Where to go when in need


One of the scenes at the wetlands mitigation bank in Monroe.One of the scenes at the wetlands mitigation bank in Monroe.

of wetlands? Try Monroe

Maryland-based business sells local wetlands by

the acre to developers

By lynn K. Barra

Staff Writer

MONROE — When developers run into wetlands on properties where they want to build homes or businesses, they may need to alter their plans to avoid encroaching on any part of these environmentally sensitive areas.

Engineering, design and legal costs can add up as the builder works to provide additional plans to a local Planning Board to demonstrate alternative approaches to avoid building atop wetlands. That is unless the builder wishes to build fewer homes, thereby making less money from the development.

In Monroe, a developer is working a different alternative.

Primrose Inc., whose application to build 21 single-family homes on a 26-acre parcel of land bordered by Gravel Hill-Spotswood Road and Schoolhouse Lane was approved by the township Planning Board last month, found it could not meet all the township’s requirements regarding berming and sidewalks because of wetlands on the property.

Since the developer wanted to build all 21 homes entitled through zoning guidelines, it was required by the board to use the services of U.S. Wetlands Services, a company whose business involves the sale of land from wetlands mitigation banks to developers.

"For every one acre the developer would impact, he would be required to buy two acres from us," said Eric Gleason, project manager with the Baltimore, Md.-based company.

The company’s New Jersey-based mitigation bank, located in Monroe, is the location Primrose will be purchasing from if the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approves the developer’s application to do so.

"The applicant must prove that he has no other option but to encroach on wetlands, that he cannot avoid the impact to the wetlands," Gleason said. "The developer must file an application with the DEP explaining why he cannot avoid impacting the wetlands, and the DEP must approve that application. If they get approval, then they come to us."

Gleason’s company has transformed 161 acres of open space at the corner of Wyckoffs Mills-Applegarth Road and Cranbury Station Road into a fully functioning ecosystem that produces a habitat for a vast variety of flora, fauna, birds and even endangered species such as the wood turtle.

According to Gleason, who also serves as director for the company founded by Robert Sokolove, the concept of creating a fully functioning ecosystem benefits the township, the residents, the developers and his company, which, of course, stands to profit from the sale of wetlands. According to Gleason, the average cost to a developer to buy one acre of wetlands from his company is $150,000.

"The advantage we provide to a developer is that he does not have to build his own wetlands mitigation site," Gleason said, explaining that before his industry was created, developers were required by the DEP to purchase equal amounts of wetlands somewhere in New Jersey in order to compensate for wetlands lost through development of their construction sites.

His company, which he said invested several million dollars to acquire and improve its property in Monroe, is a small specialized industry that is still in its infancy throughout the United States.

"Our profit margin isn’t all that aggressive," Gleason said. "It isn’t like we’re going to make a fortune from this. Our goal is to develop two or three more sites in New Jersey and build a network."

What U.S. Land Services is building is a fully functioning ecosystem in the township. By doing so, the company sells acres of wetlands to potential developers, who must buy the same amount of wetlands they are building on — provided they can prove to the DEP they have no alternative but to build upon those wetlands.

No additional wetlands are created through the process, Gleason said. The idea is to maintain the site purchased by U.S. Wetlands, who received a specific number of credits from the DEP when it completed the construction of the ecosystem. Because U.S. Wetlands is a private, for-profit business, it will sell to any developer two acres of wetlands for every acre the developer encroaches on.

For U.S. Land Services to obtain credits from the DEP, the company was required to meet stringent state requirements for ecosystems in wetlands areas, according to Gleason.

"These projects are front-loaded with cost," Gleason said about the wetlands site. "The state doesn’t award credits right away. You (the company) are awarded credits as you build wetlands. That is, as plants start to grow and performance standards are met, you acquire credits."

Each wetlands site is awarded only a certain number of credits. One credit is equal to an acre of wetlands, according to Gleason. U.S. Wetlands was awarded 87 credits by the DEP for 87 of its 161 acres. These 87 credits are the maximum number of credits, or acres of wetlands, that the company can sell to developers. Once the 87 credits are sold, the site is donated to an environmental group or, in some cases, the township that it’s located in, where it will remain as permanent open space.

The developers are not actually purchasing wetlands, but transferring the lost wetlands on their construction sites over to the U.S. Wetlands property. The idea is to guarantee that the 161 acres of wetlands will remain open space. By transferring wetlands through the purchase of the required amount, the developer is able to proceed with his construction plans, and U.S. Wetlands is able to make a profit. Residents also benefit, Gleason said, because they can enjoy the beauty of the local ecosystem.

The company is awarded credits by the DEP based on its ability to successfully re-create wetlands conditions on the site, which means planting native vegetation and removing invasive species and any signs of erosion. A site superintendent must monitor it on a weekly basis, Gleason said, to ensure that the ecosystem does not fail.

"If our system fails, we have to replace lost wetlands’ function," Gleason said.

But that’s not the only factor making the business difficult.

"Applications to the DEP are rejected all the time," Gleason said. "The DEP is very strict on what they will allow and not allow. I’ve seen some permits come through that are dated 1990, 1991 and 1992 that are just getting closed in 2001. These things take a very, very long time."

Gleason was referring to a DEP-issued permit that all developers must display at their proposed development sites. Because of the lengthy process in acquiring a permit to build over wetlands, some developers decide to take what Gleason described as dangerous risks.

"If denied, the developer has a couple of choices," Gleason said. "He can proceed with development and face enforcement action [from the DEP] for unlawful placement [of buildings]. Or, the developer may tell the township Planning Board that he is in the process of getting a DEP permit and they’ll trust that developer to get that permit and start building in the meantime."

As to the 21 single-family home development proposed by Primrose Inc., which will be the first developer in Monroe to attempt to purchase acreage through U.S. Wetlands, Gleason said the township will ensure the developer does not start building until receiving the DEP permit.

"That developer is now under a microscope," Gleason said. "He is being watched to make sure he follows every letter of the law because he knows he has to abide by strict state enforcement."