20201654 Ver 3_Perrmit Modificaton letter 5.31.23_20230531

ClearWater Environmental Consultants, Inc.
www.cwenv.com
May 31, 2023
District Engineer, Wilmington Regulatory Division
Attn.: Mr. Scott Jones
69 Darlington Avenue
Wilmington, North Carolina 28403
Mr. Paul Wojoski
NC DWR, 401 Permitting & Buffer Unit
512 N. Salisbury Street, 9th Floor
Raleigh, North Carolina 27604
RE:Permit Modification
Mulberry Gap Farms –School of Wisdom and Enlightenment
USACE Action ID. SAW-2020-00632, DWR Project No. 2020-1654v2
Madison County, North Carolina
Dear Ms. Boggs and Mr. Wojoski:
A permit application requesting written authorization for impacts associated with the Mulberry Gap
Farms project was submitted by ClearWater Environmental Consultants, an EnviroScience
company (ClearWater), on behalf of MulberryFarm –Madison LLCon January 27, 2022. The
US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) issued the requested 404 permit on February 15, 2023and
the NC Division of Water Resources (DWR) issued the requested 401 Water Quality Certification
on September 22, 2022. Mulberry Farmhas finalized detailed plans associated with the School
of Wholeness and Enlightenment projectand stream and wetland impactshave been greatly
reduced.Permanentloss of stream impactsfrom culverts, BDA’s, flooding for the projecthave
been eliminated and reducedto 20 lf. As a result, impacts are below the threshold for stream
and wetlandmitigation. Pleaseremovethe mitigationrequirementform the permit modification.
Therequested changesare asfollows:
1.Stream impact S1 (41lf.)is no longer required. The applicant includedthis impact
originally as NCDOT (DOT) was requiringa cul-de-sac turnaroundfor the project traffic.
Upon further review by DOT, it was determined that a “T” turnaround is sufficient. As a
result, the applicant is only going to replace(maintenance)the existing 80 lf.culvert with
a new 80 linear foot culvert. We have included a 10 ft temporaryimpact (S34 and S35)
plan sheet L-1.13 (attached)on either side of this culvert with the revised plan set.
2.Stream impacts S8-S9 (193 lf.–0.018 ac) and Wetland impact W6 (0.007 ac) associated
with the planned BDA on Hopewell Branch have been eliminated from the redesign of the
project.
th
Avenue West, Suite B
145 7
Hendersonville, NC 28792
828-698-9800 Tel

SAW-2020-00632; DWR No. 2020-1654v2
May 31, 2023
Page 2 of 2
3.Thomas Branch and UT1, UT2, and UT3 to Thomas Branch all within the resort core
(Sheet L-1.00) have been evaluated by Wildlands Engineering (Wildlands). Wildlands has
completed a Stream Restoration/Enhancement Technical Plan (attached) for these
streams and includes 1,434 lf. (0.102 ac)of culvert removal, restoration, and /or
enhancementand 0.014 acres of wetland impacts. Thesestream restoration and
enhancementplans were discussed with Ms. Brandee Boggs and Mr. Andrew Moore at
an on-sitemeeting March 28,2023.
Should you have any questions regarding the attached resubmittalplease do not hesitate to
contact me at 828-698-9800.
Respectfully,
R. Clement Riddle, P.W.S.
Senior Scientist
cc: Sue Homewood, NCDWR
Attachments:
Wildland Engineering Stream Restoration/Enhancement Technical Plan
Revised Figure l-1.00 - L-1.14