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Home My WebLink About20110615 Ver 2_USACE Correspondence_20111101(-'�CM1�NT r•F",�"eC+ w ' �'� �'� . `°_';� . � �e=� -� rn ;, ,`��I�j�:.. FG .; - `_'."��\ ,.�,C.C' • 'Tf� STA7E5 �F. ��f! DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY WILMINGTON DISTRICT CORPS OF ENGINEERS Washmgton Regulatory Field Office Post Office Box 1000 Washmgton North Carolma 27889 1000 October 27 2011 Regulatory Division Achon ID No SAW- 2010-00903 Mr David Shadle Iberdrola Renewables, Incorporated 201 Kuig of Prussia Road, Surte 500 Radnor Pennsylvarua 19087 Dear Mr Shadle 11 - alD ►5 1-�ol...d_- ..�e.� ��.�.�t os�-w � ��a�� D NOV - 1 2011 DENR WATER QUALITY ��WOS MIp STORMWqTER BRANCH Please reference your apphcation for a Department of the Army (DA) mdividual pernut to authonze the construction of a 150-turbine wmd energy generation facihty located 7 5 miles west of Elizabeth City and 2 5 rrules north of the Town of Wuifall, withm the watersheds of the Perqtumans, Pasquotank and Little Rivers in Perquunans and Pasquotank Counhes North Carolma The purpose of this conespondence is to provide you wrth U S Army Corps of Enguieers (Corps) comments and those we recerved from env�ronmental review agencies and the public related to review of the public norice on your applicahon Specifically, we received comments from the followuig agencies and the public (see atta.ched) " 1 Via email transrrussion on September 26, 2011, Mr Stephen Rynas, North Caroluia Division of Coastal Management forwarded copies of inemoranda from the North Carolma Office of Conservahon Planning and Commwuty Affa�rs (dated September 21 2011), and the North Carolma Department of Cultural Resources (dated September 22 2011) outluung the�r concerns vv�th the proposed pro�ect Although copies of these comments have been forwazded to Mr 1Vl�chael Clayton of your group I have enclosed them for your review and consideration related to the Corps' permrt evaluation process 2 Via correspondence dated September 28 2011 the U S Navy stated that rt has no ob�ect�on to the proposed pro�ect m relat�on to rts ongomg opera.tion of the Relocata.ble Over the Honzon Radar (ROTHR) Receive Srte m Chesapeake V�rguua 3 Via memorandum dated September 28 2011, the North Carolma Division of Manne Fishenes expressed concerns about unpacts associated with pro�ect maintenance and steps taken to avoid and m�n�m�ze unpacts to �unsdictional areas 4 Via memorandum dated September 30, 2011 the North Cazoluia Wildhfe Resources Commission expressed concerns regarduig potent�al adverse unpacts caused by the proposed pro�ect 5 Via correspondence received on October 13 2011, Mr John Droz Jr raised several issues concenung pubhc health, unpacts to wildhfe and local clunate, and financial responsibihty for the life of the pro�ect Although we received Mr Droz s letter after the close of the pubhc notice comment penod, I have also enclosed a copy his letter for your information Review of your applicat�on revealed many other concerns that must be addressed before the Corps can render a final �ernut decision , 1 Overall you must provide a more detalled descnption of pro�ect unpacts includmg a How many turbmes vv�ll be constructed vv�thin DA �unsdlchonal waters and/or wetlands and what is the amount of temporary and permanent impacts in square footage and acres per turbme� For the entu�e pro�ect� b How many hnear feetlrrules of new roads will be constructed and what is the amount of total temporary and permanent unpacts in square foota.ge and acres to DA �unsdict�onal areas resulting from the construction of new roads� c What is the total temporaiy and permanent unpact m square footage and acres to DA �unsdictional azeas resultuig from the vv�demng of existuig roads� d How many culverted crossings will be constructed wrthin�unsdictional waters of the Umted States and what is the unpact m square footage and acres� e What is the total temporary and permanent unpact in square footage and acres to DA �unsdichonal areas resulting from construchon of crane paths and utihty corndors� f Are there any other components of this pro�ect (e g substat�ons ancillary facihties, laydown yards etc ) that will unpact DA �unsdict�onal azeas and if so please provide the square foota.ge and acres of such unpacts g You must also provide typical cross section drawings of the turbine locations crane paths, utility comdors and culverted crossmgs of DA �urisdichonal areas 2 Review of your applicahon also revealed other issues that must be clarified a The Corps is concerned unth the long term disposinon of tlus pro�ect You sta.te that Atlanhc Wind, LLC was organized to develop pro�ects in the eastern Umted States and is owned by Iberdrola Renewables We have been uiformed that once the permrt is issued, construchon and operat�on of the facihty w111 be transferred to Desert 2 Wmd LLC", an ent�ty that does not e�st at this pomt m time Please be advised that before a pernut can be issued rt must clear how these compa�ues vv�ll be struciured and who the responsible party will be m the long term Accordingly I will be contachng you to schedule a meehng to explore this matter further b Your stated pro�ect purpose on page 47 of the supportmg documenta.rion differs from your sta.tements in the apphcarion and on page i of the Execuhve Swnmary This must be reconciled Although the Corps is responsible for defimng the pro�ect purpose we do so wlth the apphcant s needs m mmd T'herefore, rt is very unportant that you are clear m expressmg your purpose for biulding tlus pro�ect If the pro�ect purpose is to genera�e Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) for Virginta Elecix7c and Power Company (VEPCO) then the alternatives analysis must be expanded to address other sources of renewable energy and other srtes that might support those facihties Less envu�onmentally damaging renewable energy sources