HomeMy WebLinkAbout20081743 Ver 1_Closeout Emails_20150827Strickland, Bev
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Karen and Katie,
Schaffer, Jeff
Thursday, August 27, 2015 2:19 PM
Higgins, Karen; Merritt, Katie
Baumgartner, Tim
RE: Big Bull & Ballance Closeout
Ballance Farm Creek Asset Table-Revised 08- 27- 2015.pdf
High
I completed the requested analysis of the impacts or benefits of the Temporary Rule vs. the proposed new rule on both the
Big Bull and Balance Farm Buffer projects and submitted to Tim Baumgartner for review. I just finished speaking with Tim
and DMS is no longer requesting that the closeout letters for these sites be retracted. However during my analysis today, I did
detect an error in the asset table for the Ballance Farm site that was submitted yesterday, in that I applied a Buffer Width
Percentage of Full Credit of 50% instead of 100% for the Enhancement area from TOB - 100 ft. I have attached a revised
asset table that shown the corrected assets and request that the Balance Farm Closeout letter be amended accordingly.
Please note that what we were trying to do was provide the best possible customer service to a firm with which we do a
considerable amount of work and to see whether or not we could lessen the financial impact on that firm by seeing which rule
would benefit them the best and provide the best possible credit from the project. Thank you for working with us and for
responding so promptly to my questions.
Jeff Schaffer
Eastern Supervisor, Project Management
NCDENR Division of Mitigation Services (http: / /portal.ncdenr.orp /web /eep)
Mailing: 1652 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699 -1652
Physical: 217 West Jones St., 3rd Floor, Suite 3000A, Raleigh, N.C. 27603
Office: (919) 707 -8308
Mobile: (919) 812 -2634
Email: Jeff Schaffernncdenr.gov
Email correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may
be disclosed to third parties.
From: Schaffer, Jeff
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2015 11:01 AM
To: Higgins, Karen; Merritt, Katie
Subject: RE: Big Bull & Ballance Closeout
Karen and Katie,
Thank you for responding back to me so quickly. I was asked by my upper management to run an analysis of the impacts or
benefits of the Temporary Rule vs. the proposed new rule on buffer projects currently in the pipeline for closeout as well as
those older projects where we would seek buffer credit retroactively. Given that this analysis is not yet complete and upper
management has not been able to review the analysis, DMS is still requesting that DWR retract your closeout letters for Big
Bull and Balance Farm until a decision can be made by DMS upper management as to the direction we would like to go.
Please feel free to call me at (919) 707 -8308 if you would like to talk about this vs. emailing back and forth.
Thank you.
Jeff Schaffer
Eastern Supervisor, Project Management
NCDENR Division of Mitigation Services (http: / /portal.ncdenr.org /web /eep)
Mailing: 1652 Mail SenTice Center, Raleigh, NC 27699 -1652
Physical: 217 West Jones St., 3rd Floor, Suite 3000A, Raleigh, N.C. 27603
Office: (919) 707 -8308
Mobile: (919) 812 -2634
Email: Jeff Schaffernncdenr.gov
Email correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may
be disclosed to third parties.
From: Higgins, Karen
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2015 10:48 AM
To: Schaffer, Jeff; Merritt, Katie
Subject: RE: Big Bull & Ballance Closeout
J eff-
I just want to clarify /reiterate a couple points. The only difference between urban /non -urban in the
temporary rule is that in urban areas, you could have a minimum buffer of 20 feet instead of 30. We received
comments during the permanent rulemaking process that all these different categories made the rule overly
complicated. The proposed permanent rule removes the distinction between urban and non -urban to simplify
the rule, so the % credit applies the same to all projects regardless of whether they are located in an urban or
non -urban area and the minimum buffer width is 20 feet instead of 30. The table, without all the
strikethrough and underlines would read:
If these two projects were closed out under the permanent rule, DMS would receive 33% credit not 50%. If
DMS still requests DWR to retract our close out letters for these two sites and approve them under the
permanent rule, I will have to talk with my management. Please send your response to both Katie and me.
Thanks-
Karen
Karen Higgins
401 & Buffer Permitting Unit Supervisor
NC DENR - Division of Water Resources
1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699
Phone: (919) 807 -6360
Email: karen.hiRRins @ncdenr.eov
Website: http: / /Porta1.ncdenr.ore /web /wa /401bufferoermittine
Proposed
Buffer width (ft)
Percentage
of Full Credit
Less than 20
0%
20 -29
75%
30 -100
100%
101 -200
33%
If these two projects were closed out under the permanent rule, DMS would receive 33% credit not 50%. If
DMS still requests DWR to retract our close out letters for these two sites and approve them under the
permanent rule, I will have to talk with my management. Please send your response to both Katie and me.
Thanks-
Karen
Karen Higgins
401 & Buffer Permitting Unit Supervisor
NC DENR - Division of Water Resources
1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699
Phone: (919) 807 -6360
Email: karen.hiRRins @ncdenr.eov
Website: http: / /Porta1.ncdenr.ore /web /wa /401bufferoermittine
E -mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be
disclosed to third parties.
