In partnership with the NKU Research Foundation, and under
contract with the US Army Corps of Engineers, the CER operates the Northern
Kentucky Stream and Wetland Restoration Program (NKSWRP). The NKSWRP provides a price-competitive, in-lieu fee compensatory mitigation service to public and private entities that have impacted aquatic ecosystems. The CER employs fees paid by these entities to implement stream and wetland restoration and preservation projects within a nine-county service area in northern Kentucky. As required by federal regulations, these mitigation projects replace aquatic ecosystem functions and services lost to development ("no net loss"), such as stream, wetland, and riparian habitat; water quality protection; pollutant removal; floodwater and energy dissipation; and natural area aesthetics and recreation opportunities. Furthermore, the NKSWRP seeks to advance the practice of restoration with improved project outcomes at reduced mitigation costs.
All NKSWRP restoration projects are permanently protected by conservation
easement or deed restriction for the benefit of current and future
generations. NKU CER has 30 projects completed to date; encompassing 4,400 acres of conservation land, 84 miles of streams, and 14 acres of wetlands. $11 million in total project budgets
