Page 43 - North American Clean Energy July/August 2019 Issue

southern portion of the state can use these credits on a case-by-case basis.
e site also included a conservation easement on the bank property, and
is funding a non-wasting endowment that will be tied to the land to provide funding for long-term management activities. e conservation easement and endowment are held by the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation.
Obtaining bank approval
e USFWS will only grant approval to a conservation bank under speci c conditions. Before the USFWS green lights a conservation bank, sponsors are required to:
• Enter into a Conservation Banking Agreement with USFWS;
• Grant a conservation easement over the bank property to an eligible third party, precluding future development of the property and restricting certain land uses;
• Develop interim and long-term management plans for the conservation bank; and
• Provide funding for monitoring and management of the conservation bank in perpetuity through establishment of a non-wasting endowment.
By using the resources of a conservation bank, developers can reduce the financial, permitting, and timing uncertainty of smaller, individual conservation projects. In addition, developers are relying on biological professionals who are shaping the ecological restoration. From the helm of a conservation bank, environmental scientists
and regulatory agencies can target specific environmental, biological, and stakeholder concerns.
Because conservation banks are beholden to comply with USFWS performance standards, choosing
to purchase credits in a bank rather than create an individual mitigation project eliminates the distraction of long-term management and biological performance liability for landowners and developers. is cost-e ective solution can expedite permitting e orts, sever speci c mitigation obligations, and consolidate smaller mitigation requirements into this large, more ecologically viable site.
Paul Sherman is an environmental professional and project manager
with nearly 20 years of experience. He serves as National Mitigation Bank Acquisition + Planning Lead at Burns & McDonnell, a family of companies made up of 7,000 engineers, architects, construction professionals, scientists, consultants, and entrepreneurs worldwide. Paul specializes in land acquisition and planning, and environmental mitigation and restoration. His experience includes conceptualizing, entitling and developing complex projects; and integrating a multidisciplinary team to identify, acquire, develop, and construct economically sound and biologically important restoration and conservation projects.
Josiah Maine is an Environmental Scientist at Burns
& McDonnell. He performs a variety of environmental studies, specializing in studies on threatened and endangered bats. In addition, he conducts sheries and aquatic ecology studies for power generation plants across the Midwest, working work with clients in transportation, transmission, generation, oil and gas, and renewables.
Burns & McDonnell /// www.burnsmcd.com
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North American Clean Energy
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