Photo of Saw Mill Creek in Staten Island, New York, by Annalise Knudsonec. A narrow, shallow river or pond with muddy banks curves through a partially cleared area, surrounded by trees and green vegetation under a blue sky. Orange safety fencing is visible on the left.

Parks & Public Spaces Waterfront

Saw Mill Creek Wetland Mitigation Bank Credits

Location: Staten Island

Project Status: Ongoing

Waterfront infrastructure projects can now purchase  tidal wetland mitigation credits from the Saw Mill Creek Pilot Wetland Mitigation Bank: NYC's first-ever mitigation bank.

Credits are exclusively available for environmental impact offsetting for projects being undertaken in select parts of the city.

The bank provides compensatory mitigation credits to applicants who are going through the federal and state waterfront permitting process.

Please note: Parties interested in acquiring credits from the mitigation bank should confirm directly with federal and state regulators that the credits they purchase from the Saw Mill Creek Pilot Wetland Mitigation Bank are sufficient to address the specific mitigation requirements of their project.

See the RFP

A large excavator bucket digs into muddy soil by Saw Mill Creek Marsh, with trees and vegetation in the background under a cloudy sky. Photo by Annalise Knudsonec.

Learn More

Milestone

33%

Faster permit review time when using wetland mitigation credits

Restoring and Protecting Our Wetlands

The Saw Mill Creek Pilot Wetland Mitigation Bank protects and preserves NYC’s valuable wetlands, while supporting investment in coastal infrastructure (bulkheads, piers, rip rap, dredging, etc.).

The Mitigation Bank uses private and public economic investment generated from credit sales to fund improvement and protection of critical coastal resources, establishing a predictable, efficient, and environmentally responsible process to serve the area’s wetland mitigation needs.

Mitigation banking has been endorsed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, US Environmental Protection Agency, National Research Council, the Society of Wetland Scientists, and the Environmental Law Institute as the most successful and preferred approach to offset unavoidable wetlands impacts.

About the RFP

As a service to support investment and the permitting of needed waterfront projects in NYC, we are issuing this open Request for Proposals on behalf of the City of New York. The RFP is for the sale of compensatory mitigation tidal wetland credits generated by the City’s first wetland mitigation bank.

Under federal regulations, compensatory mitigation when applied to tidal wetlands means the restoration (including re-establishment or rehabilitation), establishment, enhancement, and/or, in certain circumstances, preservation of aquatic resources—these actions being for the purpose of offsetting unavoidable adverse impacts which remain after all appropriate and practicable avoidance and minimization efforts have been taken.