Industry Terms

Impacts

An environmental impact is defined as any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, resulting from a facility's activities, products, or services. In other words it is the effect that people's actions have on the environment.

Fill

Fill material means any material used for the primary purpose of replacing an aquatic area with dry land or changing the bottom elevation of a water body.

Dredge

Dredge is material that is excavated or dredged from waters of the United States.

NEPA

National Environmental Policy Act. More complex regulatory levels of federal permits.

Mitigation Banking

A mitigation bank is a site where wetlands and/ or other aquatic resources are restored, created, enhanced, or in exceptional circumstances, preserved expressly for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation in advance of authorized impacts to similar resources.

GIS (techniques)

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a technological field that incorporates geographical features with tabular data in order to map, analyze, and assess real-world problems.

NRCS

National Resources Conservation Service

Mitigation Credits

These are credits purchased to replace impacted wetlands elsewhere on the landscape. These are often required in permitting scenarios. (1 credit = 1 acre)

ODOT qualifications

Ohio Department of Transportation