19961187 Ver 1_COMPLETE FILE_19961231

State of North Carolina
Department of Environment,
Health and Natural Resources
Division of Water Quality
James B. Hunt, Jr., Governor
Jonathan B. Howes, Secretary
A. Preston Howard, Jr., P.E., Director
ED F= F1
Division of Water Quality
February 6, 1997
MEMORANDUM
To:
From: John R. Dome
Division of Water ality
Subject: Exxon Chemical Company pe , 't
New Hanover County
DWQ #961187, COE #199701677
The Division of Water Quality has reviewed the plans to modify earlier Corps permits
to allow subaqueous pipelines to remain under the Cape Fear River and use them to
transport natural gas. We have no objection to this permit. Please call me at 919-733-1786
if you have any questions.
cc: Wilmington DWQ Regional Office
Central Files
Division of Water Quality - Environmental Sciences Branch
Environmental Sciences Branch, 4401 Reedy Creek Rd., Raleigh, NC 27607 Telephone [phone] FAX # [phone]
An Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer • 50% recycled/10% post consumer paper.
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2EMORANDUM PRINT NAMES:
+ Reviewer: 61f6-36-
PO: JOHN DORNEY WO SUPV.:t?L'c t c r
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES BRANCH DATE: iay y? J,
SUBJECT: WETLAND STAFF REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
***EACH ITEM MUST BE AN
PERMIT YR: 96 PERMIT
APPLICANT NAME: EXXON CHEMICAL
PROJECT TYPE: GAS LINE
COE_#: 199701677
RCD FROMCDA: COE
REG OF_FICE : W 1;20
ZIVER AND SUB BASIN #: 030617
STREAM-CLASS: SC-71
WL_IMPACT?: Y10
WL_REQUESTED : N/A
WL_SCOREM : /v/C
MITIGATION?: Y,?1
MITIGATION-SIZE:
3WERED (USE N/A FOR NOT APPLICABLE) ***
NO: 0001187 COUNTY: NEW HANOVER
CO.
PERMIT TYPE: IND
DOT It :
DATE FRM CDA: 12/30/96
STR INDEX N0: 18-71
WL_TYPE: WL_ACR_EST?: Y/N

