20140044 Ver 1_USACE Correspondence_20140721

Regulatory Division
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
69 DARLINGTON AVENUE
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403 -1343
July 21, 2014
Re: NCIRT Review and USACE Approval of the Hofler Property Wetland Mitigation Site Plan; SAW -
2012- 01393; NCEEP Project # 95355
Mr. Tim Baumgartner
-North Carolina Ecosystem Enhancement Program
1652 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699 -1652
Dear Mr. Baumgartner:
The purpose of this letter is to provide the North Carolina Ecosystem Enhancement Program
( NCEEP) with all comments generated by the North Carolina Interagency Review Team ( NCIRT)
during the 30 -day comment period for the the Hofler Property Wetland Mitigation Site Plan, which was
reposted and closed on April 5, 20.14. These comments are attached for your review.
This mitigation plan was originally posted in January, 2014. Comments posted identified
numerous concerns with the projects (see attached memo). Because of these comments, the plan was
revised in March 2014, and reposted on March 6, 2014 for a second review. The deadline for comments
was April 5, 2014. An initial review of the comments revealed that many of the comments from the first
round of comments had not been addressed in the March mitigation plan revision.
Prior to making a determination as to whether to approve this project, a third copy of the
mitigation plan, dated May 2014, was received on May 29, 2014. This plan has subsequently been
reviewed in light of the comments provided by NCIRT members during the review. Most of the
comments have been addressed in the recent version of the plan, including concerns regarding well
placement, vegetation plots, appropriate hydroperiod, and thejproposed species list for planting. Based
on these modifications, we have determined that major concerns identified with the Draft Mitigation
Plan have been addressed, and the mitigation plan is considered approved with this correspondence.
Nevertheless, we believe it is important to note that the location and method of construction at
the proposed site are not preferred, and effort should be made to avoid this type of project in the future.
As a general rule, we do not believe that building berms around a restored wetland is an appropriate way
to reestablish hydrology on a site. To begin with, this is not true restoration as you are establishing an
entirely new hydrology regime on the site. Water flow into and out of the wetland is severely restricted
by the berms, and the outflow elevation for the entire site is controlled by "ditch plugs /check dams" (see
discussion on page 23 of the mitigation plan dated May 2014). In addition, there is the potential that

berms may be breached in the future though natural or anthropogenic means, which could affect the
hydrology of the entire site. Lastly, constructing a wetland site in the middle of an agricultural field is
not ideal as it drastically limits the connection between the site and forested wetlands adjacent to or
downstream from the project. In this case, water flowing from the site must travel through more than '/4
mile of ditch before it reaches the forested headwaters of Lassiter Swamp, limiting the benefit of the
project and the ability of the site to fully achieve the stated goals of the mitigation plan.
The Final Mitigation Plan is to be submitted with the Preconstruction Notification (PCN)
Application for Nationwide permit approval of the project along with a copy of this letter. All changes
made to the Final Mitigation Plan should be summarized in an errata sheet included at the beginning of
the document. As it was determined that the project does not contain jurisdictional waters of the U.S.,
construction for the project does not require a Department of the Army permit; however, you must still
provide a copy of the Final Mitigation Plan, along with a copy of this letter, to the appropriate USACE
field office at least 30 days in advance of beginning construction of the project. Please note that this
approval does not preclude the inclusion of permit conditions in the permit authorization for the project.
Additionally, this letter provides initial approval for the Mitigation Plan, but this does not guarantee that
the project will generate the requested amount of mitigation credit. As you are aware, unforeseen issues
may arise during construction or monitoring of the project that may require maintenance or
reconstruction that may lead to reduced credit.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter, and if you have any questions regarding this
letter, the mitigation plan review process, or the requirements of the Mitigation Rule, please call me at
919- 846 -2564.
Sincerely,
V e�•(��
k7FAA
Todd Tugwell
Special Projects Manager
Enclosures
Electronic Copies Furnished:
NCIRT Distribution List
NCEEP /Heather Smith
NCEEP/Lin Xu
TUGWELL.TODD.JASON.1048429293
- 42014.07.21 14:23:23 - 04'00'
yy