The purpose of this award is for ecology to develop monitoring guidance for wetland compensatory mitigation sites in the state of washington

The Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 awarded the Washington Department of Ecology $311,792 under the Regional Wetland Program Development Grants program (CFDA 66.461) for the period of January 1, 2022 through March 31, 2025. The purpose of this Cooperative Agreement is for Ecology to develop monitoring guidance for wetland compensatory mitigation sites in Washington state. Key products and services include identifying current monitoring protocols used in the state and other jurisdictions; establishing an advisory team to review protocols; producing and distributing monitoring guidance documentation; and developing training materials for staff review of monitoring plans. The project aims to improve the state's ability to evaluate regulatory compliance and ecological success of compensatory mitigation projects to support achieving the goal of no net loss of wetland functions and area. No subawards are included in the agreement.

This award will allow washington state to be better positioned to answer the main question addressed in EPA framework (compensatory mitigation site performance), 'how well do compensation sites meet their stated goals and permit requirements?' to improve our ability to evaluate regulatory compliance and ecological success of compensatory mitigation projects is critical. Activities: project tasks include: identifying the range of current monitoring protocols used in typical projects in WA and other states; develop and implements a communications and outreach plan; establish an advisory team to review current protocols; produce and distribute a monitoring guidance document; and develop training materials for staff who review monitoring plans. Outcomes: this project's outcomes will include guidance for ensuring that for compensatory mitigation project site monitoring plans include adequate and accurate data collection methods; that monitoring data that is collected can demonstrate that project goals, objective and performance standards are met; and that compensatory mitigation site data that is collected can be used to compare across project sites to draw conclusions about whether and how compensatory mitigation is contributing to achieving the state's no net loss of wetland functions and area goal. Beneficiaries of this project include tribal, state and the federal agencies. Subrecipient: no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.