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Home My WebLink About20052253 Ver 4_Other Agency Comments_20130621REPLY TO ATTENTION OF Regulatory Division DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS 69 DARLINGTON AVENUE WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403 -1343 Action ID. SAW- 2010 -01947 Mr. John Koenig John Koenig, Inc. 235 Green Street Fayetteville, North Carolina 28301 Dear Mr. Koenig: June 4, 2013 1)s -a.as3 vy 0W_ I vrw 6_0 JUN 2 1 2013 NR ..rte.,,.,. _W A TER UALITy Reference your January 4, 2013 application for Department of the Army authorization for the permanent discharge of fill material into 0.628 acres of wetlands and 820 linear feet of tributaries to construct access and infrastructure for the final phases of Williamsburg Plantation residential subdivision in Jacksonville, Onslow County, North Carolina. Your proposal was advertised by public notice dated February 4, 2013. On March 19, 2013 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington Regulatory Field Office (Corps) sent comments to you in response to the notice along with questions regarding compliance with mitigation required by the February 6, 1990 Department of the Army (DA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) memorandum of agreement (MOA). Further, this office requested follow -up information on project alternatives, avoidance and minimization measures, impact calculations and plan sheet revisions, and compensatory mitigation via electronic mail sent to your agent, Mr. Adam Cater with Wetland Solutions, LLC, on May 6, 2013. We also addressed questions regarding wetland preservation and compensatory mitigation credit in electronic mail correspondence dated May 9, 2013. We received responses to our correspondence from your agent, Mr. Adam Carter of Wetland Solutions, LLC, on April 22, 2013, via electronic mail on April 23, 2013 and May 6, 2013, and again on May 24, 2013. Upon review of Mr. Carter's correspondence, the following information and modifications are still required in order for the Corps to proceed with a permit decision: 1) Thank you for submitting the "Conceptual Master Plan" for Williamsburg Plantation to facilitate evaluation of an additional on -site alternative. As we cannot accept documents over 11 x 17" in size, please send a pdf of this plan via electronic mail. Further, in an effort to facilitate quantitative comparison of wetland and stream impacts between this alternative and your preferred alternative, please submit wetland and stream impact estimates for the "Conceptual Master Plan". This information does not need to be itemized by crossing, but can be estimated for the total plan. -2- 2) As requested in our May 6, 2013 electronic mail correspondence, please evaluate using retaining walls as a minimization measure for the preferred alternative. As this technique would result in less environmental damage (i.e. wetland impacts), please provide information on why it is not practicable in terms of existing technology, safety, or cost. Your May 24, 2013 correspondence addressed using retaining walls (MSE walls) as part of an effort to completely avoid wetland impacts. Our inquiry, however, is related to using retaining walls to reduce the footprint of fill slopes on conventional culverted wetland/stream crossings. 3) As requested in our May 6, 2013 electronic mail correspondence, please evaluate adding floodplain equalizer pipes to Crossing N to address the issue of continued flow and circulation of Waters of the US during flood events. Your May 24, 2013 correspondence referenced the "engineering analysis and supporting calculations revised by Crystal Coast Engineering, P.A." However this analysis as presented on the plan sheet enclosed in the correspondence did not show floodplain equalizer pipes or discuss their use. Note that, per Nationwide Permit Condition # 4.1.3 of Nationwide Permit 14 for linear transportation projects, "where adjacent floodplain is available, flows exceeding bank -full should be accommodated by installing culverts at the floodplain elevation." Given that crossing N is the largest crossing proposed, and that adjacent floodplain is available outside of the proposed culvert pipes, floodplain equalizer pipes should be installed as a minimization measure unless it is determined to be impracticable. As such, please submit an updated Crossing N plan sheet showing floodplain equalizer pipes in the floodplain, or explain why it is not practicable for Crossing N. 4) The plan sheet for crossing H shows the end of the proposed pipe aligned directly at the edge of the wetland area rather than in the overall flow direction, increasing the likelihood of secondary impacts during rain events. Please realign this pipe to better maintain the flow and circulation of Waters of the US, or explain why it is not practicable and how secondary impacts will be avoided. 