From: Schaffer, Jeff
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2015 10:47 AM
To: Merritt, Katie
Cc: Higgins, Karen
Subject: RE: Big Bull & Ballance Closeout
Thank you, Katie. So let me make sure I'm clear under the proposed permanent rule for those areas outside of 100 ft from
TOB would we only receive 33% of the available credit or is it a 33% reduction meaning we would receive 67% of available
credit?
Jeff Schaffer
Eastern Superxrisor, Project Management
NCDENR Division of Mitigation Services (,http: / /portal.ncdenr.org /web /eep)
Mailing: 1652 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699 -1652
Physical: 217 West Jones St., 3rd Floor, Suite 3000A, Raleigh, N.C. 27603
Office: (919) 707 -8308
Mobile: (919) 812 -2634
Email: Jeff Schaffernncdenr.gov
Email correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may
be disclosed to third parties.
From: Merritt, Katie
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2015 10:31 AM
To: Schaffer, Jeff
Cc: Higgins, Karen
Subject: Re: Big Bull & Ballance Closeout
Hey Jeff,
i'll call you later. I am working today, just working remotely because I have a sick kid at home. I want to make
sure all is good before moving forward. please see the table below, which is from the proposed perm. rule:
Hey Jeff,
I'll call you later. I am working today, just working remotely because I have a sick kid at home. I want to make
sure all is good before moving forward. Please see the table below, which is from the proposed perm. rule,
which shows no deciphering between urban and non urban. Therefore, all sites will fall under this table when
the perm rule goes through, regardless of whether they are urban or non - urban. I think this would mean that
the 33% will apply to both big bull and balance for the cattle exclusion areas. Right now, it's 50 %. The 10%
caveat is removed (under the table) so maybe this is where DMS may get more credit? I just want to make
sure DMS is comfortable with that, because I would hate to wait till the Perm rule and then DMS determine
that they could have gotten more credit under the Temp. rule. See below:
E+}Lnj RIPARIAN BUFFER RESTORATION SITE OR ENHANCEMENT SITE. ENHA iCEMEnrr Divisien Authority staff shall
make an on -site determination as to whether a potential mitigation site qualifies as a restoration site or enhancement
site as defined in Paragraph (b) of this Rule. Riparian buffer restoration sites or enhancement sites shall meet the
following requirements:
(1) Buffer restoration sites or enhancement sites may be proposed as follows:
rrhu z . "u s Non :rrbu z . "u �s
Proposed Proposed
Buffer width (ft) Percentage Buffer wid4 (ft)
of Full Credit of Full Credi
Less than 20 0% Less than, 29 0-0�
20 -29 75% 2029 "0
30 -100 100% 30-100 X80 0�e
101 �000
101 - �8 0� 33% 1"_20 o 58 °�A
200
A The -area of the [ buffer] mitig -ation site ti,,.,endd Inn i,.,,,.,. F,,,,+ F.,,..... +ti„ +,,., „f banl-� shall c
From: Schaffer, Jeff
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2015 6:36 AM
To: Merritt, Katie; Allen, Melonie
Cc: Baumgartner, Tim
Subject: RE: Big Bull & Ballance Closeout
Katie,
Thank you for turning these around so quickly, we really appreciate your diligence. However, in discussions with upper
management and others at DMS regarding the new language in the proposed permanent rule, 15A NCAC 02B .0295(n)(1)
which reduces the percentage of full credit in the 101 -200 ft zone from 50% to 33% in Urban areas and what looks to be no
reduction in Non -Urban areas, DMS requests that you pull back or redact the closeout approval letters until such time as the
permanent rule is finalized. This is requested, so that in the spirit of customer service to our mitigation providers, since this
currently proposed changes reduce the credit impact to DMS on both projects and the providers and, in the case of the Big
Bull project, reduces the amount of money the provider would be required to repay to DMS.
Since you are out of the office today and I will be out of the office starting tomorrow (8/28) through 9/7, if you have any
questions during this time regarding this request, please contact Tim Baumgartner.
Thank you.
Jeff Schaffer
Eastern Supervisor, Project Management
NCDENR Division of Mitigation Services (http: / /portal.ncdenr.orp /web /eep)
Mailing: 1652 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699 -1652
Physical: 217 West Jones St., 3rd Floor, Suite 3000A, Raleigh, N.C. 27603
Office: (919) 707 -8308
Mobile: (919) 812 -2634
Email: Jeff Schaffernncdenr.gov
Email correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may
be disclosed to third parties.
From: Merritt, Katie
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2015 5:06 PM
To: Allen, Melonie
Cc: Schaffer, Jeff
Subject: Big Bull & Ballance Closeout
Hey Melonie,
Please see your copies of the Big Bull and Balance closeout letters.
Have a great day,
Katie
Katie Merritt
Nutrient Offset & Buffer Banking Coordinator
NCDENR- Division of Water Resources
Work: 919- 807 -6371
Website: http: / /Porta1.ncdenr.ore /web /wq /401bufferoermittine
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