20140710 Ver 2_Corps of Engineer Correspondence_20150518

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
69 DARLINGTON AVENUE
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403 -1343
REPLY To May 15, 2015
ATTENTION OF:
Regulatory Division/1200A
Action ID: SAW - 2013 -01863
Mr. Key Kasravi
HDC- Wendover- Greensboro Partners, LP
12335 Kingsride Lane, Suite 280
Houston, Texas 77024
Dear Mr. Kasravi:
Please reference your Individual Permit application for Department of the Army (DA)
authorization to discharge fill material into 0.571 acre of riparian, non - riverine wetlands,
associated with constructing access and infrastructure for Phase II (outparcel) of the Wendover
Commons commercial development. The project area is located approximately 0.1 mile east of
McClellan Place, between Sapp Road and Wendover Avenue in Greensboro, Guilford County,
North Carolina.
Your proposal was advertised by public notice dated April 6, 2015. Comments in response
to the notice were received from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC)
and the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR). The comments received
are enclosed for your information and to provide you with the opportunity to address any of the
stated concerns. Please provide written responses to the comments from the NCWRC. Please
note that the NCDCR, in a letter dated April 21, 2015, stated that they aware of no historic
resources which would be affected by the project and therefore had no comment on the project as
proposed.
Further, on February 6, 1990, the Department of the Army (DA) and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) establishing procedures
to determine the type and level of mitigation necessary to comply with Clean Water Act (CWA)
Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines. This MOA provides for first, avoiding impacts to waters and
wetlands through the selection of the least damaging, practical alternative; second, taking
appropriate and practical steps to reduce impacts on waters and wetlands; and finally,
compensation for remaining unavoidable impacts to the extent appropriate and practical. To
enable us to process your application, in compliance with the MOA, we request that you provide
the following additional information:
a. Permits for work within wetlands or other special aquatic sites are available only if
the proposed work is the least environmentally damaging, practicable alternative.
,,1.
Please reference your Individual Permit application for Department of the Army (DA)
authorization to discharge fill material into 0.571 acre of riparian, non - riverine wetlands,
associated with constructing access and infrastructure for Phase II (outparcel) of the Wendover
Commons commercial development. The project area is located approximately 0.1 mile east of
McClellan Place, between Sapp Road and Wendover Avenue in Greensboro, Guilford County,
North Carolina.
Your proposal was advertised by public notice dated April 6, 2015. Comments in response
to the notice were received from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC)
and the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR). The comments received
are enclosed for your information and to provide you with the opportunity to address any of the
stated concerns. Please provide written responses to the comments from the NCWRC. Please
note that the NCDCR, in a letter dated April 21, 2015, stated that they aware of no historic
resources which would be affected by the project and therefore had no comment on the project as
proposed.
Further, on February 6, 1990, the Department of the Army (DA) and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) establishing procedures
to determine the type and level of mitigation necessary to comply with Clean Water Act (CWA)
Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines. This MOA provides for first, avoiding impacts to waters and
wetlands through the selection of the least damaging, practical alternative; second, taking
appropriate and practical steps to reduce impacts on waters and wetlands; and finally,
compensation for remaining unavoidable impacts to the extent appropriate and practical. To
enable us to process your application, in compliance with the MOA, we request that you provide
the following additional information:
a. Permits for work within wetlands or other special aquatic sites are available only if
the proposed work is the least environmentally damaging, practicable alternative.

Please furnish information regarding any other alternatives, including upland
alternatives, to the work for which you have applied and provide justification that
your selected plan is the least damaging to water or wetland areas.
1) Specifically, please add to the alternatives analysis provided in your
Individual Permit application, received March 23, 2015, to further explore a
No Permit alternative, including avoiding all Waters of the U.S. subject to
CWA Section 404 jurisdiction. Note that this alternative is different than the
No Build alternative, which is described in your application. If a No Permit
alternative is not practicable, please explain why.
b. It is necessary for you to have taken all appropriate and practicable steps to minimize losses
of Waters of the U.S., including wetlands. Please indicate all that you have done, especially
regarding development and modification of plans and proposed construction techniques, to
minimize adverse impacts.
1) 1 have evaluated the avoidance and minimization information included in your
application, and determined the details to be sufficient for our evaluation.
c. The MCA requires that appropriate and practicable mitigation will be required for all
unavoidable adverse impacts remaining after the applicant has employed all
appropriate and practicable minimization. Please indicate your plan to mitigate for the
projected, unavoidable loss of waters or wetlands or provide information as to the
absence of any such appropriate and practicable measures.
1) 1 have evaluated the compensatory mitigation plan included in your application, and
have determined the details to be sufficient for our evaluation. However, as directed
in 33 CFR 332, the EPA Mitigation Rule, compensatory mitigation must first be
satisfied by mitigation bank if available, secondly by in-lieu fee program, and lastly
by on-site restoration, creation, or preservation. We will advise you if a private
mitigation bank with the appropriate credits becomes available. In the meantime,
please provide an updated acceptance letter from the North Carolina Division of
Mitigation Services (NCDMS) indicating that they have the appropriate type and
amount of credits available for purchase in the 03 03 0003 HUC.
The aforementioned requested information is essential to the expeditious processing of your
application; please forwarded this information to us within 30 days of your receipt of this letter.
If you have any questions regarding these matters, please contact me at [phone]
extension 30 or 1. David_,f.l3aJ1U2C&isac . tri-ri jild,
2

