20100494 Ver 1_More Info Received_20100701

Soil & Environmental
11010 Raven Ridge Road • Raleigh, North Carolina 27614 •
www.SandEC.co
Division of Water Quality
Attn: Ian McMillan/Amy Chapman
2321 Crabtree Boulevard
Suite 250
Raleigh, NC 27604
Re: Reply to the Division of Water Quality's June 29, 2010 request for additional information
Westpoint at 751
Durham County, North Carolina
Dear Mr. McMillan and Ms. Chapman:
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This letter is in response to your letter dated June 29, 2010 which requested additional
information for the proposed sewer line for the Westpoint at 751 project. The following restates
your questions/comments and is then followed by our response.
Additional Information Requested
1. Please provide verification from the USA CE that they are permitting this project under a
Nationwide Permit 12, and not a Nationwide Permit 39.
Our original application submitted to DWQ on June 22, 2010 noted that this project was being
done in accordance with the conditions set forth in the Nationwide Permit (NWP) 12
administered by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Notification to and approval from
the USACE is not required for the NWP 12, provided that the permittee does not trigger any of
the notification criteria. These criteria, as taken from the NWP 12 directly, include the following:
(1) the activity involves mechanized land clearing in a forest wetland for the utility line
right-of-way;
(2) a section 10 permit is required;
(3) the utility line in waters of the United States, excluding overhead lines, exceeds 500
feet;
(4) the utility line is placed within a jurisdictional area (i.e., water of the United States),
and it runs parallel to a stream bed that is within that jurisdictional area
(5) discharges that result in the loss ofgreater than 1110-acre of waters of the United
States;
(6) permanent access roads are constructed above grade in waters of the United States
for a distance of more than 500 feet; or
(7) permanent access roads are constructed in waters of the United States with
impervious materials
The proposed sewer line project does not meet any of the above criteria which would require
notification to and approval by the USACE. Furthermore, with the exception of the stream on the
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July 1, 2010
S&EC Project # 11146.W6 \01* l
DWQ No. # 10-0494 ?qQ OIO
southern portion of the property, there are no other jurisdictional waters (i.e. other streams or
wetlands) on the subject property as demonstrated in the Jurisdictional Determination (JD) maps
signed by Eric Alsmeyer on September 1, 2009. The JD maps were included in our original
application submittal. In our past experience with the USACE, when a permittee is utilizing an
NWP 29 or 39 for development work on a subject site, it often makes sense to combine all
activities on the site under the NWP 29 or 39 to simplify the project. As there are no other
jurisdictional areas on the subject property (i.e. the applicant is not requesting an NWP 29 or 39),
it is wholly appropriate that the permittee utilize the NWP 12 for the sewer line installation. As
stated earlier in this response and in our original application package, notification to the USACE
is not required for the sewer line installation and therefore, no verification from the USACE is
required. Eric Alsmeyer with the USACE also confirmed that this approach is appropriate.
2. Please indicate proposed lot layout as an overlay on the site plan and re-submit your site
plans on full plan sheets at a scale of no smaller than I "=50' with topographic contours
shown.
The proposed project that we are requesting approval from the NC Division of Water Quality
(DWQ) is for a single stream crossing so that the applicant can install a sewer line utilizing the
General Certification (GC) No. 3819. Written approval from the NC DWQ is required because
the maintenance corridor for the proposed sewer line will be greater than 15 feet in width. Our
original application package, submitted to your office on June 22, 2010, included the plan and
profile view of the proposed impact area, as well as enumeration of the temporary stream impacts
related to the sewer line installation. Therefore, a lot layout for activities proposed in the non-
jurisdictional (i.e. upland) areas is not necessary or required.
3. Please provide building envelopes for all lots with wetlands, streams or buffers on the
site plans.
Please see our response to item No. 2 above.
4. Please locate all isolated or non-isolated wetlands, streams, and other waters of the State
as overlays on the site plan.
Our original application package submitted to your office on June 22, 2010 included a copy of the
signed JD maps. These maps also included the location of the single pocket of isolated/non-404
wetlands on the subject site. Per the NC DWQ Isolated and Other Non-404 Jurisdictional
Wetlands and Waters General Permit (IWGP100000), application to and approval from NC DWQ
is not required if the proposed impacts are less than 1/10 (one-tenth) acre of an acre west of I-95.
Our proposed impact to the isolated/non-404 wetland totals 0.05 acres and therefore, we are not
requesting approval from NC DWQ to utilize the IWGP100000. We included a notation within
the original application package that there were isolated wetlands present on the site as a courtesy
because they were included on the signed JD maps.
5. Please provide the overall percent imperviousness of the project, and an inventory of
impervious for the project. The inventory should include all proposed building footprints,
roads, driveways, sidewalks, gravel-surfaced areas, amenity areas, etc.
As was noted in our original permit application, we are requesting approval from DWQ to utilize
GC No. 3819 for a utility line (i.e. sanitary sewer) installation which does not have a stormwater
requirement associated with it.
6 Please note that the stormwater management information submitted with your
application must be approved by the City of Durham, and when approved, you are
required to submit:
• A valid approval letter from the City of Durham and a copy of the approved SMP,
includingplan details, operation and maintenance agreement(s), design calculations
and any other supporting information, OR
• A set of stormwater plan details, operation and maintenance agreement(s), and
design calculations stamped as "Approved" by the local government.
The applicant is fully aware of all conditions of the IWGP 10000. Further, our original
application noted that we were providing DWQ with two courtesy copies of the Stormwater
Management Plan (SMP) that is currently under review by the City of Durham. Once the
applicant receives the approval for the SMP from Durham, we will forward that information to
NC DWQ per Condition 12 of the IWGP 10000.
7. Please enumerate the Jordan Buffer impacts on both the impact map and the PCNform.
Although DWQ is not administering the Jordan Rules to private entities within the City of
Durham, it is requested that impacts to the buffers are enumerated on all projects
requiring a 401 or Non-404 Jurisdictional General Permit (IWPI00000).
As NC DWQ is not administering the Jordan Rules within Durham and the model ordinance from
Durham has not been approved by the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) at this
time, there is no reason to enumerate Jordan Buffer impacts as there, technically, are no Jordan
Buffer impacts proposed.
Please feel free to call me if you require any further explanation.
Sincerely,
SOIL & ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS, PA
Nicole J. Thomson
Regulatory Specialist
Attachments: 5 copies of Response letter