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Water-Related News

City of St. Pete exploring creation of a seagrass mitigation bank

The city of St. Petersburg went looking for a sea grass farmer, and five different entities filled out an application.

The response validates a notion city council member Jim Kennedy nurtured for about three years.

"If somebody's going to be interfering with sea grass, they'll need a mitigation bank," Kennedy explained to FOX 13 News, "The first bank could generate maybe up to $20 million."

The business concept hinges on Florida laws requiring amends for environmental impacts caused by development projects, including building bridge, dredging ports and shipping channels. The city proposed filling in old dredge holes off North Shore Park and planting about 125 acres of sea grass.

The resulting sea grass farm could be divided into environmental credits.