Mitigation Banks

Pigeon Pond Mitigation Bank

The Pigeon Pond Mitigation Bank is a 1400-acre property in Berkeley County, South Carolina that has been authorized through the issuance of a US Army Corps of Engineers permit to operate as a commercial wetlands mitigation bank. The purpose of the Bank is to provide compensatory mitigation for projects or permit applicants where on-site mitigation is not available, adequate, feasible or practicable.

The Pigeon Pond Mitigation Bank is available to provide compensatory mitigation within the identified service areas (Service Area Map), on a fee basis, for any authorized impacts to state or federal jurisdictional freshwater isolated or above the headwaters wetlands. Additionally, the mitigation bank is available to mitigate for other authorized impacts on a case-by-case basis.

The mitigation bank is not intended to bypass the normal sequencing requirements of the Section 404 permit review process (i.e.: avoidance, minimization, compensation). Mitigation credits from the Bank can only be utilized for projects or activities that have been properly authorized in accordance with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations.

The ratio of mitigation credits in the Bank required to adequately compensate for wetland impacts will be determined on a site and/or project specific basis in accordance with the Charleston District Corps of Engineers Standard Operating Procedure for Compensatory Mitigation Plans.

The Pigeon Pond Mitigation Bank is located in southern Berkeley County north of SSR 135 and south of SC 311. Lake Moultrie is approximately 3 miles to the east and the Francis Beidler Forest 6 miles to the west . Geographically, the site is located in the lower coastal plain of South Carolina. The site is physically connected to the Wassamassaw Swamp to the south through a natural drainage system. The Wassamassaw Swamp and its tributaries are head waters of the Ashley River.

Historically, the site was a mature cypress (Taxodium spp.) dominated Carolina Bay wetland. From 1929 until the establishment of the mitigation bank in 2003, it was managed for timber production. In its original undisturbed state, this unique ecosystem provided valuable wildlife habitat and water quality functions. The restoration efforts associated with the mitigation bank will restore the natural characteristics and values to this habitat. This work includes:

• Restoration of Hydrology - Natural hydrologic regimes will be restored to the entire site.
  
  
• Restoration of Indigenous Vegetation - Areas of the Carolina Bay that have been previously impacted by historic silvivulture activites will be restored to the vegetative community indigenous to this unique wetland system.
  
  
• Preservation and Buffers - The entire 1400-acre Bank site is preserved in perpetuity, in an essentially natural, undisturbed state. 141 acres of upland buffers have been established around approximately 3.5 miles of the perimeter of the Bank site.

Additional information and/or assistance in calculating the number of credits needed for mitigation or purchasing credits from Pigeon Pond Mitigation Bank can be obtained by contacting:

Pigeon Pond, LLC
c/o Newkirk Environmental, Inc.
P.O. Box 746
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29465

843/388-6585
FAX 843/388-6580