20201094 Ver 1_NOTICE of NCDEQ - DMS Mitigation Plan Review_20200911

Strickland, Bev
From:
Haywood, Casey M CIV (USA) <[e-mail]>
Sent:
Friday, September 11, 2020 7:09 AM
To:
Tugwell, Todd J CIV USARMY CESAW (US); Kim Browning; Leslie, Andrea J; Wilson,
Travis W.; Bowers, Todd; Byron Hamstead; Davis, Erin B; Haywood, Casey M CIV (USA)
Cc:
Reid, Matthew; Wiesner, Paul; King, Scott; Smith, Ronnie D CIV USARMY CESAW (USA);
McLendon, C S CIV USARMY CESAW (USA); McLendon, C S CIV USARMY CESAW
(USA)
Subject:
[External] NOTICE of NCDEQ - DMS Mitigation Plan Review: Blair Creek Site (DMS#
100047) - (SAW-2018-00449) (DWR#20201094) - Hiwassee 06020002_Clay County
Attachments:
NCDMS Mitigation Plan Review Process 20200707.pdf
Follow Up Flag:
Flag Status:
Follow up
Flagged
External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as an attachment to
[e-mail]
Good morning all,
The below referenced Draft Mitigation Plan has been posted by NCDMS on the Draft Mitigation Plan Review section of
the DMS & IRT SharePoint Site. Per Section 332.8(g) of the 2008 Mitigation Rule, this review period will remain open for
30 calendar days from this email notification. Please provide comments by 5 PM on the 30-day comment deadline
shown below. When providing comments please indicate if your concerns are great enough that you intend to initiate
the Dispute Resolution Process described in Section 332.8(3) of the Mitigation Rule. Comments provided after the 30-
day comment deadline (shown below) may not be considered. This comment period may be extended at the request of
NCDMS if they determine that additional time is necessary to make changes to the Draft Mitigation Plan.
At the conclusion of this comment period, a copy of all comments will be provided to NCDMS and the NCIRT of the
District Engineer's intent to approve or disapprove this project. More information, including instructions to access and
use the SharePoint Site, and a flow chart detailing the process are included in the updated document attached to this
email notice.
Proiect information is as follows:
Blair Creek Mitigation Project
USACE Action ID: SAW- 2018-00449
DWR#: 20201094
DMS Project # 100047
Institution Date: 1/31/2018
RFP 16-007278 (Issued: 6/21/2017)
Hiwassee River Basin
Cataloging Unit 06020002
Clay County, North Carolina
Proposed Mitigation Protect Credits:
4,363.370 SMU (cold)
5.772 WMU (riparian)
Full Delivery Provider: Michael Baker Engineering Inc. — Contact: Scott King, [e-mail], [phone]

NCDEQ- DMS Project Manager: Matthew Reid, [e-mail], [phone]
The full Mitigation Plan has been uploaded to the IRT/ NCDEQ SharePoint Mitigation Plan Review page and can be
accessed here:
IRT SharePoint page:
Blockedhttps://ncconnect.sharepoint.com/sites/iRT-DMS/SitePages/Home.aspx
B l a i rC ree k_100047_M P D raft_2020. pdf
Blockedhttps://ncconnect.sharepoint.com/sites/IRT-
DMS/IRT%20UDload%20Documents%20Here/Forms/AlIItems. asox?id=%2Fsites%2FIRT%2DDMS%2FIRT%20Upload%20D
ocuments%20Here%2FBIair%20Creek%20%28100047%29%2FBIairC reek%5F100047%5FMPDraft%5F2020%2Epdf&paren
t=% 2Fsites % 2FI RT% 2DDMS% 2FI RT%20U pload%20Docu ments%20Here%2FBIai r%20Creek%20%28100047%29
30-Day Comment Start Date: September 11, 2020
30-Day Comment Deadline: October 11, 2020
60-Day Intent to Approve Deadline: November 10, 2020
Please contact the Mitigation Office if you have any questions.
V/ r,
Casey Haywood
Mitigation Specialist, Regulatory Division I U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
3331 Heritage Trade Dr, Ste. 105 1 Wake Forest, NC 27587 1
BUILDING STRONG

