Mitigation Solutions USA Blog

Houston-Area Wetland Credits for Sale Now

ytaylor — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:54:00 -1200

MSUSA is excited to announce that Spellbottom Mitigation Bank has been permitted and credits have been released for sale by the USACE Galveston District.

For more information, read our latest press release.

Daisetta Swamp Mitigation Bank's MBI Signed; More Houston-Area Credits Available for Reservation

ytaylor — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:30:00 -1200

Houston-area Daisetta Swamp Mitigation Bank's Mitigation Banking Instrument was signed today. Daisetta Swamp is located just east of Houston, and wetland credits are available for reservation. The bank's service area is perfectly situated for offsetting impacts due to pipeline and other oil and gas industry-related development.

New Banks Signed in Arkansas and Texas; Credits Available in the Haynesville and Houston

ytaylor — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:25:00 -1200

Read all about it in our Fall 2011 Newsletter!

More Stream and Wetland Credits Available in the Haynesville Shale via Scoober Creek

ytaylor — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:54:00 -1200

Scoober Creek Mitigation Bank has wetland and stream mitigation credits for sale. The bank's service area is one of seven MSUSA-represented banks that serve the Haynesville Shale Play.

For more information about Scoober Creek and the six other banks, view the latest press release.

Wetland credits are now available in Houston via Spellbottom Mitigation Bank

ytaylor — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:15:00 -1200

The USACE, Galveston District, has signed the Mitigation Banking Instrument for Spellbottom Mitigation Bank and wetland credits are now available.

For more information, read the press release about the bank or go to the Spellbottom bank page.

Houston Business Journal story on wetlands and energy leads with Terry McKenzie

ytaylor — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 03:07:00 -1200

Wetland mitigation gets boost from oil and gas

by Melissa McEver, who covers energy technology, the Port of Houston and international trade for the Houston Business Journal.

Link to this article

Terry McKenzie calls a wetland “Mother Nature’s water filter.” And under federal regulations, any construction projects — oil and gas-related or otherwise — that disturb these “water filters” must be offset by restoring wetlands in the same watershed. That’s where McKenzie’s company, Houston-based Mitigation Solutions USA, steps in.

The company is opening up two new mitigation “banks” — parcels of protected lands that can be restored into wetlands — in the Houston region in a few weeks, giving companies that install pipeline or initiate construction projects in the region a new option for mitigation. Banks are just one option companies can use to offset wetlands impact.

Companies like McKenzie’s walk businesses through the complicated process of applying for mitigation permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and offer credits for purchase from their mitigation banks, which then are used to restore acres of wetlands. The idea is that, in the end, there’s no “net loss” of wetland acreage, McKenzie said.

“If a project is in our banks’ watersheds, then our banks can be utilized,” he said. “We’ll restore a rice farm, for example, and take it back to its original state. We’ll go in and plant native trees to help cleanse water when it flows through the area.”

The two banks opening up are Daisetta Swamp in Liberty County, which covers projects in portions of 13 counties, and Spellbottom in Walker County, which covers projects in portions of seven counties. Both banks can offset wetland impacts in Harris County.

Mitigation banks have existed since the 1980s, but in 2008 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers established consistent rules for mitigation and the use of these banks. In the last few years, companies have turned more to banks and the businesses that market and manage them, said Elliott Bouillion, CEO of Houston-based Resource Environmental Solutions. RES also markets mitigation banks.

“It’s a complicated process for companies, and they need help navigating that,” Bouillion said. “We know a lot about the federal and state regulations, and we do the restoration. Companies are taking this process seriously now, especially because of enforcement, and we help them through it.”

Most of Mitigation Solutions’ and RES’ clients are oil and gas companies, and many are based in Houston, the executives said. RES has credits available to offset impacts in the Haynesville, Eagle Ford and Marcellus shale plays, for a presence in seven states overall. Mitigation Solutions has credits available in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, with plans to expand to Oklahoma and Missouri.

The cost of buying credits and restoring wetlands varies dramatically by location — if the land is close to a city, it often costs more — and the land’s current condition, Bouillion said. There are often multiple mitigation-bank providers within a region, allowing customers to “comparison shop,” he said.

“To compete, you need to be a low-cost producer with high-quality services,” he said.

Using a mitigation bank is the best option for oil and gas companies looking to construct pipelines, said Charlie Ross, director of regulatory affairs for TGGT Midstream, jointly owned by BG Group , a U.K.-based company with its U.S. headquarters in Houston, and Dallas-based EXCO Resources Inc. TGGT has bought mitigation credits from RES for a couple of pipeline projects, he said. RES then restored wetlands in that region, which was DeSoto Parish in Louisiana.

“It used to be that companies did it themselves — this is a much quicker, more efficient way,” Ross said.

On LinkedIn? Click here to follow us there!

ytaylor — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 09:49:00 -1200

Click the link here to follow us on LinkedIn.

Stream and Wetland Mitigation Credits Coming Soon to Arkansas

ytaylor — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 07:38:00 -1200

The United States Army Corps of Engineers has issued the Notice of Intent to Sign for Davis Creek Mitigation Bank.

Read about it here!

No Lions and Tigers ... but Bears on Dutch Creek Mitigation Bank

ytaylor — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 05:49:00 -1200

The proposed Dutch Creek Mitigation Bank in Yell County Arkansas is home to a Black Bear population. Check out the video of one of the bears on our YouTube page and see the picture below.

Dutch Creek Mitigation Bank is slated to be permitted by the Little Rock Army Corps of Engineers early 2012. It will have stream and wetland credits available for sale.

More information about all of our Arkansas banks can be found at this link.

MSUSA's Summer 2011 Newsletter is here

ytaylor — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:55:00 -1200

We're super excited to tell you about four new banks that will be coming online very soon in Texas. These banks will service the Haynesville Shale Play as well as impacts near the Greater Houston area. Read more by clicking here.