It is the goal of this Ordinance to attain a no net overall loss in nontidal wetland acreage and function, and to strive for a net resource gain in nontidal wetlands within Prince George's County. Achievement of the goal will occur through the regulatory components of this Ordinance and other County initiatives which incorporate nontidal wetland creation, restoration and enhancement projects outside of the regulatory framework. Mitigation standards shall be determined in part through the use of acreage replacement ratios. Acreage replacement ratios are expressed as a relationship between two numbers. The first number shall specify the acreage of nontidal wetlands to be mitigated, and the second shall specify the acreage of nontidal wetlands lost. The Department shall consider the mitigation requirement for replacing the loss of nontidal wetlands to be fulfilled when: The in-kind creation or restoration of nontidal wetlands meets the following replacement ratios: Emergent nontidal wetlands 1:1; Scrub-shrub nontidal wetlands 2:1; Forested nontidal wetlands 2:1; Emergent nontidal wetlands designated as Nontidal Wetlands of Special State Concern 2:1; Scrub-shrub nontidal wetlands designated as Nontidal Wetlands of Special State Concern 3:1; and Forested nontidal wetlands designated as Nontidal Wetlands of Special State Concern 3:1; or A minimum in-kind acreage replacement ratio of 1:1 has been met; and lost nontidal wetland functions have been replaced through additional creation, restoration or enhancement activities; or The Department has determined on an individual basis that enhancement is the only mitigation option, and has specified mitigation requirements which have been met by the permittee; The Department has specified mitigation requirements which have been agreed to and implemented by the permittee. The Department shall consider the mitigation requirements for replacing a loss of farmed nontidal wetlands to be fulfilled when the following replacement ratios have been met through: Enhancement of farmed nontidal wetlands 1:1; Creation or restoration of emergent, scrub-shrub, or forested nontidal wetlands 1:1. In order for enhancement activities to be acceptable for the replacement of lost nontidal wetland functions, the permittee may be required to: Perform a functional assessment based on site assessment techniques acceptable to the Department: and Identify how enhancement activities are to replace lost nontidal wetland functions. An enhancement activity may be accepted for replacement of lost nontidal wetland functions when the activity provides additional protection to, creates or improves the functions of, a nontidal wetland. Activities may include: Enhancement of farmed wetlands; Enhancement of degraded nontidal wetlands and buffers; Best management practices for agricultural activities; Creation of wildlife ponds approved by the Prince George's Soil Conservation District and MDNR; Purchase or preservation of upland buffers adjacent to existing, created, restored or enhanced nontidal wetlands; Purchase or preservation of existing nontidal wetlands; and Activities consistent with the plans and agreements to create or improve water-fowl habitats in Maryland. In determining if enhancement activities will replace lost nontidal wetland acreage and function, the Department shall consider the: Degree to which the enhancement activity replaces the functions of the lost nontidal wetland; Benefits of the enhancement activity in rehabilitating or maintaining the nontidal wetland; Scope and extent of the enhancement activity; Proximity of the enhancement activity to the nontidal wetland lost; Technical merits of the enhancement activity and its likelihood of long term success; Adverse impact of the enhancement activity on natural resources; Relationship of the enhancement activity to ongoing natural resource management activities; and Compatibility of the enhancement activity to ongoing natural resource management, if applicable. Mitigation projects shall be connected to existing nontidal wetlands, waterways or 100-year floodplains. Projects may be located on multiple parcels. Projects shall be located according to the following geographic location in order of preference, unless otherwise determined by the Department: On site; Off site, in a location approved under a Comprehensive Watershed management Plan; Off site, in a location identified in plans and agreements to create or improve waterfowl habitats in Maryland and approved by the Department and MDNR. Where the Department has determined, in consultation with other Federal, State, County and local agencies, that regional needs for nontidal wetland functions strongly justify the siting of mitigation projects, and the mitigation project is located: In the watershed where the nontidal wetland loss occurred; In the drainage basin where the nontidal wetland loss occurred; or Outside the drainage basin where the nontidal wetland loss occurred, preferably within the County. Mitigation projects for regulated activities in the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area shall be located in the Critical Area according to Subsection (h)(1)—(3); Siting Within Geographic Locations. In selecting sites, a permittee shall pursue mitigation projects on upland sites which have undergone significant human disturbances. A permittee shall avoid, whenever possible, siting mitigation projects on: Forested lands; Lands used for dredge disposal, mine refuse or other purposes where contamination problems may exist; or Lands which are existing or potential habitat for plant or animal species: Listed as endangered or threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Listed as endangered or threatened or species listed as in need of conservation by the Department and MDNR; or Considered as a candidate for listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or considered to be locally unusual or rare by the Department and MDNR. Project Standards. The permittee shall successfully implement the approved mitigation plan within the time period specified by the Department based on the mitigation plan. Created or restored nontidal wetlands shall meet the following plant survival criteria: After five (5) years greater than 85 percent of the site shall be vegetated by planted species approved by the Department or by a species composition agreed to by the Department; Allowances shall be made for natural species changes as long as the plant communities are similar to those lost; and After five (5) years, the nontidal wetland shall be dominated by native or adaptive vegetation. In the case where a permittee has proposed the use of natural re-vegetation as part of the creation, restoration or enhancement of the project, greater than 85 percent of the site shall, after five (5) years, be: Vegetated by species similar to those that are found in the nontidal wetland area that was lost or by a species composition agreed to by the Department; and Dominated by native or adaptive vegetation. In the case where the nontidal wetland was dominated by exotic or nuisance plants, the Department shall accept out-of-kind mitigation. The Department may not approve mitigation plans that include exotic or nuisance plant species. Protection Mechanisms. The permittee shall provide mechanisms to assure the protection of created, restored or enhanced nontidal wetlands in perpetuity. This may be achieved through protection mechanisms, including: Deed restrictions; Conservation easements; Deeding the created, restored or enhanced nontidal wetland to an organization or public agency capable of protecting the area in perpetuity; or Restrictive covenants. Any protection mechanism under subsection (1) above shall include the following provisions: Language granting the Department, or any successor agency, access to the mitigation site for inspections during the construction and monitoring period of the mitigation project, if the permittee forfeits a bond and the Department decides to complete the construction of the mitigation project; In the case of an easement agreement, language allowing assignment of a permittee's interest under the easement agreement to the Department, if the bond is forfeited and the Department decides to complete construction of the mitigation project; An absolute prohibition on the draining, dredging, removal or filling of the created nontidal wetland site; and Language that the restriction is perpetual, binding on the grantor's personal representative, heirs, successors and assigns and runs with the land.