20181638 Ver 3_Correspondence from USACE_20191011

Regulatory Division
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
69 DARLINGTON AVENUE
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403-1343
October 11, 2019
Re: 401 Water Quality Certification Time Extensions
Mr. Jeffrey Poupart
Division of Water Resources -Water Quality Permitting Section
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
217 West Jones Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603
Dear Mr. Poupart:
Please reference your letters dated September 23, 2019 regarding the PTAA- GSO
Rental Car Facilities Relocation Project, (DWR # 20191081) and the Mountain Valley
Pipeline — Southgate (MVP Southgate) (DWR# 20181638 v3), and your additional letter
dated September 27, 2019 regarding Grandfather Golf and Country Club — Loch Dornie
Improvement Project (DWR # 20170359 v2). In these letters you requested additional
time to complete the State's review of the proposed projects for their required individual
401 Water Quality Certifications (WQC) with the requested extension timelines below:
• PTAA- GSO Rental Car Facilities Relocation Project: Request for a 12 month
extension.
• Mountain Valley Pipeline — Southgate (MVP Southgate): Request for a 12 month
extension.
• Grandfather Golf and Country Club — Loch Dornie Improvement Project: Request
for a 6 month extension.
As you are aware, the Corps of Engineers recently issued Regulatory Guidance
Letter (RGL) No. 19-02 titled: Timeframes for Clean Water Act Section 401 Water
Quality Certifications and Clarification of Waiver Responsibility. Within that guidance, it
is stated that the Corps may consider a 401 certification waived if the certifying agency
fails or refuses to act on a request for certification within 60 -days after receipt of such a
request unless the District Engineer determines that a shorter or longer period of time is
reasonable for the certifying agency to act. It also states that "any additional time
granted should be the minimum amount of time necessary for the certifying agency to
act on a 401 WQC request and should not default to one year from receipt of such
request" as defined in 33 CFR 325.2 (b)(1)(ii).
We have reviewed your requests, including the reasons stated therein for the
extensions, and have determined that the request for the Mountain Valley Pipeline is

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consistent with the referenced guidance and therefore the Corps agrees to extend the
review period as stated above.
However, for the PTAA-GSO Rental Car Facilities Relocation and Grandfather Golf
and Country Club projects, we note that one of the reasons is due to requirements for
issuing a Public Notice to solicit comments. Within the RGL, Section 3(2)
Considerations Not Supporting Timeframe Extensions, subsection (i) specifically lists
Public Notice Requirements as a reason not considered for time extensions. While we
are aware that both projects are complex and involve substantial impacts to aquatic
resources and may warrant an extended review period, Public Notices are not
considered be a valid reason to request an extension of time. Accordingly, please
provide additional information to clarify your reasons to request extensions of the time
periods, consistent with the RGL.
If you have any questions regarding this correspondence please do not hesitate to
contact me by phone at: 910-251-4952 or by email at:
Scott. C. Mclendon(a_usace.army.
For
Copy Furnished:
Mr. Todd Allen Bowers
US EPA Region 4
Water Protection Division
61 Forsyth Street, SW
Atlanta, Georigia 30303-8960
Sincerely,
Scott McLendon
Chief, Regulatory Division
Wilmington District