When a data center pays for wetland restoration in a different location, it is typically called wetland mitigation or a voluntary water replenishment / stewardship project.
Wetland Mitigation (or Off-site Mitigation) is usually required by environmental regulators (like the EPA or state environmental departments) when a data center paves over local wetlands for construction, they must offset this destruction by purchasing credits from an approved “wetland bank” or funding a restoration project elsewhere in the same watershed to achieve “no net loss.”
That’s what’s happening to the Data Center Projects in Northwest Indiana. To support construction of the large-scale Amazon Web Services (AWS) hyperscale data campuses across Northwest Indiana, Amazon has obtained permits allowing impacts to local wetlands. As compensation for these environmental impacts, the company is participating in the state’s wetland mitigation program by purchasing credits through the Indiana Stream and Wetland Mitigation Program (IN SWMP), which helps fund wetland and habitat restoration projects elsewhere in the region.
Wetland Disruption: Constructing the campus and its associated grading requires clean earthen fill, which directly impacts on-site wetlands and local streams.
When wetlands cannot be preserved at the impact site, developers may purchase mitigation credits through the IN SWMP. These credits fund state-approved wetland and stream restoration, enhancement, and conservation projects elsewhere in the region. But in this case, the “credits” are not going to Northwest Indiana Region, but to another location down state, since the Kankakee Watershed is south of Hobart Indiana. The Kankakee River downstream benefits end up in Illinois, (see map below)
According to the Chicago Tribune, the Community Enhancement Agreement with Amazon Data Services, Inc. provides the largest publicly known upfront cash contribution ever made in connection with a private development project on private property in the nation.
Here’s More ABOUT THE HOBART WETLANDS . . .
(And why a Mitigation Offset is required)
The Deep River wetlands (Hobart) refer not just to a single swamp or marsh, but to a network of wetlands, riparian corridors, floodplains, forested bottomlands, marshes, woodlands, savannas, lakes, rivers, ravines, bottomland forests and prairie habitats that are scattered along Deep River. Its expanded tributaries include combined surface waters (rivers and lakes) and groundwater-fed wetlands.
The wetlands along Deep River are part of a larger watershed, the Deep River – Portage Burns Waterway Watershed, which drains roughly 180 square miles (with ~104 sq. miles in Lake County). This wetland waterway ( Hobart’s Lake George to Lake Michigan) is among the largest contiguous wetland areas in Northwest Indiana. This area is sometimes referred to as Hobart Marsh or Hobart Nature District, but because the (AWS – Amazon Web Services) HYPERSCALE Data Centers locations right next to Deep River, this article is focusing more on the Deep River aspect.
The Deep River Wetlands is ecologically significant because this wetland is unusually rich in biodiversity and habitat varieties for a few reasons: The region lies in a transitional natural region (the “Northwestern Morainal Natural Region”), where several major ecosystem types intersect including eastern deciduous forest, tallgrass prairie, northern forest, natural wetlands, and various dune – wetland -prairie combinations. This mixing of habitats fosters ENDANGERED SPECIES AND high species and a high habitat diversity per acre unlike anywhere else.
Some Hobart residents have questioned whether the mitigation arrangement equitably balances local impacts and benefits. While nearby neighborhoods may experience increased light and noise levels, traffic, construction-related disturbances, and potential environmental risks associated with the data center development, the compensatory wetland restoration funded through mitigation credits may occur elsewhere in the region. As a result, the environmental benefits of mitigation may not be realized by the communities most directly affected by the project.
In case you’re wondering, the Hobart Indiana Hyperscale Data Center is 54 Miles from Kankakee Valley.
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The Kankakee River and its watershed flow west-southwest (away from Hobart) flowing from South Bend Indiana into Momence and Kankakee Illinois completely bypassing most of Lake County and parts of North Porter County.
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Susie Young Baxter, CEO, has published PanoramaNOW Magazine for 31 years. Her hobbies are Camping, Boating, Hiking, Nature, Gardening and Outdoor Activities. She is an Artist, Graphic Designer, an Avid Seamstress, Dabbles in Homemade Crafts and Landscaping. Since her Father was a Health Teacher, she also likes homeopathic Health Solutions. Since blogging started over 10 years ago, PanoramaNow has been added to Newsbreak – a national news affiliate.
