Notice of Initial Credit Release_ NCDMS Cowford Mitigation Site_ SAW-2019-00487_ Onslow County

From: Davis, Erin B
To: Baker. Caroline D
Subject: FW: [External] Notice of Initial Credit Release/ NCDMS Cowford Mitigation Site/ SAW-2019-00487/ Onslow
County
Date: Friday, July 22, 2022 8:31:17 AM
Attachments: Cowford Proiect 100095 WO 01 STR RW Initial Release KI.odf
Laserfiche Upload: Email & Attachment
DWR#: 20190495 v.1
Doc Type: Mitigation Evaluation
From: Browning, Kimberly D CIV USARMY CESAW (USA) <[e-mail]>
Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2022 1:38 PM
To: Crocker, Lindsay < Lindsay. [e-mail]>; Matt Butler <[e-mail]>
Cc: Bradley Breslow <[e-mail]>; Allen, Melonie <[e-mail]>; Harmon,
Beth <[e-mail]>; Crumbley, Tyler A CIV USARMY CESAW (USA)
<[e-mail]>; Fennel, Tommy E CIV USARMY CESAW (USA)
<[e-mail]>; Tugwell, Todd J CIV USARMY CESAW (US)
<[e-mail]>; Haywood, Casey M CIV MVP
<[e-mail]>; Davis, Erin B <[e-mail]>; Wilson, Travis W.
<[e-mail]>; Dunn, Maria T. <[e-mail]>;
[e-mail]; Bowers, Todd <[e-mail]>
Subject: [External] Notice of Initial Credit Release/ NCDMS Cowford Mitigation Site/ SAW-2019-
00487/ Onslow County
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Hi Lindsay and Matt,
The 15-Day As-Built/MYO review for the Cowford Mitigation Site (SAW-2019-00487) ended July 13,
2022. This review was done in accordance with Section 332.8(o)(9) of the 2008 Mitigation Rule. All
comments received from the NCIRT are incorporated in the email below. Please address IRT
concerns in the MY1 Report. There were no objections to issuing the initial (30% ) credit release of
1,061.600 warm SMUs and 0.896 riparian WMUs. Please find attached the current signed ledger.
The IRT is not requesting a site visit at this time.
I do have some concerns with the six swales that were installed, particularly those that intersect
wetland crediting areas. Was a thorough investigation of existing drainage tile performed prior to
completing the design plans? Or were these tiles discovered during construction? Lastly, in looking
at the cross -sections for the headwater valley restoration on KJ1-A, do you anticipate that the pilot
channel that was constructed will function more as a single -thread channel rather than a headwater
system? I'd like to visit this site once the wetlands have had a change to rehydrate and establish
vegetation.

Todd Bowers, USEPA:
According to RES, site construction was completed on July 30th, 2021, and planting was completed
on March 8th, 2022. The Cowford Site was overall built to design plans and guidelines, as -built
stream and wetland areas were only slightly different than proposed. Wetland depressions were
designed to be 0.3-0.5 feet deep but As -Built wetland depressions were found to be slightly deeper
than proposed ranging from 0.5-1.0 feet deep. During construction additional drain tiles were found,
which were then interrupted at the easement boundary. Additionally, extra t-posts were installed
around the boundary of the easement in 100-foot intervals to reduce concerns of encroachment by
farming practices. Overall, the Site appears to be performing as intended, and is on track to meet
vegetation, wetland, and stream interim success criteria.
The following items or highlights from the As -Build Condition Assessment were noted:
Planted stem densities ranged from 567 to 1,012 planted stems per acre with a mean of 749
planted stems per acre across all plots. A total of ten species were documented within the plots.
Morphological surveys conducted throughout the Site (15 cross -sections) show all streams
as stable and functioning as designed; no areas of concern noted. Date noted for data collection
appears erroneous (January 19, 2021 should be 2022).
* One stage recorder on KJ1-C, was installed on January 19th, 2022. One flow gauge, on KJ1-
A, was installed on January 19th, 2022. Hydrologic data will be collected and reported during MY1.
A total of five groundwater wells with automatic recording pressure transducers were
installed throughout the wetland areas on November 2nd, 2021, and April 28th, 2022. These will
record water table depths at a frequency of twice per day. Groundwater gage data will be collected
and reported during MY1.
No adaptive management plan needed at this time.
There are currently no vegetation areas of concern; no significant presence of invasive
species.
Overall, I am very satisfied with the report and the work that RES has completed at the site. Having
not been able to visit this location, I really appreciated the detailed ground -level stream and veg plot
photos (with stakes to denote planted stems) to illustrate the amount of work implemented. I
recommend the appropriate credit release (Milestone 2) for warm stream and riparian wetland
mitigation units for this monitoring milestone. I have no other substantial comments at this time.
Erin Davis, NCDWR:
Please QAQC the 2021 references throughout page 6.
The IRT had initially raised some questions/concerns regarding the single swale proposed
from the CE boundary to the stream through the wetland credit area. Looking at the as -built, it
appears that six swales were constructed at least partially overlapping the wetland credit area. Were
the five additional swales constructed to similar dimensions as the Swale A typical detail/section? If
not, please provide more information on the dimensions of the added swales. DWR is concerned
with the potential drainage effect of these new swales and may request additional groundwater
gauges to demonstrate that wetland credit areas bisected by the swales meet the performance
standard. Was the option of diffuse flow through the buffer evaluated as at any of the drain tile
outlets, please explain? Also, please confirm that the drain tile outlets and swales will be monitored
for stability annually throughout the monitoring period.
Since a foot of inundation (vs. designed 6-inch depressions) can affect tree establishment
and growth, DWR requests that a random veg plot capture representative depression(s) within the

wetland credit area throughout monitoring.
4. DWR appreciates the inclusion of the soil and groundwater data. To confirm, GW1 had a
zero hydroperiod in 2021 and this wasn't due to a gauge malfunction or relocation? Moving forward
in monitoring, it can be helpful to include data on both the consecutive days/% and the cumulative
days/% hydroperiod, as well as note the growing season start/end dates and the minimum
hydroperiod performance standard value within the wetland hydrology summary table.
Please reach out with any questions.
Regards,
Kim
Kim (Browning) Isenhour
Mitigation Project Manager, Regulatory Division I U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1 919.946.5107

