Mill Creek Mitigation Bank

With infrastructure being a high priority for South Carolina over the next two decades, approved projects will require mitigation credits to offset unavoidable impacts to wetlands and streams. To meet this need, JMT (previously as Tidewater Environmental Services) received state and federal approval of credits on the Mill Creek mitigation bank.

The bank, located near Congaree National Park, is one of the largest banks in the state and has been highly coveted by conservation groups. The project was conceived, planned, and permitted by JMT through an innovative model using public-private partnerships and cooperation. Ultimately, Richland County aims to create greenways and trails to conserve, enhance access, and use these abundant natural resources.

Our team will develop the mitigation bank on 1,360 acres of land. The bank will conserve, restore, and enhance 685 wetland acres and 35,262 LF of streams, which will be returned to a more natural condition through removing a dam and other man-made obstructions. This will improve connectivity and naturalizing hydraulics and bio complexity. A significant area of natural bottomland hardwood floodplain will be restored from open fields and planted pine. The project will preserve a complex of naturalized resources, which will enhance foraging habitat for several species, including the federally-threatened wood stork.