbia construction projects that result in unavoidable wetland and/or stream impacts. Likely third party use will be limited to other regional government entities (MoDOT, Boone County, Municipalities). However, mitigation credits may be sold on the open market with the approval of the Sponsor and the approval of the Corps of Engineers. In the event that the Sponsor should sell credits to a third party, the Sponsor would assume all legal responsibility for providing adequate compensatory mitigation at the time the third party secures the mitigation credits at the Bank. V. SERVICE AREA FOR THE MITIGATION BANK According to 33 CFR Part 332.8(d)(6)(ii)(A) and the Mitigation Banking Instrument Outline For Proposed Mitigation Banks Within the State of Missouri, the service area for a bank “should be appropriately sized to ensure that the aquatic resources provided will effectively compensate for adverse environmental impacts across the entire service area.” Furthermore, the USACE Districts City of Columbia, Umbrella Wetland & Stream Mitigation Bank Page 3 and the Interagency Review Team (IRT) have agreed that the Ecological Drainage Unit (EDU), defined by the Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership (MoRAP), is the largest service area unit that will be considered