A.  Subject to the exceptions contained in La. Const. Art. VII, § 9(A) , all funds received which are to be used for “compensatory mitigation” which is defined as the replacement, substitution, enhancement, or protection of ecological values to offset anticipated losses of ecological values caused by a permitted activity shall be paid into the state treasury and shall be credited to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund.

B.  Out of the funds remaining in the Bond Security and Redemption Fund after a sufficient amount is allocated from that fund to pay all obligations secured by the full faith and credit of the state which become due and payable within any fiscal year, the treasurer shall, prior to placing such remaining funds in the state general fund, pay into a special account, which is hereby created in the state treasury and designated as the Coastal Mitigation Account in the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Fund, an amount equal to the total amount of funds paid into the treasury in lieu of compensatory mitigation.  The monies in the account shall be invested by the state treasurer in the same manner as monies in the state general fund.

C.(1)  The monies in the Coastal Mitigation Account may be used to develop and implement projects in which permittees may pool funds, resources, and activities sufficient for the compensatory mitigation required of each participating permittee.

(2)  The secretary may, when appropriate, use the monies in the Coastal Mitigation Account to fund, in whole or in part, wetland restoration projects developed or implemented by the department of a parish with an approved local coastal program.

D.  The department may accept payment to the Coastal Mitigation Account in lieu of compensatory mitigation only when a permittee is unable to provide mitigation through an appropriate individual project or through an appropriate mitigation bank or area located within the Louisiana Coastal Zone or Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation Plan area.  The determination of appropriate individual mitigation projects and mitigation banks or areas shall be made in accordance with regulations promulgated by the department pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. 49:214.41.  The secretary shall ensure that any fees collected in lieu of compensatory mitigation are adequate to fully offset the cost of restoring the habitat value lost.

E.  An amount equal to funds collected by the department from the payments made in lieu of compensatory mitigation shall be paid into the Coastal Mitigation Account.  The department may further accept funds from public or private sources as authorized by law, including grants and donations, to carry out the provisions of this Section.  An amount equal to all funds accepted under this provision of this Section shall be paid into the Coastal Mitigation Account.

F.  The Office of Coastal Restoration and Management shall keep a set of books showing from whom every dollar is received and for what purpose, and to whom every dollar is paid and for what purpose.

G.  Any surplus funds in the Coastal Mitigation Account on July first of each year shall remain to the credit of the account and no part thereof shall revert to the state general fund.

Acts 1999, No. 962, §1; Acts 2004, No. 277, §1.