20081555 Ver 1_USACE Correspondence_20090325

Regulatory Division
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
PO BOX 1890
WILMINGTON NC 28402-1890
March 23, 2009
Action ID No. SAW-2008-1720
Mr. Steve Holland
Shelter Creek Quarry, LLC
8315 N.C. Highway 53 East
Burgaw, North Carolina 28425
Dear Mr. Holland:
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Reference your May 16, 2008 application for Department of the Army authorization to
discharge fill material into 44.84 acres of wetlands for the expansion of an existing limestone
quarry located off of N.C. Highway 53, northeast of Burgaw, Pender County, North Carolina.
On February 6, 1990, the Department of the Army (DA) and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) establishing procedures
to determine the type and level of mitigation necessary to comply with Clean Water Act Section
404(b) (1) Guidelines. This MOA provides for first, avoiding impacts to waters and wetlands
through the selection of the least damaging, practicable alternative; second, taking appropriate
and practical steps to reduce impacts on waters and wetlands; and finally, compensation for
remaining unavoidable impacts to the extent appropriate and practical. To enable us to process
your application, in compliance with the MOA, we request that you provide the following
additional information:
1. Permits for work within wetlands or other special aquatic sites are available only if the
proposed work is the least environmentally damaging, practicable alternative. Please
provide additional information regarding off-site alternatives. The application states
that it is not practicable to move the operation to another site because of the associated
start up costs. Please explain the start up costs in detail and explain how it would not
be practicable to mine off-site.
2. Please provide more detailed information concerning the upland, no-action
alternatives. In the application, you state that the utilization of drills to extract the
resource is slow and would preclude the marketability. Please explain why drilling
would preclude marketability and compare the extraction times and costs between
drilling and the proposed excavation.
3. Please justify why mining only the upland areas is not a practicable alternative. The
application states that there is not enough space between the wetlands to install a
-2-
mining area. Please provide further explanation as to why it is not economically or
logistically practicable to avoid all wetland impacts. For instance, can roads be
constructed around or across the wetlands to access and mine the uplands? Why do the
pits need to connect?
4. The MOA requires that appropriate and practicable mitigation be provided for all
unavoidable adverse impacts remaining after all appropriate and practicable
minimization has been employed. Please provide a revised mitigation proposal. The
compensatory mitigation proposal, as described in the application is not acceptable
because it does not adequately replace the functions of the wetlands proposed for
impacted. We recommend that you consider a restoration component along with the
enhancement and preservation of the on-site and off-site wetlands.
Please provide revised plans to reflect any and all changes to the proposed project. The
aforementioned, requested information is essential to the expeditious processing of your
application and should be forwarded to us within two (2) weeks of your receipt of this letter. If
you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me at [phone].
Sincerely,
Ronnie Smith
Regulatory Specialist
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office
Copies Furnished:
Mr. James Taylor
Southern Environmental Group, Inc.
5315 South College Drive, Suite E
Wilmington, North Carolina 28412
Ms. Becky Fox
Wetlands Regulatory Section-Region IV
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1349 Firefly Road
Whittier, North Carolina 28789
-3-
Ms. Cyndi Karoly
Division of Water Quality
NIC. Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
2321 Crabtree Boulevard, Suite 250
Raleigh, North Carolina 27604-2260
Ms. Joanne Steenhuis
Division of Water Quality
N.C. Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, North Carolina 28405
Ms. Linda Willis
Division of Water Quality
N.C. Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, North Carolina 28405
Mr. Howard Hall
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Fish and Wildlife Enhancement
Post Office Box 33726
Raleigh, North Carolina 27636