Lufkin Mitigation Bank Development

RS&H is assisting Forestar (USA) Real Estate Group, Inc. in the development of Lufkin Mitigation Bank, a stream mitigation bank in Angelina County, Texas. The team is overseeing the permitting process and drafting the mitigation banking documents.

The team’s initial task was to respond to agency comments stemming from a banking document that was previously prepared by another entity. Through the team’s extensive experience in mitigation banking and longstanding relationships with permitting agencies, RS&H was able to effectively continue the permitting process. RS&H prepared a response document to resolve conflicts and coordinated an agency site visit to demonstrate the goals of the mitigation bank.

To justify the development of the mitigation bank, Forestar must be able to offset restoration and enhancement costs with sufficient credit generation to achieve a desired rate of return on investment. RS&H identified deficiencies while evaluating the credit generation method adopted by the permitting agencies. Current guidelines do not adequately evaluate the proposed natural resource restoration and enhancement necessary, reducing the available credits and thus, reducing potential revenue.

RS&H is currently revising the credit generation method to increase credit availability and revenues, as well as coordinate with the permitting agencies to ensure the project’s success.

View Our Environmental Project Portfolio >