20210467 Ver 1_Mitigation Evaluation_20221205

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
69 DARLINGTON AVENUE
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403-1343
December 5, 2022
Regulatory Division
Action ID No. SAW-2020-01752
Re: NCIRT Review of the Eco Terra Neuse 01 Umbrella Mitigation Banking Instrument
and Revised Auctioneer Forest Mitigation Site Draft Mitigation Plan
Mr. Michael Beinenson
Eco Terra
1328 DeKalb Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
Dear Mr. Beinenson:
This letter is in regard to the Revised Draft Mitigation Plan for the Auctioneer Forest
Mitigation Site (AFMS), which is part of the proposed Eco Terra Neuse 01 Umbrella
Mitigation Bank, submitted to the Wilmington District for review on August 26, 2022. The
proposal consists of the establishment and operation of a commercial umbrella mitigation
bank, and the associated AFMS, located at 362 South Jordans Chapel Road, in Mount
Olive, Wayne County, North Carolina (35.2717720 N,-78.262661 ° W). The proposed
AFMS would include wetland restoration activities within the Falling Creek watershed, in
the Neuse River Basin (hydrologic unit code 03020201).
The prospectus for the proposed bank and associated mitigation site was first
submitted to the Corps in February 2021. The AFMS was initially proposed to have a
16.1-acre conservation easement and include the reestablishment of approximately
14.2 acres of riparian wetlands. Following the review of the site by the Interagency
Review Team (IRT), it was determined that the project as initially proposed had the
potential to provide compensatory mitigation for activities authorized by DA permits. In
accordance with Section 332.8 of the 2008 Federal Mitigation Rule, an initial evaluation
letter confirming this determination was provided to Eco Terra on May 3, 2021.
The Draft Umbrella Banking Instrument and Mitigation Plan for the AFMS were
submitted to the Corps on September 11, 2021, and comments on the first draft plan
were provided to Eco Terra on January 7, 2022. The comments identified numerous
concerns with the project, including issues related to the project design, concerns about
the Certified Animal Feeding Operation that would result in the continued disposal of
animal waste on the parcel adjacent to the mitigation site, and most importantly

concerns related to potential effects from the proposed project on adjacent parcels that
are not under Eco Terra's control.
Following the initial round of comments on the Draft Mitigation Plan for the AFMS,
the Corps was contacted by the owner of the adjacent parcel, who expressed further
concerns about how the proposed activity on the mitigation site might affect his
property. In particular, the proposed plan called for the removal (i.e., filling) of a ditch
located on the property line between the two parcels, intended to increase site
hydrology and support the restoration of wetlands in the area; however, this would also
increase flooding and likely result in the development wetlands on adjacent parcels as
well.
In response to these concerns, we received an updated Draft Mitigation Plan on
August 29, 2022, which was revised to address the IRT comments. The revised draft
plan included several significant changes, to include reducing the size of the project to
eliminate any work along the parcel boundary thus leaving the existing ditches in that
area intact. The revised Draft Mitigation Plan now proposes to have a 10.3-acre
conservation easement and includes the reestablishment of approximately 9.4 acres of
riparian wetlands. Due to the extent of changes to the project, we determined that it
was appropriate to provide the IRT with an additional opportunity to comment on the
revised plans. The updated Draft Mitigation Plan was sent to the IRT for review on
September 28, 2022. Please see the attached memo, which includes IRT comments on
the updated draft plan.
Following a review of the revised Draft Mitigation Plan for the AFMS and IRT
comments, it appears that the changes to the project substantially affect the ability of
the site to provide meaningful functional uplift to aquatic resource functions. During our
initial review of the site, it was noted that the project size was already very small. The
revised site is now significantly smaller, and is isolated from an any adjoining aquatic
resource, resulting in loss of functional continuity and increased habitat fragmentation.
It is also unclear if the reduced size of the site would support wetland restoration given
the continued influence that nearby ditches located to the north, west and south of the
proposed restoration area will continue to have on surface and subsurface drainage.
It also appears that the adjacent animal waste disposal operations would continue to
have a detrimental effect by acting as a constant stressor on the restored wetland's
ability to provide any water quality uplift. Due to the limited size of the wetlands to be
restored, we are very concerned that the constant input of wastewater would overwhelm
the ability of the wetland to provide any treatment, which was identified as one of the
primary goals of the project. We acknowledge that there is the potential to develop a
forested buffer project around the wetland bank, which would be subject to approval by
the state; however, it is not clear if the buffer bank will ever be built, and while it would

