20060052 Ver 1_Other Agency Comments_20060405

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
~`~ 5'q,~S REGION 4
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~~~ ~ Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center
~'~c vgotE~'~ 61 Forsyth Street, S.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303 - 8960
March 31, 2006
Colonel John E. Pulliam, Jr.
District Engineer
ATTN: Ms. Lillette Granade
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
P.O. Box 1890
Wilmington, North Carolina 28402-1890
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SUBJECT: Red Apple Group, LLC
Action ID: 200600366
Dear Colonel Pulliam:
This letter is in reference to the application by the Red Apple Group described in the
above referenced Public Notice (PN) dated March 3, 2006. The project site is located on a
peninsula of land which extends into Topsail Sound in Surf City, Pender County, North Carolina.
The property consists of 4.016 acres of uplands, 1.904 acres of jurisdictional wetlands and 0.921
acres of jurisdictional coastal wetlands and is bordered on the north and south by 50 to 60 feet
wide man-made canals. The applicant has applied for authorization to fill in all of the 1.904
acres of jurisdictional wetlands for the construction of a road, sidewalks, utility lines and
residential lots. To mitigate for the wetland impacts, the applicant is proposing to restore/create
approximately 1.992 acres of wetlands along the perimeter of the peninsula between the
proposed dwellings and the coastal wetland line. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
Region 4 has reviewed the project information contained in the PN and we have the following
comments on the proposed project.
EPA is concerned with the applicant's proposal to place fill in all the wetland area on the
project site. According to the PN, the expired 1999 U. S. Army Corps of Engineers' permit for a
residential development at this project site was for the filling of approximately 0.39 acres and
was fora 46-lot subdivision. The current proposal is fora 37-lot subdivision and proposes to
place fill in 1.904 acres of wetland. It is not clear to us why the new proposal for a smaller
number of lots needs to place fill in all the on-site wetlands. We recommend the applicant
consider design alternatives to more effectively minimize the impacts to the on-site wetlands.
We recommend the applicant provide an alternatives analysis which demonstrates the evaluation
of alternatives which would satisfy the project purpose and need and minimize and avoid
wetland impacts. One of the alternatives we recommend the applicant consider is an access road
in the upland areas with a single row of houses. The PN also contains no information for storm
water management for the proposed development. We recommend this information be included
with the project application information.

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The applicant has also decided to exclude the impacts for the construction of individual
docks and bulkheads for the residential lots with this permit request. The Red Apple Group has
indicated their desire to leave it up to the future landowners to obtain separate permits. We are
concerned with this approach and recommend these impacts be included with the current permit
request.
The proposed mitigation for wetland impacts is for the restoration/creation of
approximately 1.992 acres of wetlands along the perimeter of the peninsula. We are concerned
that the mitigation proposal for the compensation for on-site impacts is proposed to be located
between the proposed dwellings and the coastal area where the future home owners will
construct docks and bulkheads. The placement of the mitigation wetlands at this location may
likely minimize the value and function of these wetlands.
EPA appreciates the opportunity to comment on this project. For the reasons outlined
above, we believe that a permit for the proposed project, as currently described, is not approvable
at this time. We recommend that the applicant consider design alternatives to minimize wetland
impacts, include the individual docks and bulkheads in the current permit request, and not locate
the proposed mitigation wetlands between the future dwellings and the coastline. We welcome
the opportunity to review any future project information submitted by the applicant. If you have
any questions regarding these comments, please contact Becky Fox at [phone] or
fox.rebecca@ epa.gov.
Sincerely,
- ~ _--__ .
Ronald J. i lak, Chief
Wetlands ulatory Section
cc: USFWS, Raleigh
NCDWQ, Raleigh
NCDWQ, Wilmington
NMFS, Beaufort
DCM/NCDENR, Wilmington

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cc List:
cc: Ms. Cyndi Karoly
NC Division of Water Quality
1650 Mail Service Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1650
Mr. Ed Beck
NC Division of Water Quality
127 Cardinal Drive
Wilmington, NC 28405
Mr. Howard Hall
US Fish and Wildlife Service
PO Box 33726
Raleigh, North Carolina 27636-3726
Mr. Ron Sechler
National Marine Fisheries Service
101 Pivers Island Road
Beaufort, North Carolina 28516
Mr. Ted Tyndall
Morehead City Regional Office
Division of Coastal Management
NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources
151-B Highway 24 Hestron Plaza II
Morehead City, NC 28557