Wetlands play an important role in watersheds from providing food and shelter for a wide variety of organisms to protecting and improving water quality. Recognizing how crucial wetlands are, federal law requires that after securing a permit for the discharge of dredged or fill material into wetlands and other aquatic resources, efforts must be made to offset the adverse impact by creating, restoring, or enhancing aquatic resources elsewhere. State regulations outline that the wetland replacement must be located near the impacted wetland or within the same watershed.
 
Unfortunately, our state regulations are not sufficient in protecting our local water resources from negative impacts. Part of the I-80 Expansion Project is planned to run through wetlands in Stroudsburg Borough in Monroe County. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation applied to offset this impact by using the Sunnybrook Mitigation Bank in Damascus, Wayne County, which is over 60 miles away from the project area. In addition to the distance, Damascus is not hydrologically connected to Stroudsburg, so the mitigation does not provide benefits to the local watershed in Stroudsburg.
 
That is why I am introducing legislation to ensure that wetland replacement efforts stay local. When wetlands and other water resources are negatively impacted, it is essential that any remediation efforts stay in the same area where the impact occurs. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation to better mitigate impacts to our water resources.