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
69 DARLINGTON AVENUE
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403-1343
CESAW-RG/Tugwell July 7, 2020
SUBJECT: NCIRT Mitigation Plan Review Process for NCDMS Projects
From: Todd Tugwell, USACE Wilmington District NCIRT Chair
To: North Carolina Interagency Review Team and North Carolina Division of Mitigation
Services
As the chair of the North Carolina Interagency Review Team (NCIRT), the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers Wilmington District (District) is required by the 2008 Final Mitigation
Rule to provide the NCIRT with an opportunity to comment on proposed mitigation plans.
In order to achieve this review for all North Carolina Division of Mitigation Services
(NCDMS) projects instituted after the approval of their new instrument (July 28, 2010),
a Mitigation Plan Review section has been established on NCDMS's SharePoint site. This
process has been set up to comply with the timeframes established in 33 CFR Section
332.8(g)(2) of the Mitigation Rule, which explains the Streamlined Review Process.
Review of proposed mitigation plans will now precede NCDMS's submittal of permit
applications, which will allow the District and NCIRT to comment on and, if necessary,
modify mitigation plans before permits are issued. This process will be routinely updated
to include improvements and comply with changes in the regulations. (Please note that
an additional review may be conducted by the NC Division of Water Resources
(NCDWR), who is the lead agency and NCIRT co-chair for all projects that also
propose mitigation for state buffer or nutrient rules or mitigation related solely to Section
401 of the Clean Water Act.)
For all Draft Plan submittals, NCDMS will provide a hardcopy and a digital copy (either by
disc containing PDF files of all materials or through the NCDMS SharePoint Site) to the
Wilmington District Mitigation Office. For all Final Mitigation Plans, only a digital copy
needs to be provided. Paper and electronic copies should also be provided to the
appropriate NCDWR Office, as specified by NCDWR. Submittal of Preconstruction
Notification (PCN) applications is now conducted using electronic PCN submittal
procedures, which is an online process that provides copies of necessary documents to
both the District and NCDWR. More information about this process can be found on the
District website.
The following procedure has been set up for NCIRT review and comment for proposed
NCDMS Mitigation Plans:
1. Obtain access to the IRT SharePoint site. In order to gain access to the site, you
must contact Lindsay Crocker with NCDMS by e-mail
([e-mail]) or by phone [phone]) to request an
invitation.

2. Once you receive the e-mail invitation, click on the link provided to access the
homepage. You must set up a Microsoft account using the same e-mail address
where you received the invitation. If you have designated others to comment on
mitigation plans, they must also contact NCDMS so they can gain access to the
site. Please provide the Corps with a list of all individuals designated to review
plans as we have established email distribution lists for different regions/counties.
Lastly, if you do not want to continue to receive these emails, please let us know
and we will remove your name from the distribution lists.
3. Once NCDMS is ready to begin the review of a Draft Mitigation Plan, they will email
the District Mitigation Office that a plan has been posted for review and send a
paper copy and a digital copy (pdf) of the plan to the mitigation office. Once the
paper copy has been received, we will send out an email to all NCIRT members
(using regional distribution lists) that a plan is available for download from the
portal, with instructions and timeframes for conducting the review. A flow chart
detailing this process is attached.
4. The IRT SharePoint is located at the following site:
https://ncconnect.sharepoint.com/sites/deg ext/dwm irt/default.aspx
A. Draft Mitigation Plan will be posted on t h i s page and are available for viewing
or download.
B. Following review, comments should be provided directly to the District
Mitigation Office at SAWMIT(a-usace.army.mil. Please provide comments
directly in the body of the email or by attaching a Word Document with the
comments.
C. You may also choose to upload a document with your comments under the Draft
Mitigation Plan Review section. Uploaded documents should be titled to
indicate the contents and author.
5. NCIRT agency representatives will have 30 days to review the Draft Mitigation Plan
and post comments. An extension to this timeframe may be requested by NCDMS
if they or their providers need more time to accommodate necessary changes to the
Draft Mitigation Plan based on comments they have received. Additionally, NCIRT
members may also request an extension to this timeframe, but NCIRT extension
requests must be approved by the District Mitigation Office in consultation with
NCDMS. The review period may be extended to accommodate office or on -site
meetings necessary to address concerns of NCIRT members. Time extensions will
generally be limited in an effort to ensure that delays in reviewing Draft Mitigation
Plans are minimized. If NCIRT members have concerns regarding a project that is
serious enough to consider initiating the Dispute Resolution Process described in
Section 332.8(e) of the Mitigation Rule, please be sure to state this in your
comment. Comments should be made only by specific individuals identified by the
NCIRT members to conduct these reviews on behalf of their agency. This is critical
to keep the process moving and to keep agency comments consistent. If there are
others who you would like to comment on a plan, please let us know. PLEASE DO
NOT SEND THESE EMAILS OUT TO OTHERS IN YOUR AGENCY FOR THEM

