20180182 Ver 1_Mitigation Bank Instrument_20191112

ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAELS.REGAN
Secretary
LINDA CULPEPPER
Director
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
November 12, 2019
TO: Linda Culpepper
Director
FROM: Mac Haupt f*k
Acting Supervisor, 401 and Riparian Buffer Permitting Branch
Stream and Wetland Mitigation Coordinator
SUBJECT: Division Approval of the Yadkin Valley Umbrella Mitigation Bank, Yadkin 01,
Wildlands Engineering
The attached Mitigation Banking Instrument (MBI) is between Wildlands Holdings, LLC and the
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and each of the agencies listed on the signature page.
The initial project for this Umbrella Bank is the Critcher Brothers mitigation site in Wilkes
County. The attached Banking Instrument is for stream and wetland credit only.
I have reviewed the attached MBI and it is ready for your approval. Please sign the attached
signature page and return the document to me for final execution.
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
D` —/�� 512 North Salisbury Street 1 1617 Mall Service Center I Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617
i4\ 919.707.9000

AGREEMENT TO ESTABLISH THE YADKIN VALLEY UMBRELLA MITIGATION BANK
IN THE YADKIN RIVER BASIN WITHIN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) approval of this Instrument constitutes the regulatory
approval required for the Yadkin Valley Umbrella Mitigation Bank to be used to provide
compensatory mitigation for Department of the Army permits pursuant to 33 C.F.R. 332.8(a)(1).
This Instrument is not a contract between the Sponsor or Property Owner and Corps or any other
agency of the federal government. Any dispute arising under this Instrument will not give rise to any
claim by the Sponsor or Property Ownerfor monetary damages. This provision is controlling
notwithstanding any other provision or statement in the Instrument to the contrary.
This Umbrella Mit' ation Banking instrument (UMBI) is made and entered into on the
day oft 2019, by Wildlands Holdings IV, LLC, hereinafter Sponsor, and the Corps, and
each of the following agencies, upon its execution of this UMBI; the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC), the State Historic
Preservation Office (SHPO) and the North Carolina Division of Water Resources (NCDWR). The
Corps, together with the state and federal agencies that execute this UMBI, are hereinafter
collectively referred to as the Interagency Review Team (IRT).
WHEREAS the purpose of this agreement is to establish an umbrella mitigation bank (Bank)
providing compensatory mitigation for unavoidable wetland and/orstream impacts separately
authorized by Section 404 Clean Water Act permits and/or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors
Act permits in appropriate circumstances;
WHEREAS the agencies comprising the IRT agree that the Bank sites are suitable mitigation
bank sites, and that implementation of the Mitigation Plans are likely to result in net gains in
wetland and/or stream functions at the Bank sites, and have therefore approved the Mitigation
Plans;
THEREFORE, it is mutually agreed among the parties to this agreement that the following
Provisions are adopted and will be implemented upon signature of this UMBI.
Section is General Provisions
A. The Sponsor is responsible for assuring the success of the restoration, creation,
enhancement and preservation activities at the Bank sites, and for the overall operation and
management of the Bank. The Sponsor assumes the legal responsibility for providing the
compensatory mitigation once a permittee secures credits from the Sponsor and the District
Engineer (DE) receives documentation that confirms the Sponsor has accepted responsibility for
providing the required compensatory mitigation.
B. The goals of the Umbrella Bank sites are to restore, enhance, create and preserve
wetland and/or stream systems and their functions to compensate in appropriate circumstances for
unavoidable wetland and/or stream impacts authorized by Section 404 of the Clean Water
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Act permits and/or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act permits in circumstances deemed
appropriate by the Corps after consultation, through the permit review process, with members
of the IRT.
C. Use of credits from the Bank to offset wetland and/or stream impacts authorized by
Clean Water Act permits must be in compliance with the Clean Water Act and implementing
regulations, including but not limited to the 404(b)(1) Guidelines, the National Environmental
Policy Act, and all other applicable federal and state legislation, rules and regulations. This
agreement has been drafted in accordance with the regulations for Compensatory Mitigation for
Losses of Aquatic Resources effective June 9, 2008 (33 CFR Parts 325 and 332) (Mitigation Rule).
D. The IRT shall be chaired by the DE of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington
District (District). The IRT shall review documentation for the establishment of mitigation bank
sites. The IRT will also advise the DE in assessing monitoring reports, recommending remedial
measures, approving credit releases, and approving modifications to this instrument. The Mrs
role and responsibilities are more fully set forth in Sections 332.8 of the Mitigation Rule. The IRT
will work to reach consensus on its actions.
E. The DE, after consultation with the appropriate federal and state review agencies
through the permit review process, shall make final decisions concerning the amount and type of
compensatory mitigation to be required for unavoidable, permitted wetland and/or stream
impacts, and whether or not the use of credits from the Bank is appropriate to offset those
impacts. In the case of permit applications and compensatory mitigation required solely under
the Section 401 Water Quality Certification rules of North Carolina, the NCDWR will determine
the amount of credits that can be withdrawn from the Bank. Any credits used to offset impacts
solely authorized by Section 401 cannot be used for other impacts authorized under Section 404
of the Clean Water Act or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act.
F. The parties to this agreement understand that a watershed approach to establish
compensatory mitigation must be used to the extent appropriate and practicable. Where
practicable, in -kind compensatory mitigation is preferred.
Section II: Geographic Service Area
The Geographic Service Area (GSA) is the designated area within which the Umbrella Bank is
authorized to provide compensatory mitigation required by DA permits. The GSA for this Bank
shall include the Yadkin Watershed Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) 03040101 in North Carolina.
Credits are to be used in the same HUC in which they were generated, and credits within each
HUC should be tracked on separate ledgers.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement entitled "AGREEMENT
TO ESTABLISH THE YADKIN UMBRELLA MITIGATION BANK IN THE YADKIN RIVER BASIN WITHIN
THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA":
Sponsor:
By:
Shawn D. Wilkerson
Date:
U.S. Arm Corps of Engin ers:://�
By: L pate: ZS SEj7i, Z0I9
Scott McLendon, Chief
Regulatory Division
Wilmington District

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement entitled "AGREEMENT
TO ESTABLISH THE YADKIN UMBRELLA MITIGATION BANK IN THE YADKIN RIVER BASIN WITHIN
THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA":
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:
A
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
Date:
By: Date:
N.C. Division of Water Resources:
By: I �Date:
N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission:
By: Date:
INC State Historic Preservation Office:
0
National Marine Fisheries Service:
U3
Date:
Date:
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