FDOT, Manatee County to mitigate removal of wetlands during I-75 construction
MANATEE -- Those who drink water in Manatee County will benefit if officials finalize an agreement to mitigate removal of wetlands along Interstate 75 during construction of new interchanges, such as University Parkway's "diverging diamond."
The deal calls for a handful of wetland acres to be paved over during road projects, but then to be mitigated, or restored, at East Manatee's Duette Preserve.
"It's a win for all of us who draw a glass of water every day, ensuring that the quality and quantity of water in that glass will always be available," said Charlie Hunsicker, Manatee County's director of parks and natural resources.
It's also a win for road travelers and those who pay taxes for roads, because a mitigation arrangement will cost less, he added.
FDOT, which will be rebuilding interchanges and widening parts of I-75, is required to provide mitigation for wetlands its construction projects disturb.
"The wetland impacts are associated with planned I-75 interchange improvements at
U.S. 301, state roads 64 and 70, and at University Parkway," Hunsicker said.
FDOT will have to mitigate 2.88 acres of forested wetlands and 2.28 ares of herbaceous wetland, for a total of 5.16 acres, said Susanna Martinez Tarokh, public information officer for the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
The purpose of mitigation is to replace the ecological function lost as a result of impacts to wetlands from construction.
The state transportation agency's arrangement with Manatee County calls for it to re-establish 75 to 100 acres of damaged wetlands at Duette Preserve, reimbursing the county $2 million during an initial phase.
"The value of the state-funded work at Duette Preserve has also saved us more than $2.5 million, money that we would have paid to complete the work ourselves over a much longer period of time," said Hunsicker. "This doesn't even count the savings to the state for not having to purchase valuable real estate along interstate frontage to accomplish the same requirement."
The 23,000-acre preserve, just upstream from the Lake Manatee Reservoir, retains and filters water, and helps to provide a dependable drinking water supply during periods of drought, according to Hunsicker.
The project has already won what he calls "conceptual approvals" from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
Wetlands affected by construction are within the I-75 right-of-way between University Parkway and Fruitville Road.
The majority of wetlands are located around bridge crossings at Cooper Creek and Foley Creek, the northeast quadrant of the University Parkway interchange, and south of University Parkway and west of the interstate near the new Mall at University Town Center, said Brent Setchell, an FDOT district environmental permitting engineer.
Duette Preserve is located in an area of the county with the highest quality and most productive, deep groundwater of the Floridan Aquifer, according to the county website.
Bodies of water and/or wetlands existing on the property include both the north and east forks of the Manatee River, numerous streams and creeks, wet weather ponds and sloughs.
The Manatee County mitigation plan has yet to be submitted for review by the water district, said Martinez Tarokh. If the plan is approved, county officials will be required to start construction of the mitigation area within 30 days of the wetland impacts.
"We will be doing restoration enhancement of wetland marsh systems, marsh creation and adjoining upland restoration," said Alissa Power, the county's environmental program manager.
The mitigation area north of State Road 64 and near Duette Road is still functioning as a "highly disturbed" wetland, she said. But the habitat has been damaged over many years by agricultural activities.
Over five years, the county plans to first start with exotic plant removal; by the end of 2015, it will be in an earth-moving phase lasting six months or so, followed by another round of removal of exotic, non-native plants. Toward the end of the project, officials will be re-establishing upland and wetland plantings.
Among the wildlife they expect to see returning once the restoration is complete will be wading birds, herons, egrets, woodstorks, amphibians like frogs, perhaps the endangered indigo snake, Power said.
"It's cool stuff," said Manatee County Commissioner John Chappie, who also is a member of the board for the Metropolitan Planning Organization, Sarasota-Manatee. "It's saving money, improving the environment, improving our water supply.
"It's a tremendous benefit all the way around for both Manatee and Sarasota counties."
Sara Kennedy, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7031. Follow her on Twitter @sarawrites.
This story was originally published November 16, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "FDOT, Manatee County to mitigate removal of wetlands during I-75 construction ."