Mitigation Project Name
Cowford Project
USACE Action ID
DMS ID
100095
DWR Permit
River Basin
White Oak
Date Project Instituted
Cataloging Unit
03030001
Date Prepared
County
Onslow
Stream/Wet. Service Area
Signature of Official Approving Credit Release
2019-00487
2019-0495
2/4/2019
6/6/2022
White Oak 03030001
1 - For NCDMS, no credits are released during the first milestone (Site Establishment).
2 - For NCDMS projects, the initial credit release milestone occurs when the as -built report (baseline monitoring report) has been approved by the NCIRT and
posted to the NCDMS Portal, provided the following criteria are met:
1) Approval of Final Mitigation Plan;
2) Recordation of the preservation mechanism, as well as a title opinion acceptable to the USACE covering the property;
3) Completion of all physical and biological improvements to the mitigation site pursuant to the mitigation plan;
4) Receipt of necessary DA permit authorization or written DA approval for projects where DA permit issuance is not required.
3 - A 10% reserve of credits is to be held back until the bankful event performance standard has been met.
Credit Release Milestone
Project Credits
Scheduled
Releases %
Estimated
Scheduled
Release #
Warm Stream Credits
Proposed Not Approved Approved
Released # #Releases Credits
Anticipated
Release
Year
Approved
Release
Date
1 - Site Establishment
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
2 - Year 0 / As -Built
30.00%
1,061.600
1,061.600
0.000
1,061.600
2022
6/6/2022
3 - Year 1 Monitoring
10.00%
353.867
2023
4 - Year 2 Monitoring
10.00%
353.867
2024
5 - Year 3 Monitoring
10.00%
353.867
2025
6 - Year 4 Monitoring
5.00%
176.934
2026
7 - Year 5 Monitoring
10.00%
353.867
2027
8 - Year 6 Monitoring
5.00%
176.934
2028
9 - Year 7 Monitoring
10.00%
353.867
2029
Stream Bankfull Standard
10.00%
353.867
2026
Totals
1,061.600
Total Gross Credits
3,538.670
Total Unrealized Credits to Date
0.000
Total Released Credits to Date
1,061.600
Total Percentage Released
30.00%
Remaining Unreleased Credits
2,477.070
Credit Release Milestone
Riparian Credits
Project Credits
Scheduled
Releases %
Estimated
Scheduled
Release #
Proposed
Released #
Not Approved
#Releases
Approved
Credits
Anticipated
Release
Year
Approved
Release
Date
1 - Site Establishment
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
2 - Year 0 / As -Built
30.00%
0.896
0.896
0.000
0.896
2022
6/6/2022
3 - Year 1 Monitoring
10.00%
0.299
2023
4 - Year 2 Monitoring
10.00%
0.299
2024
5 - Year 3 Monitoring
15.00%
0.449
2025
6 - Year 4 Monitoring
5.00%
0.150
2026
7 - Year 5 Monitoring
15.00%
0.449
2027
8 - Year 6 Monitoring
5.00%
0.150
2028
9 - Year 7 Monitoring
10.00%
0.299
2029
Totals
0.896
Total Gross Credits
2.991
Total Unrealized Credits to Date
0.000
Total Released Credits to Date
0.896
Total Percentage Released
29.96%
Remaining Unreleased Credits
2.095
Cowford Project
Page 1 of 3 White Oak 03030001

Mitigation Project Name Cowford Project USACE Action ID 2019-00487
DMS ID 100095 DWR Permit 2019-0495
River Basin White Oak Date Project Instituted 2/4/2019
Cataloging Unit 03030001 Date Prepared 6/6/2022
County Onslow Stream/Wet. Service Area White Oak 03030001
Cowford Project
Page 2 of 3 White Oak 03030001

Mitigation Project Name
Cowford Project
USACE Action ID
DMS ID
100095
DWR Permit
River Basin
White Oak
Date Project Instituted
Cataloging Unit
03030001
Date Prepared
County
Onslow
Stream/Wet. Service Area
Notes
Contingencies (if any)
Project Quantities
Mitigation Type
Restoration Type
Physical Quantity
Warm Stream
Restoration
3,337.000
Riparian
Restoration
2.991
2019-00487
2019-0495
2/4/2019
6/6/2022
White Oak 03030001
Debits
Warm Stream
Restoration
Credits
Riparian
Restoration
Credits
Beginning Balance (mitigation credits)
3,538.670
2.991
Released Credits
1,061.600
0.896
Unrealized Credits
0.000
0.000
Converted Credits
0.000
0.000
Owning Program
Req. Id
TIP #
Project Name
USACE
Permit #
DWR Permit
#
DCM Permit
#
Remaining Balance (Released credits)
1,061.600
0.896
Remaining Balance (Unreleased credits)
2,477.070
2.095
Total Remaining Balance (Released and Unreleased credits)
3,538.670
2.991
Cowford Project
Page 3 of 3 White Oak 03030001