may exist that could meet the pro�ect purpose of providmg RECs for use by VEPCO c The alternatrves analysis section of your applicanon is not adequate for the Corps to make a final decision Please descnbe the srte selecnon cntena you uhlized to evaluate srtes and specific reasons why other alternahve sites were removed from considerat�on Nowhere in the document do you descnbe why the facility must generate 300MW of electncrty Your company has developed several other wind generat�on facilit�es that are smaller than tlus proposed pro�ect You must explasn why the number of turbmes associated wrth tlus pro�ect cannot be reduced to avoid impacts to DA �urisdiction d You propose to provide compensatory mit�gahon for tlus pro�ect by purchasmg credrts from the Great Dismal Swamp Restoration Bank (GDSRB) Tunberlake Farm property Specifically you propose to offset unpacts to ` managed pme wetlands" by purchasmg credrts from tlus bank at a raho of 0 5 1 and for impacts to "hardwood flat wetlands' at a rat�o of 1 1 Please be advised that the GDSRB rrutigation banking mstrument (MBI) estabhshed that dependmg on the quality of the unpacted resource credits w111 be debrted from tlus bank at a m,mmum rat�o of 1 25 1 Addrtionally your pro�ect is located autside of the designated geograpluc service area for the Tunberlake Farm property Although the GDSRB mingatron bankuig mst.rument (MBI) allows for considerat�on of debrtuig outside of the geograpluc service area on a case by-case basis a fmal decision regarci�ng the appropnateness of the Tunberlake Farm property located in Tyrrell County south of the Albemarle Sound to offset unpacts to wetlands associated with your pro�ect located m Pasquotank and Perquunans Counties north of the Albemarle Sound is yet to be made by the Corps Based on the above your compensatory mrtigat�on plan must be revised before a final pernut decision can be made e Your application states that the access roads vv�ll be constructed from compacted soil, but pages 24 and 29 of the supportuig documentation mdicate that the roads will be gravel 3 f Your apphcat�on sta.tes that the crane paths will be constructed of timber mats and stone but page 24 of the supporhng documentahon mdicates that the roads will be constructed of tunber mats g Your pro�ect descnption sta.tes that urilrty lmes w111 be uistalled 2 to 3 feet below existmg ditches and canals Does this mean 2 to 3 feet below e�shng depths, or the ongmal bottom depth of the ditches and canals to account for future ma�ntenance excavahon achvrties� h In the supportmg documentahon you discuss the Cou.nhes reqwrements for decommissioiung` the facihty As discussed, you must provide a specific decommissiomng plan that addresses steps you vv�ll ta.ke to avoid addzt�onal waters and wetland unpacts restore unpacted�unsdictional areas and the specific financial assurances provided to address such decommissiotung i On page 28 of the supportmg documentation, you descnbe steps proposed to restore temporanly impacted�unsdictional areas around the turbmes Please provide specific uiformation related to your plan to restore the temporary roads and crane paths If the roads and crane paths will be constructed of gravel or concrete, you must descnbe how the matenal will be appropnately disposed of � On page 32 of the supportmg documentahon you addressed unpacts to non participatmg landowner property associated wrth turbme propeller flicker and sound levels but there is no discussion of accepta.ble levels for panc�ipatmg landowner property In order to satisfactonly assess potent�al unpacts to the human env�ronment associated with tlus pro�ect you must provide mformation concenung participahng landowner property as well The Corps' admimstrahve process provides you the opportunrty to propose a resolut�on and/or rebut any and all comments andlor ob�ections before a final permrt decision is made Addihonally you must also address my concerns listed above In tlus regard, please respond m wntmg on or before November 30 2011 In conclusion, the Corps cannot speculate whether or not a DA pernut will be issued Tlus is a very complex pro�ect and as such, rt is unperahve that open lines of commutucat�on e�st between Iberdrola, rts consultants and the Corps The Corps is responsible for ensunrig that all agency and public mterests and concerns aze adequately addressed throughout the pernut evalua.non process Your achve and open participation m tlus process will be a key factor m the length of nme rt takes to reach a permrt decision Thank you for your tune and cooperahon The Wilmuigton Distnct is committed to providmg the lughest level of support to the public To help us ensure we contuiue to do so, please complete the Customer Satisfaction Survey located at our website at http //re atorv usacesurvev com/ If you have any further queshons concermng the processmg your application and/or coordinatmg wrth the review agencies please conta.ct me at (910) 251 4627 Enclosures Copies Fumished (wrthout enclosures) Mr Ian McMillan North Carolma Division of Water Quality 2321 Crabtree Blvd , Surte 250 Raleigh, North Caroluia 27604 Mr Pete Ben�amm U S Fish and Wildhfe Service Fish and Wildhfe Enhancement Post Office Box 33726 Raleigh, North Cazohna 27636-3726 Mr Ron Sechler Nat�onal Manne Fishenes Service Habrtat Conservahon Service 101 Pivers Island Road Beaufort, North Carohna 28516 Ms Jenrufer Derby Cluef Wetlands Sect�on — Region IV Water Management Division U S Envu�onmental Protection Agency 61 Forsyth Street SW Atlanta, Georgia 30303 5 Smcerely, � � Tracey L Wheeler Regulatory Pro�ect Manager Ms Becky Fox U S Envuonmental Protechon Agency 1307 F�refly Road Whittier, North Carolma 28789 Mr poug Huggett Division of Coastal Management 400 Commerce Avenue Morehead Crty, North Caroluia 28557 3421 Ms Mana Dunn North Carolma Wildl�fe Resources Commission 943 Waslungton Square Ma11 Waslungton North Carolma 27889 L^