Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources has taken in at least $109 million in wetlands payments from landowners, but many of the projects supposed to offset disruption have stalled since the program’s launch in 2018.
The state mitigation program is regulated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Per federal regulations, land acquisitions and initial improvements on these mitigation projects generally must start within three years of the first sale in a given area. That regularly hasn’t happened in Indiana.
The ILF’s — in-lieu fees — are payments made by landowners ahead of impacts on land classified by the state or federal government as streams and wetlands…