5) Thank you for submitting refined plan sheets as requested. However, the temporary impact areas are not shown on the plan sheets as requested in our May 6, 2013 electronic mail correspondence. Further, it is not clear how the temporary impacts for each crossing were calculated. Please submit revised plan sheets that clearly show temporary impact areas for each crossing, and, if necessary resubmit the impact summary sheet including revised temporary impact totals. 6) Please include a statement of how all temporary impacts will be restored, including backfill, stabilization, and revegetation. 7) Please include a statement regarding the dewatering strategy for culvert installations, including sequencing and methods to facilitate permit compliance. -3- 8) Thank you for including the Wetland & Stream Impacts Summary, including riparian/non- riparian wetland types for mitigation purposes. However, note that all wetland areas listed as non - riparian, including crossings B, H, J, L, O, and P, are Headwater Forest types per the North Carolina Wetland Assessment Method (NCWAM). As such, these, and all wetland crossings proposed, will require riparian wetland compensatory mitigation. Please update and submit your Wetland & Stream Impacts Summary and mitigation credit request from Bachelors Delight Wetland Mitigation Bank to reflect this change. Note that, according to the proposed wetland impacts included in the Wetland & Stream Impacts Summary, Phase 1 would require 0.106 acre of wetland impacts, and at a 2:1 ratio, would necessitate purchasing 0.212 riparian wetland credits - from - Bachelors Delight Mitigation Bank. 9) We have noted that proposed Crossing H is now in Phase 2. Please update the Proposed Wetland Impact phase maps submitted in your May 6, 2013 electronic mail correspondence to reflect this change. 10) Wetland Preservation: i. It is our understanding that you will not propose designing lots completely outside of wetland areas in Phase 1. Per our May 9, 2013 electronic mail correspondence, we will review the lot layout to determine if any secondary and cumulative wetland impacts are likely due to lot design and access issues. Please submit the lot layout for Phase 1, including wetlands and Lot numbers, to facilitate this evaluation. Note that we accept your compensatory mitigation proposal of 2:1 for Phase 1. ii. Your compensatory mitigation proposal for Phases 2 and 3 can remain conceptual at this point. However, if you are proposing partial compensatory mitigation credit for preserving wetlands in future phases, your conceptual compensatory mitigation proposal must include a letter signed by the property owner /developer stating that the lots on Phases 2 and 3 will be located outside of wetland boundaries. - iii. Any changes to this compensatory mitigation proposal following permit issuance must be approved through a permit modification, may be subject to an additional Public Notice, and may result in requirements for additional compensatory mitigation including higher mitigation to impact ratios at approved wetland mitigation banks. -4- The aforementioned, requested information is essential to the expeditious processing of your application; please forward this information to us on or before July 8, 2013. If you have any questions or require more time, please contact me at (910) 251 -4469 or David.E.Bailey2@,usace.army.mil. Sincerely, � 3; David E. Bailey, Regulatory Specialist Wilmington Regulatory Field Office Copies Furnished: Mr. Samuel A. Carter Wetland Solutions, LLC Post Office Box 244 Bunnlevel, North Carolina 28323 Mr. Tony Able, Chief Wetlands Regulatory Section U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region IV 61 Forsyth Street Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Ms. Joanne Steenhuis Division of Water Quality North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources 127 Cardinal Drive Extension Wilmington, North Carolina 28405 Ms. Karen Higgins 401 Oversight/Express Review Permitting Unit Division of Water Quality North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources 2321 Crabtree Boulevard, Suite 250 Raleigh, North Carolina 27604 Mr. Stephen Rynas North Carolina Division of Coastal Management 400 Commerce Avenue Morehead City, North Carolina 28557 -5- Mr. Pete Benjamin U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Post Office Box 33726 Raleigh, North Carolina 27636 -3726