The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is partnering to release the first-of-its-kind digital compensatory mitigation and nutrient credit marketplace. The Stream, Wetland, and Nutrient (SWaN) credit trading platform increases transparency, making it easier for permittees to purchase credits and for bankers to sell them. SWaN was developed and will be operated by Water Ledger.
Under Virginia’s “no net loss” policy for wetlands and streams, all new construction that removes a wetland or stream in the Commonwealth must replace it within the same watershed. This is often done through mitigation banks, which create new wetlands and restore streams, generating credits. DEQ’s existing nutrient credit trading program, which offers regional solutions for storm water quality requirements, will also be available on the platform. Purchasing credits from existing banks through SWaN provides immediate, established credits. Once banks are completed, they are placed into perpetual conservation and are unable to be developed in the future.
“When credits aren’t readily available or information is not up-to-date, projects are delayed and environmental outcomes suffer,” says DEQ Director Mike Rolband. “SWaN modernizes Virginia’s mitigation and nutrient credit marketplace by bringing transparency, consistency, and efficiency to a system that has long needed it, ultimately improving environmental outcomes and predictability for permittees.”
SWaN improves upon the current U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tracking system, which lists wetland, stream, and nutrient credit banks, but does not report pricing, serial codes for individual credits, or transactions, and may report delayed information about credit availability.
