Wetlands project under way in West Terre Haute

Yahoo

24-05-2025

A new wetlands project in West Terre Haute is in the works.
Indiana's Department of Environmental Management has submitted an application through its Office of Water Quality/Wetlands Section for a Section 401 Water Quality Certification in order to reestablish wetlands in West Terre Haute.
The project's location is about 80 acres of Department of Natural Resources property about a third of a mile northeast of the intersection of West Fairview Avenue and Barnhardt Road.
About 69 acres of wetlands will be restored through processes involving re-establishment, rehabilitation and enhancement.
'The McClain Mitigation Project to restore wetlands on DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife property in Vigo County has been proposed by the Indiana Stream and Wetland Mitigation Program,' said Marty Benson of IDEM.
'The proposed project will provide water quality benefits to the residents of Vigo County and the Middle Wabash Service Area through increased groundwater filtration, flood protection and support of biodiversity.
'The restored wetlands and stream riparian areas would be permanently protected by deed restriction. The project would fulfill in-lieu fee wetland and stream credit sales in the Middle Wabash Service Area and replace and benefit aquatic resources in that area.'
Benson added, 'This project is not related to the Wabash Valley Resources plans for the area.'
The property was acquired by DNR in September 2019. Indiana Stream and Wetland Mitigation Program identified the site as an opportunity for restoration, and it completed preliminary design work in 2024.
'For now, this project stems from IDNR's In-Lieu Program, specifically for the Middle Wabash Service Area,' said Evan White, project manager wetlands and stormwater in the water quality office.
'It is a result of wetlands and stream permits from within the Middle Wabash Service Area that required compensatory mitigation for those projects' impacts,' he continued. 'This site is one of many that will be built within this service area to offset multiple different projects' impacts to aquatic resources.'
Indiana Stream and Wetland Mitigation Program pursues projects of this nature throughout the state to fulfill in-lieu fee mitigation credits, which is a type of compensatory mitigation where a permittee pays a fee that is used to conduct wetland restoration and enhancement.
The purpose of announcing the application was to solicit public comment and information on any impacts the project may have on water quality in the area. White can be reached at 317-671-6698 of [e-mail]. Correspondence should include IDEM's project number, which is 2025-373-84-EJW-WQC.