In Lieu Fee Stream and Wetland Mitigation

Overview

The In Lieu Fee (ILF) Program was initiated by DEP to provide an additional tool for achieving compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts to waters of the United States and state waters, including wetlands, streams and associated buffers. Permits that are required for such impacts by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under §404 of the Clean Water Act, under §10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, and by the State of West Virginia under §401 of the Clean Water Act. The permit allows permittees to participate in the state's ILF Program if there are no Mitigation Banks available to provide compensatory mitigation. Permittees participate by paying a fee, which is determined by inputting qualitative and quantitative data from proposed impacts to streams and wetlands into the West Virginia Stream and Wetland Valuation Metric.

The goal of West Virginia's ILF Program is to achieve no net loss of existing stream and wetland acreage and functions in West Virginia through effective restoration, enhancement, replacement, and preservation of aquatic resources. The program utilizes watershed and landscape based planning to identify and assess potential mitigation opportunities that maximize the ecological benefits of aquatic resources within the same geographic service areas as the impacts. By consolidating the mitigation requirements stemming from multiple impacts, large scale watershed efforts can be focused within priority watersheds. The ILF Program works closely with other state and federal agencies, non-government organizations, academic institutions, watershed associations, individuals and others to develop plans and set priorities.

Contact Us

For more information, please contact:

Dallas Settle, Environmental Resource Analyst
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Water and Waste Management
601 57th St. SE
Charleston, WV 25304
Email: Dallas.S.Settle@wv.gov

Documents and Forms

Program Documents

WV In-Liew Fee Instrument 2021
This West Virginia In-Lieu Fee Mitigation Program Instrument (“Instrument”) between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington and Pittsburgh Districts (“Corps”) and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) details the establishment and processes for the West Virginia In-Lieu Fee Mitigation Program (the “Program”). This Instrument supersedes and replaces the West Virginia In-Lieu Fee Mitigation Program Instrument dated June 3, 2013.
WV In-Lieu Fee Instrument 2013
This West Virginia In-Lieu Fee Mitigation Program Instrument (“Instrument”) between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington and Pittsburgh Districts (“Corps”) and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) details the establishment and processes for the West Virginia In-Lieu Fee Mitigation Program (the “Program”). This Instrument supersedes and replaces the Agreement Concerning In-Lieu Fees between the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dated January 25, 2006.
In-Lieu Fee Grant Guidance Document
The West Virginia In Lieu Fee Program (WV ILF) utilizes a grants process to fund construction of mitigation projects to obtain stream and wetland functional credits. The Program model accomplishes mitigation project delivery in four Phases: Phase 1 – Site Acquisition; Phase 2 – Pre‐ Construction; Phase 3 – Construction; Phase 4 – Monitoring & Maintenance.
In-Lieu Fee Available Credits
Available stream and wetland credits for various West Virginia watersheds.
In-Lieu Fee Revenue and Expenses
In-Lieu Fee Project Development Flow Chart
In-Lieu Fee Project Location Map

Participant Documents

In-Lieu Fee Credit Request Form
For Projects Requiring Greater than 500 Stream Credits
In-Lieu Fee Participant Information Form

Teter Creek AGO

The Teter Creek AGO and Sample Phase 3 Grant Agreement provide guidance for entities that wish to apply to complete the proposed work on Teter Creek in Barbour County WV. A grant application must be completed and submitted through an applicant's OASIS VSS account in order to be eligible for funding.