FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 25, 2008

The Flint River Mitigation Bank (FRMB) announces the construction completion of 1,800 linear feet of stream restoration on Whitewater Creek (43 acres) within the mitigation bank near Fayetteville, Georgia. The FRMB is a private wetland and stream mitigation bank consisting of three tracts (840 acres total) that sells credits to developers and municipalities in need of mitigation credits to offset water related environmental impacts to the properties that they are developing within the Flint River and Middle Chattahoochee River watersheds. The Flint River Mitigation bank was designed and managed by Ecological Solutions, Inc. of Roswell, Georgia and constructed by Brent Scarbrough & Company (BSC). It is comprised of three mitigation sites that total approximately 840 acres in Fayette, Clayton and Macon counties.

The FRMB expects a stream credit release within the next few months after submitting their final monitoring report to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Savannah District. Currently the mitigation bank is operational and approved to sell wetland and stream mitigation credits for projects in the Upper Flint River and Middle Chattahoochee River basins. The FRMB is authorized under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act to allow applicants with a nationwide, regional, or individual permit to purchase credits from the bank.

Developers with projects within the fore-mentioned watersheds that have impacts to the streams or wetlands on the property must either mitigate on the site, which is often not economically feasible, or they must purchase credits from specifically designed and monitored mitigation banks within the same watershed.

BSC has been building mitigation sites since 1994 and has constructed 14 mitigation sites and banks. These projects total over 1,200 acres of restored, enhanced and preserved wetland and stream mitigation sites. Construction began on the FRMB in 2002, however the Corps of Engineers requires seven years (or more) of careful environmental monitoring before they allow the bank to release all of the mitigation credits for purchase. One acre of wetland impact can require the developer to purchase approximately 8 credits which can cost up to $7,500 per credit; whereas, one foot of stream impact can require 4 to 5 credits which can cost up to $85- $110 per credit. Credit pricing varies based on watershed location and credit availability. Even so, often purchasing credits will be more cost effective for the overall project development when compared to the cost of developing a mitigation site on the project site and will provide a quicker turnaround to satisfy the mitigation obligation of your permit.

For More Information: Contact Mr. Frank James with the Flint River Mitigation Bank at 770-461-8603 or go to the website: www.wetlandscredits.com