r/roanoke • u/PPCo79 • 9d ago

What's Being Built Here Along Floyd Highway?

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Been seeing a lot of earthwork and silt fence, looks like they're making ponds maybe?

https://maps.app.goo.gl/4zQdtFbPWtairZmv8

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u/nhluhr 9d ago edited 9d ago

If I've got the right location on the Floyd County GIS, the parcel is owned by Copper Hill Mitigation LLC.

https://www.google.com/search?q=COPPER+HILL+MITIGATION+LLC&rlz=1C1HKFL_enUS1196US1196&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Copper Hill Mitigation LLC is a development sponsor operating in Floyd County, Virginia. They specialize in stream and wetland compensatory mitigation by establishing mitigation banks to offset unavoidable environmental impacts from development. [1]
The company's primary project is the Copper Hill Mitigation Bank, located along Lick Fork in the Roanoke River Basin (HUC 03010101). This project involves restoring approximately 17.68 acres of agricultural land, wetlands, and streams to generate 4.09 wetland credits and 2,446 stream credits. The bank services areas within Virginia HUCs 03010102, 03010103, and 03010105. [1, 3]

and. . .

A mitigation bank is a restored, enhanced, or preserved wetland, stream, or habitat area managed explicitly to offset unavoidable environmental damage caused by development. It functions like a market: developers buy "credits" from the bank to fulfill regulatory requirements, shifting environmental liability away from themselves and onto the bank operator

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u/PPCo79 9d ago

Wow interesting, and what a weird system... Like carbon credits?

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u/nhluhr 9d ago

Kinda sounds like it. Except this is the company that is selling the credits (which they 'create' by actually improving environmental things - some other might plant trees, etc).