Use of Forest Lands for Offsets

Item 102 #2h

Language
Page 79, line 47, strike "$27,241,266" and insert "$37,081,956".
Page 81, after line 3, insert:
"K.1.a. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Virginia State Forest Mitigation and Acquisition Fund, which shall be administered by the Department of Forestry. The fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All amounts appropriated and such other funds as may be made available to the fund from any other source, public or private, shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the fund.  Interest earned on moneys in the fund shall remain in the fund and be credited to it.  Any moneys remaining in the fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the fund.  Moneys in the fund shall be used solely for the i) long term management and stewardship of any mitigation plan, and ii) acquisition of additional state forest lands or conservation easements to be administered by the Department of Forestry.
b.  There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Long Term Mitigation Fund, a subfund of the Virginia State Forest Mitigation and Acquisition Fund which shall be administered by the Department of Forestry. The subfund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All amounts appropriated and such other funds as may be made available to the subfund from any other source, public or private, shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the subfund.  Interest earned on moneys in the subfund shall remain in the subfund and be credited to it.  Any moneys remaining in the subfund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the subfund.  Moneys in the subfund shall be used solely for the long term management and stewardship of any mitigation plan administered by the Department of Forestry.
2.a. Included in this appropriation is an amount estimated at $9,840,690 in the first year from dedicated special revenue, to be deposited into the Virginia State Forest Mitigation Acquisition Fund, contingent upon ratification of a stream mitigation purchase and sale agreement between the Department of Forestry and Henrico County.  This amount represents the proceeds from the stream mitigation transaction, which is based upon the Cumberland State Forest Stream Buffer Preservation Stewardship Plan.  Such agreement shall be limited to fulfill no more than 75 percent of the required stream credits for the Cobbs Creek Reservoir project.  All additional required credits shall be acquired from other sources. With the exception of the amounts prescribed in paragraph K.2.b of this item, these funds shall be used solely for forest land or conservation easement acquisition.
b.  Out of these amounts, a minimum of 7 percent, or such amount as agreed to by the parties in the purchase and sale agreement shall be deposited into the Long Term Mitigation Fund, and shall be used only for long term management in accordance with the terms of the final mitigation plan, as approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the State Water Control Board, and any other applicable authorities.  
3.  For any such future mitigation projects, no state forest land shall be used to provide compensatory mitigation for wetland or stream impacts of any public or private project until such time as due consideration has been given to the availability of mitigation credits available from private sources.  State forest land means all sites, roadways, game food patches, ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, beaches, and lakes to which the Department of Forestry holds title for use, development, and administration."

Explanation
(This amendment establishes a special fund for the deposit of dedicated special revenue received as part of the mitigation of the Cobbs Creek Reservoir project and puts certain restrictions on the amount of credits for this and similar future projects.)