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Home My WebLink About20201457 Ver 1_NCDWR Signed Letter to Stewardship_20201013 September 11, 2020 Ed Hajnos Stewardship Program Coordinator NC Department of Environmental Quality 1606 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1606 (via electronic mail: edward.hajnos@ncdenr.gov ) Re: Conservation Easement Encroachment Proposal Durham Bicycle-Pedestrian Corridor – Hillandale Road (NCDOT TIP No. U-4726HN) Ellerbee Creek (G) Hillandale # 127 Mitigation Site (DMS# 127) Dear Mr. Hajnos: On October 8, 2019, staff with the Division of Water Resources (DWR) attended an Interagency Review Team (IRT) meeting in which WithersRavenel, on behalf of the City of Durham, presented the Durham Bicycle Pedestrian Corridor – Hillandale Road construction project (Project), consisting of a five feet wide sidewalk and ten feet wide multiuse path. During the IRT meeting, DWR staff and other IRT members provided comments and recommendations to WithersRavenel regarding the proposed Project and its effects on the Ellerbee Creek (G) Hillandale Mitigation Site (Mitigation Site). The Mitigation Site is within the Falls Lake Watershed of the Neuse River Basin and includes portions of Ellerbe Creek and a UT to Ellerbe Creek along with adjacent riparian areas. On February 4, 2020, WithersRavenel presented a revised Project to the IRT. On February 25, 2020, WithersRavenel provided a “Final Summary Memo,” which reduces the negative effects on the Mitigation Site. On September 10, 2020, the “Final Summary Memo” was revised to correct clerical errors. A copy of the Final Summary Memo” (Final Proposal) is attached to this letter. The proposed Project would affect the Mitigation Site and its associated buffer credits and nutrient removal functions. The purpose of the Mitigation Site is to restore riparian areas and their associated nutrient removal functions to generate buffer credits that are used to mitigate for other DWR-approved Neuse buffer impacts requiring mitigation. For buffer mitigation sites, 15A NCAC 02B .0295 (l)(2)(A) requires “a perpetual conservation easement or similar preservation mechanism to ensure perpetual stewardship that protects the mitigation site’s nutrient removal and other water quality functions.” Accordingly, the North Carolina Department of Administration, State Property Office has an easement (Durham County Register of Deeds Book: 5014, Pages: 18-28) intended to provide perpetual protection of the Mitigation Site. The easement is managed by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Stewardship program, which, in coordination with the State Property Office, has rights to enforce compliance with the restrictions and protections set forth in the conservation easement. DocuSign Envelope ID: B5AD405A-CF44-424D-B09C-BB4FA6EE11EA DENR Stewardship August 20, 2020 Page 2 of 2 With this letter, DWR provides concurrence with the Final Proposal. Payment of 12,284 buffer credits should be made to DMS (for use in the Falls Lake Watershed of the Neuse River Basin service area) prior to any activities in or effects to the Mitigation Site. This correspondence does not authorize any impacts to Zone 1 or Zone 2 of riparian buffers as they are defined in 15A NCAC 02B .0610 and regulated by 15A NCAC 02B .0714, and neither takes the place of any buffer authorization certificate as required by 15A NCAC 02B .0611 nor any buffer mitigation that may be required per 15A NCAC 02B .0295. This correspondence and the attached Final Proposal must be included with any buffer authorization application, if applicable. If the Project’s design changes from what is in the attached Final Proposal, DWR’s concurrence with the Final Proposal will automatically terminate. Please contact Katie Merritt with DWR at (919) 707-3637 if you have any questions regarding this correspondence. Sincerely, Danny S. Smith Director, Division of Water Resources Attachments: Final Summary Memo for “Proposal for Impacts to Conservation Easement” – 9/10/20, DMS Asset Figure cc: Todd Tugwell – IRT Chair Katie Merritt – DWR File Copy DocuSign Envelope ID: B5AD405A-CF44-424D-B09C-BB4FA6EE11EA WithersRavenel Our People. Your Success. 