20100447 Ver 1_More Info Received_20100629

AFFORDABLE HOME INSPECTION
P. O. Box 545
Norwood, NC 28128
Robbie Cohen - cell - 704-438-2460
6/29/2010
Col. Jefferson M. Ryscavage
District Commander
Department of the Army
Wilmington District, Corps of Engineers
69 Darlington Avenue
Wilmington, NC 28403-1343
Re: Action ID SAW-2010-00789
Dear Col. Ryscavage:
I am in receipt of your letter dated June 24, 2010 concerning the above referenced subject. I would like to relay
my sincerest appreciation for your time and consideration in this matter. I would also like to convey my
appreciation to your staff, particularly Ms. Wicker, Mrs. Burton-Hughes and Ms. Frye, who have all been
extremely prompt and courteous in all matters. With that I sincerely trust that the below information meets
with your approval.
First and foremost I would like to state that no one involved in this matter acted willfully or deliberately in an
effort to knowingly circumvent permitting activities of the Clean Water Act as evidenced by our original permit
submittal. Our employment of the appropriate professional parties and subsequent submittal for a
"Nationwide Permit No. 29 and Request for Jurisdictional Determination" was accomplished in good faith
without third party intervention. Simply put, we thought that the initial field review process had satisfied our
pre-construction obligations because the wetland impact was less than 1/10h of an acre, and the stream
impacts totaled less than 150 feet. We recognize now that, though we were indeed under NCDWQ notification
and mitigation threshold limits, we were still obliged to first receive formal authorization from the Corps before
initiating stream impacts. That distinction was misunderstood; however, we did (and do) believe that
notification to the Corps and compliance with authorization procedures is important and necessary
I would also like to relay the following information which attempts to clarify the project timeline in terms of
significant events. Preliminary project activities, including planning and design, were started in November of
2009. Due to the dense vegetation on the subject property limited clearing was performed in upland areas in
order to gather necessary topographic information and provide access to the site for jurisdictional
determination. A preliminary design was completed prior to the field topography and jurisdictional review in
order to gauge project feasibility. Fieldwork for jurisdictional determination within the proposed project area
was performed on 1/26/10 by S&ME, Inc. Based on the provided jurisdictional review performed by S&ME, Inc.
and the revised field topography information, the preliminary design was then revised accordingly. I would like
to direct you attention to pages 4 and 5 of the previously submitted permitting action which details "Avoidance
and Minimization." Without repeating this section I would restate that appropriate modifications were made to
the preliminary design that reduced impacts below threshold limits while maintaining project feasibility. Again,
this was conducted in good faith and in the spirit of Nationwide 29 Permit limits. Final Design documents were
completed on 3/2/10. Installation of the subject culvert crossings was initiated by the project contractor on
4/29/10 and completed on 4/30/10.
In closing please be assured beyond any reasonable doubt that there was no intention of circumventing Clean
Water Act permitting requirements. Although construction activities were premature, a well intentioned permit
package was nonetheless initiated well prior to construction activities. I am deeply sorry for the
misunderstanding and solicit your kindest consideration as we work together to resolve the matter. Rest
assured that we remain fully attentive to this process and await your reply. Additional information, as
requested in your letter, will be forwarded under separate cover. Again, thank you.
Sincerely,
obert A. Cohen
Managing Member