TO MAKE COMMENT WITHOUT FIRST DISCUSSING THIS WITH US.
COMMENTS COMING FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT DESIGNATED AS THE
NCIRT REPRESENTATIVE FOR THEIR AGENCY MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED.
6. At the end of the 30-day comment process (or the end of the extension) and within
60 days of sending out the initial email beginning the review, the District Mitigation
Office will evaluate all comments and make a determination as to whether to approve
a plan. NCIRT members will be notified by email of the District's Intent to Approve
or Disapprove the mitigation plan. NCDMS will be copied with this notice. Once
we have notified the NCIRT of our Intent to Approve or Disapprove a project,
NCDMS may not withdraw plans from this process without starting the review from
the beginning. For plans that are approved, NCDMS will provide a response to
comments via an errata sheet included as an addendum to the Final Mitigation Plan.
In some cases, comments may require further coordination with NCDMS and the
mitigation site provider prior to the District issuing an Intent to Approve. NCDMS may
also choose to withdraw Draft Mitigation Plans from the portal based on comments
received during the 30-day comment period. Any withdrawn mitigation plans must
restart the review process from the beginning. If plans are withdrawn by NCDMS,
we will notify the NCIRT that the mitigation plan is no longer available for comment.
7. If the NCIRT reviewing agencies choose to do so, they may notify the District that
they are initiating the dispute resolution process. We must receive this notification
within 15 days from the date of our notice of intent to approve or disapprove a
project. This process is intended to address major concerns with mitigation plans
and can only be initiated by a letter from senior official of the agency. Please do
not initiate this process without trying to resolve concerns during the 30-day
comment period first — this is not intended as a procedure to be used to extend
the review process or address minor concerns. If the dispute resolution process
is initiated during this step, we will follow the procedures outlined in Section 332.8(e)
of the Mitigation Rule, in which case the following steps will be delayed until the
resolution of this process.
8. At the end of the 15-day dispute resolution notification period (or following the
completion of the dispute resolution process), we will provide NCDMS with notice
of approval or disapproval of the mitigation plan, with a copy provided to all NCIRT
members. This notice will include all comments generated during the 30- day
comment period, and it will identify all issues that must be addressed in the Final
Mitigation Plan. Any major issues that were not resolved during the comment
process may lead to disapproval. If a project is disapproved, the issues or
concerns will have to be addressed and the project must be resubmitted for
review, starting the process over.
9. NCDMS coordinates with the mitigation provider to finalize the mitigation plan and
incorporate the comments/concerns.
10. NCDMS submits the Nationwide Permit (NWP) 27 ePCN application along with the

