The Mitigation Process Improvement Initiative was initiated in 2001 through a mutual agreement with the NC Department of Transportation (DOT), the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the US Army Corps of Engineers - Wilmington District (USACE). The Process mission was to develop a structured mitigation process that supports the timely delivery of NC's Transportation program while appropriately compensating for unavoidable and minimized wetland, stream, and buffer impacts. The initiative was undertaken with the overall purpose to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the DOT/DENR/USACE compensatory mitigation process. This process improvement initiative is highly complex and has involved numerous representatives of various state and federal resource agencies.

One of the key recommendations from this process improvement initiative called for the establishment of a new organization, the Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP). On July 22, 2003, DOT, DENR, and USACE signed a memorandum of agreement establishing procedures for the newly created EPP. The EPP is a program within DENR and results from a multi-agency endeavor to improve watershed functions through the development of specific plans and projects in advance of the occurrence of permitted impacts from transportation projects. The EPP's mission includes restoring, enhancing and protecting the state's wetlands, stream and stream buffers.

Mitigation Process Improvement
Reference Material

• Scoping Document
• Sponsor Agreement (MOU)
• Mitigation Information Booklet
• Improving the Mitigation Process - A Final Report