(1) The council's intent is to achieve no net loss of wetland areas. Wetland impacts shall be avoided wherever possible. Where impacts cannot be avoided, the applicant shall be required to take one or more of the following actions (in the following order of preference): Restore wetlands on upland sites that were formerly wetlands; create wetlands on disturbed upland sites; enhance significantly degraded wetlands; and preserve high-quality wetlands that are under imminent threat.

(2) Wetland mitigation actions proposed to compensate for project impacts shall not result in a net loss of wetland area except when the lost wetland area provides minimal functions and the mitigation action(s) will clearly result in a significant net gain in wetland functions as determined by a site-specific function assessment.