20191368 Ver 1_Denial_20191202

ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretary
LINDA CULPEPPER
Director
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
December 2, 2019
DWR # 19-1368
PAMLICO County
CERTIFIED MAIL: 7013 3020 0000 7632 0130
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Vertical Bridge Development, LLC
Attn: Matt Grugan
750 Park of Commerce Drive, Suite 200
Boca Raton, Florida, 33847
Subject: DENIAL OF 401 WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION
US-NC-5069-HOBUCKEN
Dear Mr. Grugan:
On October 7, 2019, the Division of Water Resources (Division) received your application dated October
7, 2019, requesting a 401 Water Quality Certification from the Division for the subject project with
subsequent information received on November 14, 2019. On November 18, 2019, the Division received
a regulatory correspondence from US Army Corps of Engineers stating that the project as proposed would
not comply with the conditions of a Nationwide Permit and as proposed would require the submittal of
an Individual Permit application. Therefore, the Division cannot certify that the subject project will comply
with Sections 301, 302, 303, 306, and 307 of the federal Clean Water Act.
In accordance with 15A NCAC 02H .0507(e) your application for a 401 Water Quality Certification is
hereby denied. If you chose to pursue an Individual Permit, you will need to demonstrate the proposed
action is the Least Environmentally Damaging Practicable Alternative in the alternative analysis. Please
note, if you chose to reapply to the Division, including a complete application package and appropriate
fee.
This decision can be contested as provided in Articles 3 and 4 of General Statute 150E by filing a written
petition for an administrative hearing to the Office of Administrative Hearings (hereby known as OAH)
within sixty (60) calendar days.
A petition form may be obtained from the OAH at http://www.ncoah.com/ or by calling the OAH Clerk's
Office at [phone] for information. A petition is considered filed when the original and one (1) copy
along with any applicable OAH filing fee is received in the OAH during normal office hours (Monday
through Friday between 8:00am and 5:00pm, excluding official state holidays).
DE Q;; North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
_ Washington Regional Office 1 943 Washington Square Mail I Washington. North Carolina 27889
02M.LQ6�.� 252.946.6481

DWR# 19-1368
401 WQC DENIAL
Page 2 of 2
The petition may be faxed to the OAH at [phone], provided the original and one copy of the
petition along with any applicable OAH filing fee is received by the OAH within five (5) business days
following the faxed transmission.
Mailing address for the OAH:
If sending via US Postal Service: If sending via delivery service (UPS, FedEx,
etc):
Office of Administrative Hearings Office of Administrative Hearings
6714 Mail Service Center 1711 New Hope Church Road
Raleigh, NC 27699-6714 Raleigh, NC 27609-6285
One (1) copy of the petition must also be served to DENR:
William F. Lane, General Counsel
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
1601 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1601
This completes the review of the Division under section 401 of the Clean Water Act. Please be aware that
you have no authorization under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act for this activity and any work done
within waters of the state would be a violation of North Carolina General Statutes and Administrative
Code. Contact Anthony Scarbraugh at 252-948-3924 or [e-mail] if you have any
questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
L-
Linda Culpepper
Director, Division of Water Resources
cc: Will Vesely, Terracon Consultants, Inc. (via email)
Emily Thompson, USACE Washington Regulatory Field Office (via email)
Samir Dumpor, DEMLR WaRO
Todd Bowers, EPA (via email)
Jonathan Howell, DCM Morehead City (via email)
Laserfiche

Regional Operations Section
Washington Regional Office
Division of Water Resources
November 25, 2019
Memorandum:
TO: Linda Culpepper, Director
Division of Water Resources
FROM: David May, Regional Supervisor
Washington Regional Office
PREPARED BY: Anthony Scarbraugh
SUBJECT: Denial of 401 Water Quality Certification
US-NC-5069-Hobucken
DWR Project No. 19-1368
Pamlico County, NC
Enclosed is a recommendation for denial of 401 Water Quality Certification for proposed
construction of an access road and 80'x80' cell tower compound located at 580 Lowland Road in
Hobucken, Pamlico County. Vertical Bridge Development, LLC is the applicant.
Historical Background (DWR Project No. 19-1368):
On October 7, 2019, DWR received the Pre -Construction Notification (PCN) Application
requesting the use of the Nationwide Permit (NWP) No. 12 and associated Water Quality General
Certification proposing to impact 0.30 acres of 404 wetlands. On October 21, 2019, DWR place
the project on hold requesting engineering design specific details for proposed impacts to
wetland and waters. On October 22, 2019, DWR received comments from US Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE) after completing their review of the PCN application. The USACE response
indicated the proposed project does not meet the conditions of the NWPs #12 or #14. In
addition, USACE response commented on the avoidance and minimization of impacts and
mitigation requirements. On October 23, 2019, DWR received notification from USACE the PCN
application is considered incomplete.
On November 14, 2019, DWR received a response to the additional information request from
Terracon Consultant, Inc. (environmental consultant). On November 18, 2019, DWR received
comments from the USACE completion of the additional information review. Within the USACE
comments, the USACE provided justification as to why the utilization of the NWPs # 12, 18, and
39 for the project as proposed would not be applicable. The USACE provided guidance for the
applicant if an Individual Permit (IP) due to the project as proposed would require the submittal
of an application for an IP.