20080868 Ver 2_USACE approval of minor mod to Cond E_20160419

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
Washington Regulatory Field Office
2407 W 5' Street
Washington, North Carolina 27889
April 19, 2016
Regulatory Division
Action ID No: SAW- 2001-10096
Mr. Jeffery C. Furness
Senior Scientist
PCs Phosphate Co., Inc.
1530 NC Highway 306 South
Aurora, North Carolina 27806
Dear Mr. Furness:
Reference the Department of the Army (DA) individual permit (IP) and associated permit Special
Conditions issued to PCs Phosphate Company Inc. for continuing mining activities located in
Aurora, Beaufort County, North Carolina.
On March 16, 2016, Tom Steffens of the Washington Regulatory Field Office, U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers (Corps) met with you to receive an update of the PCs mining operations and review
ongoing compliance with several of the Special Conditions associated with the DA permit issued
to PCs.
As a result of that meeting, this office received a cover letter and information package on March
21, 2016. The package references Special Condition "E" of the Corps 404 permit and requests
administrative approval to update the timing of the mining blocks depicted on Figure 2 from the
Record of Decision (ROD) originally labeled as "Clearing Schedule by 2 year Increments" dated
January 26, 2009.
Supporting documentation for the request was provided via a detailed narrative. Additionally,
graphics were provided for use and visual clarity in this request; and incorporated here by
reference:
1) The original Figure 2 from the ROD has been revised in form alone to provide clear copy
and is labeled as "Figure 1-Section 404 Permit -Alt L 2009 Clearing Blocks" dated March
7, 2016.
2) The graphic labeled as "Figure 2-Section 404 Permit -Alt L Revised 2016 Clearing
Blocks" dated March 3, 2016 represents the updated clearing block timing for the
Bonnerton Tract and South of 33 Tract, as requested by the permittee.
Three tables provided additional support to the request:

3) "PCS Ore Mining and Acres Sterilized 2010-2015 on the NCPC Tract", which shows
mine statistics by month for acres of ore mined and acres of ore left behind (sterilized)
and provides the rationale for the accelerated mining activity.
4) "Wetland Impact Comparison between Original 2009 and Updated 2016 Bonnerton
Clearing Blocks" compares the wetland impact for each of the five clearing blocks in
Bonnerton. There is no change in wetland impacts between the 2009 clearing blocks and
the updated 2016 clearing blocks and indicates a simple change to the clearing lines
within the current 404 permitted boundary.
5) The 2015 Mitigation Ledger represents the available mitigation credits at the end of 2015
The Ledger indicates that the permittee has available mitigation well in advance of
impacts realized by current and future mining activities.
After further review, the Corps finds the permittee's request warrants a minor permit
modification. Discussion and coordination with appropriate State and Federal agencies revealed
no objections to this modification request.
The Corps finds the permit modification request to have merit and hereby modifies the
referenced DA permit and Special Condition E to update the timing of the clearing blocks in the
Bonnerton Tract and South of 33 Tract as proposed using the documents referenced herein as
part of the ongoing administrative record.
Questions regarding this correspondence may be directed to Tom Steffens, Regulatory Project
Manager at the Washington Regulatory Field Office, telephone [phone].
Sincerely,
FILENAME:SpecCon Mod Request
CESAW-RG-W/Steffens/rab/s
Mail/ File
Kevin P. Landers Sr.
Colonel, U.S. Army
District Commander
E-copies:
USFWS/Mike Wicker
USEPA/ Todd Bowers
NCWRC/Maria Dunn
NCDWR/Anthony Scarbraugh