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.
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
Participant Documents
Program Documents