The department considers the following elements when determining the size of the service area:
(1) The functions provided by the bank and the distance from the bank that the ecological functions can reasonably be expected to compensate for impacts;
(2) Whether the bank addresses existing watershed-based mitigation planning efforts;
(3) How far the ecological and hydrological benefits of the bank extend beyond the bank site location;
(4) The position of the bank within the watershed;
(5) The degree to which the bank restores processes within the watershed;
(6) The size and characteristics of the WRIA in which the bank is located;
(7) The quality, diversity, and regional significance of the habitats provided;
(8) Local needs and requirements, such as consistency with land use or watershed management plans;
(9) Types of impacts that may be compensated through the use of credits from the bank; and
(10) The degree to which the bank supports priorities found in, but not limited to, watershed management plans, watershed characterizations, wetland mapping or inventories, stormwater management plans, shoreline master programs, salmon recovery plans and comprehensive land use plans.
[Statutory Authority: Chapter
90.84 RCW. WSR 09-19-013 (Order 04-13), § 173-700-302, filed 9/3/09, effective 10/4/09.]