20051764 Ver 1_EEP Acceptance Letters_20050912

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August 29, 2005
Mr. Bill Biddlecome
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
Washington Regulatory Field Office
Post Office Box 1000
Washington, North Carolina 27789-1000
Dear Mr. Biddlecome:
Subject: EEP Mitigation Acceptance Letter:
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U-3823, SR 1158 (Airport Boulevard) Widening, Wilson County;
Neuse River Basin (CU 03020203); Northern Inner Coastal Plain
(NICP) Eco-Region
The purpose of this letter is to notify you that the Ecosystem Enhancement
Program (EEP) will provide compensatory riverine wetland and stream mitigation for the
unavoidable impacts associated with the above referenced project. As indicated in the
NCDOT's mitigation request letter, the impacts associated with this project are as
follows:
Riverine Wetland: 0.903 acre
Stream: 89 feet
Also, this project will impact buffers located in CU 03020203 of the Neuse River
Basin. The total buffer impacts are 11,533 square feet in Zone 1 and 7,641 square feet in
Zone 2. The NCDOT estimated buffer impacts in the 7-year Impact Projection Database
submitted to EEP in May 2005. The buffer mitigation required for the NCDOT's impact
projections was incorporated into EEP's biennial budget that was approved in June 2005
by the NCDOT. However, EEP intends to continue managing all of the NCDOT's buffer
mitigation requests and approvals through the In-Lieu Fee (ILF) Program's Buffer Fund.
Any buffer impact associated with projects located in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico River
Basins, and portions of the Cape Fear and Catawba River Basins are automatic
acceptances by the EEP, per the agreement with the NCDWQ.
The NCDOT will be responsible to ensure that the appropriate compensation for
the buffer mitigation will be provided in the agreed upon method of fund transfer. Upon
receipt of the NCDWQ's Buffer Certification, the NCDOT will provide the EEP a copy
North Carolina Ecosystem Enhancement Program, 1652 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 21699-1652 / 919-115-0416 / www.nceep.net

of the Certification along with a letter verifying the buffer impact/mitigation amounts and
requesting a fund transfer to provide the required compensation. The EEP will transfer
funds from the MOA Account (Fund 2984) into the ILF Buffer Mitigation Fund (Fund
2982).
EEP will commit to implementing sufficient compensatory stream mitigation to
offset the impacts associated with this project by the end of the MOA year in which this
project is permitted, in accordance with Section X of the Tri-Party MOA, signed on July
22, 2003. Appropriate wetland and stream mitigation assets available include, but are not
limited to, Payne Dale, Moccasin Creek, and the Neu-Con Mitigation Bank.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Ms. Beth
Harmon at 919-715-1929.
Sincerely,
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Wi iam D. Gilmore, P.E.
EEP Director
cc: Mr. Gregory J. Thorpe, Ph.D., NCDOT-PDEA
Mr. John Hennessy, Division of Water Quality, Wetlands/401 Unit
File: U-3823