115 MacKenan Drive | Cary, NC 27511 t: 919.469.3340 | f: 919.467.6008 | www.withersravenel.com | License No. C‐0832 Asheville | Cary | Greensboro | Pittsboro | Raleigh | Wilmington February 25, 2020 Clarity Added September 10, 20201 To: Ed Hajnos NC Division of Mitigation Services 217 West Jones St., Suite 3000A Raleigh, N.C. 27603 Re: Final Summary Memo Durham Bicycle‐Pedestrian Corridor – Hillandale Rd Proposal for Impacts to Conservation Easement Ellerbe Creek, Durham NC NCDMS# 127 NCDOT TIP No. U‐4726HN This summary memorandum provides final information required for allowance of the City of Durham Hillandale Rd Bicycle‐Pedestrian Corridor project. The project information is presented in detail in the original Proposal for Impacts to Conservation Easement, dated September 30, 2019, and the Durham Bicycle‐Pedestrian Corridor Addendum, dated November 19, 2019. In summary, The project is a Bicycle‐Pedestrian Corridor, beginning at the I‐85 interchange with Hillandale Road, extending south for 1.1 miles along both the east and west sides of Hillandale Road, to the southern terminus at the Hwy 70 Business interchange with Hillandale Road. Project proposes the installation of a 5‐ft wide sidewalk on west side of Hillandale Road, and 10‐ ft wide multiuse path along east side of Hillandale Road. Construction will require impacts within an existing conservation easement along Ellerbe Creek, and will require a Riparian Buffer Authorization through NC DWR. The proposed impacts to the conservation easement are solely from stabilizing fill and stormwater re‐alignment. Impacts to the conservation easement are quantified as follows: Location Impact Footage Permanent (sqft) Impact Footage Temporary (sqft) Impact Footage Total (sqft) Project: 5’ Wide Sidewalk; West side of Hillandale Road 1,867 1,554 3,421 Project: 10’ Wide Multi‐use Path; East side of Hillandale Road 1,628 1,093 2,721 TOTAL 3,495 2,647 6,142 DocuSign Envelope ID: B5AD405A-CF44-424D-B09C-BB4FA6EE11EA Durham Pedestrian‐Bicycle Corridor Final Summary Memo Feb 25, 2020 – Clarity Added September 10, 2020 WithersRavenel Our People. Your Success. Page 2 of 2 Post‐construction, the temporary impact areas will be re‐vegetated matching the existing site conditions. A majority of the impact area is currently a maintained grass cover crop, which will be re‐established and maintained. Temporary impacts to the wooded riparian area (northwest quadrant of the project) will be restored using ball & burlap trees at a 1:1 ratio per tree removed, specifically, for each tree removed, one tree will be replanted. The species of the tree will be taken from Table 1 Planting Plan Species List for Zone 2 trees, on page 43 of the original restoration plan (see attached). The replanted trees will be guaranteed by The City of Durham for a period of one‐ year. An aerial photo showing the impact areas with restoration specification is attached with this memo. City of Durham proposes to provide compensation for the total square footage of the conservation easement take, at a 2:1 ratio, based on current fees for Riparian Buffer ILF Rates for Standard Service Areas. This value is proposed with acknowledgment that the easement was created, in part, to establish ILF assets. It should be noted the square footage of the riparian buffer assets is 2,135 square feet, 34 percent of the total conservation easement impact of 6,142 sq ft. Proposed payment would total 6,142 sq ft at 2:1 ratio = 12,284 buffer credits. Impacts to the riparian buffer zones within the easement will require authorization through the NC DWR. Payment to the NC DMS is required prior IRT Release of the easement, and is required prior to issuance of the Buffer Authorization. We look forward to your guidance in finalizing this agreement, and moving forward with NCDWR Authorization. Please let me know if you have questions. Sincerely, Troy Beasley Senior Environmental Scientist WithersRavenel *Originally signed by Martin Richmond, a former employee 1. The contents of this letter are mostly the same as was previously reviewed and approved by the NCIRT following the February 4, 2020 meeting. Per DWR recommendation, minor modifications were necessary for clarification purposes and are as follows: 1) Remove the monetary value of the fee associated with payment to DMS; 2) Changed “$12,284” to “12,284 buffer credits” to clarify the original intent of the language; 3) Removed former employee, Martin Richmond, from the signature line. DocuSign Envelope ID: B5AD405A-CF44-424D-B09C-BB4FA6EE11EA E E E E E E E EEEEEE E E E E E E Stream or Body of Water Existing Conservation Easement Line Existing Edge of Pavement Existing Curb Proposed Slope Stakes Cut Proposed Slope Stakes Fill RWNew Right of Way Line with Pin and Cap PDENew Permanent Drainage Easement New Permanent Easement Pin and Cap ENew Temporary Construction Easement 1 inch = 40 ft. 40 GRAPHIC SCALE 0 20 40 80 TEMPORARY IMPACT, BUFFER ZONE 2 TEMPORARY IMPACT, EASEMENT ONLY PERMANENT IMPACT, BUFFER ZONE 1 PERMANENT IMPACT, BUFFER ZONE 2 TEMPORARY IMPACT, BUFFER ZONE 1 PERMANENT IMPACT, EASEMENT ONLY EXHIBIT 5A LEGEND DocuSign Envelope ID: B5AD405A-CF44-424D-B09C-BB4FA6EE11EA DocuSign Envelope ID: B5AD405A-CF44-424D-B09C-BB4FA6EE11EA Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, IGN,and the GIS User Community Ellerbee Creek Hillendale 127 Legend 2005EllerbeeCkCenterline EllerbeC kBufferCreditAreasFinal28May2010 V-ST RM-STRC V-RRAP Utilities Conservaton_Easement . 500 0 500250 Fe et DocuSign Envelope ID: B5AD405A-CF44-424D-B09C-BB4FA6EE11EA