The overall objective of the Clean Water Act (CWA) is "to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters." To achieve this goal, the CWA prohibits the discharge of dredged or fill material into wetlands, streams, and other waters of the United States unless a permit is issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. During the permit review process, the applicant must demonstrate that he or she has avoided and minimized impacts to aquatic resources to the maximum extent practicable. For any remaining unavoidable impacts, compensatory mitigation is usually required to replace the loss of wetland, stream, and/or other aquatic resource functions. The Corps is responsible for determining the appropriate form and amount of compensatory mitigation that may be required. Methods of providing compensatory mitigation include aquatic resource restoration, establishment, enhancement, and in certain circumstances, preservation.
In accordance with the Final Compensatory Mitigation Rule, the applicant is required to provide a "Mitigation Statement" with any application stating how he or she intends to compensate for the loss of aquatic functions or why compensatory mitigation should not be required. As the development and implementation of a compensatory mitigation project can be beyond the capability of many applicants, the Final Compensatory Mitigation Rule expresses a preference for first, obtaining mitigation credits from an established mitigation bank; second, purchasing credits from an approved in In-Lieu-Fee program; and lastly, by providing permittee responsible mitigation.
RIBITS was developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to track mitigation banking and in-lieu fee (ILF) program activities across the United States. RIBITS includes information regarding banks and ILF program sites, associated documents, mitigation credit availability, service areas, and policies and procedures that affect bank and ILF program development and operation.
With support from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA-National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA-NMFS), and Federal Highway Administration, RIBITS has grown to include conservation banking and multi-agency banking activities. Support from the U. S. Department of Agriculture allows RIBITS to track water-quality trading activities in multiple states, with pilot projects in the states of Virginia and Iowa, and additional support from NOAA-NMFS allows RIBITS to track credits for restoration banks recognized under Natural Resource Damage Assessment statutes.