Final Mitigation Plan to the District mitigation office and NCDWR (and DCM if
appropriate) for 404/401/CAMA approval. If it is determined that the project does
not require a Department of the Army permit, NCDMS must still provide a copy of
the Final Mitigation Plan, along with a copy of the approval letter, to the District
mitigation office at least 30 days in advance of beginning construction of the project.
The following apply to permit applications submitted for NCDMS projects:
A. NCDMS must be listed as the permit applicant or co -applicant. If NCDMS is
listed as a co -applicant, the full -delivery provider should also be listed as a co -
applicant.
B. Contracted design firms or other consulting firms may be listed as authorized
agents.
C. The application and mitigation plan must be submitted by NCDMS, not the
providers.
D. The permit application must include a copy of the Final Mitigation Plan and a
copy of the mitigation plan approval letter identifying all the required
modifications to the mitigation plan, including references to where the
comment responses are addressed in the mitigation plan (page number and
paragraph or figure). Failure to include the approval letter will result in the
permit application being returned to NCDMS.
E. District review will focus primarily on the applicability of NWP 27. This review
will also verify that any comments provided in the approval letter are
addressed in the Final Mitigation Plan, which is why it is critical to identify the
location that comments are addressed in the mitigation plan. Failure to
adequately address concerns included in the approval letter may result in a
delay in the issuance of the NWP 27 until those concerns are adequately
addressed, or the inclusion of permit conditions in the permit authorization to
address the stated concerns.
F. In some cases, additional authorization using other NWPs may be required for
road crossings or utility line crossings that are constructed as part of the project.
The District will identify these cases when commenting on the Draft Mitigation
Plan.
11. NWP 27 authorization is verified; project construction can begin. NCDMS is
responsible for ensuring compliance with the permit conditions, including returning
the Post -Construction Compliance Form (attached to the permit) at the completion
of the authorized work.
Approval of the project and/or issuance of the permit authorization does not
guarantee that the project will generate the requested amount of mitigation credit.
Unforeseen issues may arise during construction or monitoring of the project
may require maintenance and may lead to changes in the credit amounts proposed
in the mitigation plan.
For questions regarding this process, please contact the District Mitigation Office at
SAWMIT(aD-usace.army. mi1, or by calling 919-554-4884.

Mitigation Comment & Approval
Streamlined Review Process, 33 CFR 332.8(g)(2,
START
DMS posts mitigation plan to sharepoint,
provides paper copy to USACE/DWR
DMS emails notification to District
DMS withdraws Engineer and provides link for review
project from review
process to address
comments �
DE forwards email to IRT and USACE
county PMs
Yes IRT reviews mitigation plan and posts
comments on sharepoint
Do IRT members f
identify serious DE reviews comments and attempts to
concerns with resolve concerns with DMS
mitigation plan? �__
O—> DE notifies IRT & DMS of Intent to
Approve or Disapprove
Process
Start of 60 days
DMS modifies
project to address
comments
Within 30 days of receipt
of email from DE
DE may extend
timeline per DMS o
IRT reauest
Within 60 days of email Yes
notification to DE, unless
extension is granted
Within 15 days of DE
notification of intent to
approve/disapprove
Do
Proceed with dispute
RT members initiate
Yes—► resolution process per 33
dispute resolution
CFR 332.8(e)*
process?
DMS decides
whether to
Does DE
N
Approve?
revise and
No
resubmit project
Yes
Does DE
DMS Completes MitigationDDWR
Approve.
Yeses Comment Process & Sends
NO
Application to USACE and/or
No
June16, 2015 Revisions
Mitigation Plan Comment Process
End of Process
ID No. IMP.PR0.01.01.01 Page 1 of 1
* DE must be
notified by letter from a senior official of the agency represented on the
Owner: 06/29/2 111
IRT within 15
days of receipt of DE's notification of intent to approve the modification
Jurek, Jeff Rev. 0
per 33 CFR 332.8(e)