provide some habitat connectivity, construction of an adjacent buffer bank would not
offset the fundamental flaws identified with this project.
Given the concerns expressed by the IRT and the significant risks identified above,
we have determined that the AFMS, as revised in the latest Draft Mitigation Plan, no
longer has the potential to provide compensatory mitigation for activities authorized by
DA permits. In accordance with Section 332.8 of the Federal Mitigation Rule, proposed
banks must include a mitigation site, and because that the AFMS is the only site
submitted with the proposed Eco Terra Neuse 01 Umbrella Mitigation Bank, we also
intend to conclude our review of the bank. If you have another site that you plan to
submit as part of the umbrella bank, please notify us within 30 days of this letter,
otherwise we will withdraw the bank from the review process.
We appreciate your interest in restoring and protecting waters of the United States. If
you have questions regarding this letter, please contact me by telephone at (919) 201-
6265 or by email at [e-mail].
Sincerely,
Todd Tugwell
Chief, Mitigation Branch
Regulatory Division
Enclosures
Electronic Copies Furnished:
Mr. Scott Frederick, Soil, Water, and Environment Group, PLLC
Mr. Norton Webster, Eco Terra
NCIRT Distribution List

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
69 DARLINGTON AVENUE
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403-1343
CESAW-RGM/Tugwell December 5, 2022
MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD
SUBJECT: Action ID # SAW-2020-01752, NCIRT Comments on the Eco Terra Neuse
01 Umbrella Mitigation Banking Instrument - Revised Auctioneer Forest Mitigation Site
Draft Mitigation Plan
The following comments were received by the North Carolina Interagency Review Team
(IRT) in response to the updated plans for the Auctioneer Forest Mitigation Site Draft
Mitigation Plan submitted to the IRT on 28 September 2022. These comments will be
included in the administrative record and are referenced in the correspondence to the
bank sponsor dated 05 December 2022.
Travis Wilson, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission:
WRC has reviewed the revised mitigation plan. As an isolated compensatory
mitigation parcel, this site was already at a threshold for being too small. Small sites
on their own will not exhibit the ecological uplift that larger sites or sites connected to
additional conservation parcels would. With the further reduction in the potential
wetland re-establishment area WRC does not see this site as a good project to
move forward.
Erin Davis, North Carolina Division of Water Quality:
DWR has reviewed the Eco Terra Auctioneer revised draft mitigation plan. Please
see our review comments below.
• Where the initial project proposal included a protective buffer north and east
of the credit area within the project easement, this updated version has the
credit area abutting the entire project easement boundary and is relying on a
proposed DWR mitigation project to potentially provide a protective buffer.
However, until the prospective DWR mitigation project is approved as a Bank
or DMS site, it shouldn't be included as an attribute in this wetland mitigation
plan and the risks of having wetland credit area abutting the easement
boundary should be considered.
• In reviewing the CAFO WUP/NMP Figure included in Appendix B, DWR
questions whether there still may be a potential overlap with the proposed

-z-
project area. Additionally, potential impacts from animal waste application
immediately adjacent to the project area continues to be a concern.
With new information on the extent of the lateral drainage effect from
perimeter ditches and understanding that the perimeter ditches won't be fully
located within the project easement as originally presented, DWR has
significant concerns about the long-term success of the proposed project.
With the reduction of the credit area to 9.4 acres, we question whether the
site has enough potential function uplift as currently proposed to be suitable
to provide in -kind wetland mitigation credit for non -riparian wetland impacts in
the service area.
Due to the concerns identified above, DWR would support an IRT decision not to
move forward with approving this compensatory mitigation project as it's currently
proposed.
Todd Tugwell
Chief, Mitigation Branch
Regulatory Division