Sincerely,
David E. Bailey
Regulatory Project Manager
Raleigh Field Office
Enclosures
Copies Furnished:
Mr. Michael Brame
Pilot Environmental, Inc.
Post Office Box 128
Kernersville, North Carolina 27285
Mr. Todd Bowers
Permit Review Specialist
Wetlands Regulatory Section
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region IV
Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center
61 Forsyth Street, SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Ms. Karen Higgins
401 Oversight/Express Review Permitting Unit
Division of Water Resources
North Carolina Department of Enviromnent
and Natural Resources
2321 Crabtree Boulevard, Suite 250
Raleigh, North Carolina 27604
Ms. Sue Homewood
Division of Water Resources
North Carolina Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
450 W. Hanes Mill Rd, Suite 300
Winston Salem, North Carolina 27105

North Carolina° Wildlife Resources Commission r�
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
T0: David £L Bailey, Raleigh Regulatory Field Office
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
PQ(}M: Shari L. Bryant, Western Piedmont Coordinator
Habitat Conservation
DATE: 21 April 2015
SUBJECT: Public Notice for HDC-Wendover-Oreensbom Partners, LP for Phase Uof Wendover
Commons, Guilford County, North Carolina. Corps Action D)#: S&W'2013-01803
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) have reviewed the
subject document. Our comments are provided in accordance with provisions of the Clean Water Act of
1977 (as amended), Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat, 40 1, as amended; |6lJ.S.C.h6l'067u),and
North Carolina General Statutes (G. S. l|3-l3| ctoeq.).
The applicant proposes to discharge fill material into 0.571 acre ofriparian, uou-rivcrino wetlands tw
construct a fitness center and parking lot. Phase Iof the project ino)udedinoyao1mto0.464uureoofw+t|uodm
and 274 hocuc feet of'uriodiotioou| stream channel. The applicant proposes to place a conservation oumomeut
ou the adjacent 1.01 acre tract that includes 0.l32 acres of adjoining wetlands and 88 linear feet ofstream
channel with on associated buffer. Also, an approximately 30 acre parcel down gradient in the site's
watershed will remain iuuprotected comeoneot. The u(urmwater pond for the facility has been designed iu
non-jurisdictional areas of the site. Impacts 10 the wetlands will be compensated through mitigation payment
to the N.C. Ecosystem Enhancement Program; u2:l mitigation ratio io proposed for the wetland impacts
associated with Phase ll.
Bull Run io the Cape Fear River basin flows through the site. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
recently listed the Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) as threatened under the Endangered
Species Act. The Northern long-eared bat may be present within orin the vicinity of the project oite.
Therefore, the project may impact this species and consultation with the l].8. Fish and Wildlife Service may
be i d For more information, please see
oz contact the LJ.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service at [phone] to ensure that any issues related to this species are addressed.
Wu hesitate {o concur with the fi|Uogo[ wetlands due to their wildlife habitat value and the well-
known beneficial functions they provide for flood control and water quality protection. Iu addition, changes
io land use and increases in impervious surfaces may exacerbate channel degradation and sediment impacts
Mailing Address: Division of Inland Fisheries - 1721 Mail Service Center - Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] - Fax: [phone]

Page 2
2l April 20l5
\9endover Commons — Phase D
Corps Action IDNo.: SAW-2013-01863
to stream ecosystems due to increased ntoxoznoatcr runoff and elevated flooding. Pollutants (cg`eedmcnt
heavy metals, pesticides, and fertilizers) washed from roads and developed landscapes can adversely affect
and extirpate species downstream.
We are pleased to see the applicant i i to place a conservation easement onthe adjacent
1.0 1 acre tract and a 30-acre parcel downstream of the site will remain in a protected easement. Protecting
these sites will help minimize impacts to aquatic and terrestrial wildlife resources. Should the permit be
issued, we offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to aquatic and terrestrial wildlife
l. For undisturbed streams and wetlands, maintain ol00-foot undisturbed, native, forested buffer along
perennial streams, and a 50-foot buffer along intermittent streams and wetlands. Maintaining
undisturbed, forested buffers along these areas will minimize impacts to aquatic and terrestrial wildlife
resources, water quality, and aquatic habitat both within and downstream of the project ercu. In addition,
wide riparian buffers are helpful in maintaining stability ofstream banks and for treatment ofpollutants
associated with atormxatorrunoff.
2. Storrawatermunagemcnt structures should be designed to mimic the hydrograph consistent with uu
impervious coverage of less than l096. Structures should he located outside of riparian buffers. For
otoronwu1crbsutmeui ponds, trees and shrubs should be planted around the pond, excluding the dam.
This would provide habitat benefits that offset those functions lost by development, partially restore
aquatic habitats, reduce exposure of the water surface to sunlight to minimize thermal pollution, and
provide essential summer and winter habitats.
3. Use landscaping that consists of non-invasive native species and Low Impact Development (LID)
technology. Using native species instead of ornamentals should provide benefits by reducing the need
for v/utoc, fertilizers, and pesticides. Using LID technology in landscaping will not only help maintain
the predevelopment hydrologic regime, but also enhance the aesthetic and habitat value of the site.
4. Sediment and erosion control measures should be installed prior 1oany land clearing or construction.
The use of biodegradable and wildlife-friendly sediment and erosion control devices is strongly
recommended. Silt fencing, fiber rolls and/or other products should have loose-weave netting that is
made of natural fiber onutoria|a with movable joints between the vertical and horizontal twines. Silt
fencing that has been reinforced with plastic or metal nnomb should buavoided as it impedes the
movement of terrestrial wildlife species. These measures should beroutinely inspected and properly
maintained. Excessive silt and sediment loads can have numerous detrimental effects on aquatic
resources including destruction of spawning habitat, suffocation of eggs, and clogging of gills of aquatic
species.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment oo this project. lfv/u can provide further assistance,
please contact our office at(336) 44g-7625 or .
ec: Sue Homewood, NCDWR(I]WR ID: 2OI4O7l0, Version 2)
Kathy Matthews, U3PWS