20180063 Ver 1_Year 1 Credit Release_20210331

Strickland, Bev
From: Kichefski, Steven L CIV USARMY CESAW (USA) <[e-mail]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2021 5:39 PM
To: Bradley Breslow; Ryan Medric
Cc: Davis, Erin B; Hamstead, Byron A; Youngman, Holland J; Bowers, Todd; Leslie, Andrea
J; Wilson, Travis W.; Kim Browning; Jones, M Scott (Scott) CIV USARMY CESAW (USA);
Tugwell, Todd J CIV USARMY CESAW (US); Haywood, Casey M CIV (USA)
Subject: [External] MY1 Credit Release for the RES French Broad 05 Umbrella Mitigation Bank:
Carolina Bison Mitigation Site (SAW-2016-02357)
Attachments: SAW-2016-02357_RESFrenchBroad05UM B-CarolinaBisonSite_MY1 CreditRelease.pdf
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Ryan/Brad,
Attached is the MY1 Credit Release for the RES French Broad 05 Umbrella Mitigation Bank: Carolina Bison Mitigation Site
(SAW-2016-02357). 10% of restoration/enhancement stream credit is being released for satisfying the third release
milestone pursuant to the Mitigation Banking Instrument entitled, Agreement to Establish the RES French Broad 05
Umbrella Mitigation Bank, approved June 19, 2019 and the Carolina Bison Mitigation Plan.. In accordance with the plan,
an additional 495.7 stream mitigation units (SMU's) are now available for the Carolina Bison Mitigation Site. As discussed
during our March 5, 2021 field visit, several action items will need to be addressed and updates provided to the IRT in
the following monitoring reports.
This electronic copy is your official Department of the Army Notification.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Regards,
Steve Kichefski
Regulatory Project Manager
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Wilmington District, Asheville Field Office
151 Patton Avenue, Suite 208
Asheville, NC 28801
(828)-271-7980 Ext. 4234
(828)-933-8032 cell
The Wilmington District is committed to providing the highest level of support to the public. To help us ensure we
continue to do so, please complete the Customer Satisfaction Survey located at our website at
http://corpsmapu.usace.army.mil/cm apex/f?p=136:4:0 to complete the survey online.
1

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
151 PATTON AVENUE
ROOM 208
ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA 28801-5006
March 31, 2021
Regulatory Division
Re: MY1 Credit Release of the RES French Broad Umbrella Mitigation Bank - Carolina Bison
Mitigation Site; SAW-2016-02357
Mr. Brad Breslow
Resource Environmental Solutions
3600 Glenwood Avenue, Suite 100
Raleigh, North Carolina 27612
Dear Mr. Breslow:
This correspondence is in reference to the Monitoring Year 1 (MY1) Report received via
email on December 18, 2020, submitted in support of your request for the third credit release for
the Carolina Bison Mitigation Site. Also please reference the NC Interagency Review Team
(NCIRT) field visit held on March 5, 2021 and subsequent meeting minutes provided by RES via
email on March 12, 2021. The Carolina Bison Mitigation Site is part of the RES French Broad
05 Umbrella Mitigation Bank, located approximately two miles northeast of Leicester and eight
miles northwest of Asheville in Buncombe County, North Carolina. The 10.92-acre site is
adjacent to Parker Branch in the Upper French Broad Watershed of the French Broad -Holston
River Basin (06010105). The purpose of this letter is to confirm the third release of credits for
this mitigation site.
Pursuant to the Mitigation Banking Instrument (UMBI) entitled, Agreement to Establish
the RES French Broad 05 Umbrella Mitigation Bank, approved May 30, 2019; and the site -
specific Carolina Bison Final Mitigation Plan dated March 2019, fifteen percent (10%) of the
mitigation site's total restoration and enhancement credits shall be available for sale upon
completion of all required tasks.
By copy of this correspondence, we confirm that you have satisfied the above
requirements for the third credit release for all parcels within the bank; and 495.7 SMU's
constituting 10% of the mitigation site's total restoration and enhancement credits are now
available for sale. This release includes 37.6 SMU's for Water Quality Monitoring as detailed in
the approved final mitigation plan.
During the NCIRT comment period and the site meeting on March 5, 2021, several
comments were made by agency representatives regarding concerns noted with the MY1 conditions.
These comments were noted in the March 12, 2021 minutes, distributed via email by RES, and
should be addressed in future monitoring reports. These actions include:

1. In order to address concerns regarding changes made to the planting plan
(including species planted), RES staff will begin removing all black walnut and
crabapple stems throughout the site, including within vegetation plots.
2. The IRT has expressed its continued concern over delays with completion of the
livestock exclusion fencing.
3. Although some of the rock swales were modified on February 15, 2021, with hay
bale check dams to capture more sediment, they were full of sediment from
adjacent land use by our March 5, 2021 field visit. This excessive sedimentation
was observed within stream PB 1. RES felt sedimentation would be evident on
cross section monitoring and the IRT requested photo stations at all rock
swales/crossings. Continued excessive sedimentation within the project streams
could result in not meeting all performance criteria and the need for adaptive
management or credit being withheld. In response RES committed to taking
actions to modify some of these structures to increase sediment treatment/storage.
4. A minor encroachment was observed along UT1. RES committed to addressing
the issue with the adjacent landowner and installing better boundary markings.
5. The SPA & VPA photo/table description of the are helpful. It would also be
beneficial to note the planned remediation actions on this page.
6. Some bare areas were observed along project reaches which RES committed to
addressing.
7. In the future it is recommended that the macroinvertebrate sampling period and
threshold for small stream criteria (<3 sq mile watershed) is listed.
8. It is also recommended that the threshold color legend usually applied to the
vegetation plots (meets or exceeds thresholds etc) is added. All the plots are in the
green and this is usually the category for "meets or exceeds density threshold by
10%" etc.
Thank you for your time and cooperation. If you have any questions, please contact
Steve Kichefski at [phone] extension 4234.
for
Electronic Copies Furnished:
Erin Davis (NCDWR)
Andrea Leslie (NCWRC)
Travis Wilson (NCWRC)
Byron Hamstead (USFWS)
Sincerely,
KICH EFSKI.STEVEN.L.138690
8539
Scott Jones, Chief
Digitally signed by
KICHEFSKI.STEVEN.L.1386908539
Date: 2021.03.31 17:37:52 -04'00'
Asheville and Charlotte Regulatory Field Offices

Holland Youngman (USFWS)
Todd Bowers (USEPA)
Todd Tugwell (USACE)
Kim Browning (USACE)
Casey Haywood (USACE)
Scott Jones (USACE)