WATER IMPACTED BY FILL?:
Y/5) th
MITIGATION-TYPE: DID YOU REQUEST MORE INFO?: Y/Q

IS WETLAND RATING SHEET ATTACHED?: Y&
HAVE PROJECT CHANGES/CONDITIONS BEEN DISCUSSED WITH APPLICANT?: Y/N
RECOMMENDATION (Circle One) ISS ISSUE/COND DENY
COMMENTS : ? hr ? O-KC, N '-7 ,
CC: Regional Office
Central Files
fi al
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
Wilmington District, Corps of Engineers
Post Office Box 1890
Wilmington, North Carolina 28402-1890
Action ID No. 199701677 December 19, 1996
Related Action ID Nos. 197200113 and 199301968
PUBLIC NOTICE
EXXON CHEMICAL COMPANY, Post Office Box 2220, Houston, Texas 77252-2220,
has applied for a Department of the Army (DA) permit modification TO ALLOW
ONE (1) 4-INCH DIAMETER AND TWO (2) 6-INCH DIAMETER, PREVIOUSLY ABANDONED,
SUBAQUEOUS PIPELINES TO REMAIN UNDER THE CAPE FEAR RIVER AND TO TEMPORARILY
LEASE ONE OF THE 6-INCH DIAMETER LINES FOR THE TRANSPORT OF NATURAL GAS,
WILMINGTON HARBOR, New Hanover County, North Carolina.
The following description of the proposal is taken from data provided by
the applicant and from observations by the Corps of Engineers. Surveys by the
applicant and plans and other information submitted with the application for
permit modification show the abandoned pipelines to be located at a depth
approximating 50 feet, MLW, pasting under the Federally maintained channel in
Wilmington Harbor. The presently authorized depth of the Federal channel is
38 feet (plus 2 feet), MLW. Exxon's plan is to temporarily lease one(1)
6-inch diameter line to NORTH CAROLINA NATURAL GAS. The line, which would
be activated by NORTH CAROLINA NATURAL GAS, has been pressure tested and
assurance has been provided that all measures for the safe transport of
natural gas will be employed.
Anticipating the deepening of Wilmington Harbor to 42 feet (plus 2 feet),
MLW, and the subsequent necessity to abandon the existing, more shallow lines,
in 1994, EXXON installed for their use, by directional drilling, an additional
6-inch diameter line. This newer line, located at a depth exceeding 70 feet,
MLW, passing under the Federal channel, provided for EXXON's abandonment of
the three previously installed lines. As the deepening of the Federal channel
is presently not anticipated to occur before 1999 or 2000; EXXON and NORTH
CAROLINA NATURAL GAS request the opportunity to temporarily utilize one of the
previously abandoned lines. Plans showing the location of the older
subaqueous lines are included with this public notice.
Should this modification be authorized, it will be understood and agreed
that the permittee will be required to abandon and/or remove the subaqueous
lines at their own expense in the event that, in the judgment of the Corps of
Engineers acting for the United States, the lines continued use or existence
would interfere with the deepening or maintenance of the Federally maintained
channel.
The applicant has determined that the proposed action is consistent with
the North Carolina Coastal Zone Management Plan and has submitted this
determination to the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management (NCDCM) for
their review and concurrence. This proposal shall be reviewed for the
applicability of other actions by North Carolina agencies such as:
a. The issuance of a Water Quality Certification under Section 401 of
the Clean Water Act by the North Carolina Division of Environmental Management
(NCDEM).
b. The issuance of a permit to dredge and/or fill under North Carolina
General Statute 113-229 by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management
(NCDCM).
C. The issuance of a permit under the North Carolina Coastal Area
Management Act (CAMA) by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management
(NCDCM) or their delegates.
d. The issuance of an easement to fill or otherwise occupy State-owned
submerged land under North Carolina General Statute 143-341(4), 146-6, 146-11,
and 146-12 by the North Carolina Department of Administration (NCDA) and the
North Carolina Council of State.
e. The approval of an Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan by the Land
Quality Section, North Carolina Division of Land Resources (NCDLR), pursuant
to the State Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973 (NC G.S. 113 A-50-
66).
The requested Department of the Army (DA) permit modification will be
denied if any required State or local authorization and/or certification is
denied. No DA permit modification will be issued until a State coordinated
viewpoint is received and reviewed by this agency. Recipients of this notice
are encouraged to furnish comments on factors of concern represented by the
above agencies directly to the respective agency, with a copy furnished to the
Corps of Engineers.
This application is being considered pursuant to Section 10 of the River
and Harbor Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403).
The District Engineer has consulted the latest published version of the
National Register of Historic Places for the presence or absence of registered
properties, or properties listed as being eligible for inclusion therein, and
this site is not registered property or property listed as being eligible for
inclusion in the Register. Consultation of the National Register is the
extent of cultural resource investigations by the District Engineer, and he is
otherwise unaware of the presence of such resources. Presently, unknown
archeological, scientific, prehistorical, or historical data may be lost or
destroyed by work under the requested permit.
The District Engineer, based on available information, is not aware that
the proposed activity will affect species, or their critical habitat,
designated as endangered or threatened pursuant to the Endangered Species Act
of 1973.
The decision, whether to issue a permit, will be based on an evaluation
of the probable impacts, including cumulative impacts, of the proposed
activity and its intended use on the public interest. Evaluation of the
probable impacts that the proposed activity may have on the public interest
requires a careful weighing of all those factors that become relevant in each
particular case. The benefits that may be expected to accrue from the
proposal must be balanced against its foreseeable detriments. The decision
whether to authorize a proposal, and if so the conditions under which it will
be allowed to occur, are therefore decided by the outcome of the general
balancing process. That decision should reflect the national concern for both
protection and use of important resources. All factors that may be relevant
to the proposal must be considered including the cumulative effects of it.
Among those are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental
concerns, wetlands, cultural values, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards
and flood plain values (according to Executive Order 11988), land use,
2
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navigation, shore erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and
conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber production,
mineral needs, considerations of property ownership, and, in general, the
needs and welfare of the people. For activities involving the placement of
dredged or fill materials in waters of the United States, a permit will be
denied if the discharge that would be authorized would not comply with the
Environmental Protection Agencies' 404(b)(1) guidelines. Subject to the
preceding sentence and any other applicable guidelines or criteria, a permit
will be granted unless the District Engineer decides that it would be contrary
to the public interest.
The Corps of Engineers is soliciting comments from the public; Federal,
State and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes and other interested
parties to consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity. Any
comments received will be considered by the Corps of Engineers to decide
whether to issue, modify, condition or deny a permit for this proposal. To
make this decision, comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species,
historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects and the
other public interest factors listed above. Comments are used in the
preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and/or an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Comments are also used to decide the need for a public hearing and to decide
the public interest of the proposed activity.
Written comments pertinent to the proposed action, as outlined above,
will be received in this office, Attention: Mr. Michael Taylor, until
4:15 p.m., January 2, 1997, or telephone [phone].
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PROFILE
SCA L E : Vert. 1" . 30'
Horiz. 1"-GOO' As •LA/o " 6-27- 73
_ ?5#6&-7' / ozr /
EXXON PIPELINE COMPANY AS LAlp F-XXQW PIPE LINE COTS 1-4", 1-6'" AND
EN.?M?smw HOU.TO,,.TSxw. 1-6r SPARE PIPELINES, CROSSING
NILMINGTON H.O.&R. TERM-DUPONT CAPE FEAR RIVE R
BRUNSWICK S3 NEW e! ANOVER COBS PIPELIES
NON CAROLINA
RQ, C. of E. Permit DRAWN DATE 2 - 24 -72 .r-' N9 ` ?/: C- . A- 3 A
L 0. e. C?=svo Ar.ROVeo
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PROFILE LOOKING DOWNSTREAM
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DISTRICT ENGINEER r
U.S. ARMY ENGINEER DISTRICT, WILMINGTON , , .
P.O. BOX 1890
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28402-1890
rd C H m E1F'P . F.3t:3r, ?.
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
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SAWCO
61001 001992
NC DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH
AND NATURAL RESOURCES
DIV OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANG
ATTN: MR. JOHN DORNEY
4401 REEDY CREEK RD
RALEIGH, NC 27611-7687
IMPORTANT!
THIS IS A PUBLIC NOTICE
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