20081235 Ver 1_Brice Creek Final Release and Closeout

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
69 DARLINGTON AVENUE
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403-1343

November 3, 2023

Regulatory Division

SUBJECT: Final Credit Release and Project Closeout for the Weyerhaeuser Brice
Creek Wetland Mitigation Bank, Action ID SAW-2008-02310

Mr. Doug Hughes
Weyerhaeuser NR Company
406 Cole Road
Hattiesburg, MS 39402

Dear Mr. Hughes:

Please reference the letter of August 10, 2023, submitted to our office by Mr.
Christian Preziosi with the Davey Resource Group regarding Weyerhaeuser’s Brice
Creek Wetland Mitigation Bank, and also the May 23, 2023 meeting of the NC
Interagency Review Team (IRT) that was conducted on the project site. The Brice
Creek bank site is located west of US Highway 70 and south of Catfish Lake Road in
Craven County, North Carolina.

During the May 23rd on-site meeting, which was held to review the bank conditions
and determine if the site is eligible to be closed and transferred to long-term
management, the IRT noted several items that had to be completed, including installing
easement boundary markings along the site borders, and reducing the overall wetland
credit generated by the site to account for roadbeds that were not fully restored during
the initial construction. Following the meeting, the August 10th letter provided additional
information in response to these IRT comments. Following our review of this
information, we coordinated with Mr. Preziosi and concur with an average roadbed
width of 28 feet, which results in a total reduction of 7.0 wetland credits from the site.
Additionally, it was confirmed during this coordination that the conservation easement
has been marked with appropriate signage as request.

Based on the above, we confirm that you have satisfied all requirements as outlined
in the Mitigation Banking Instrument approved on January 10, 2013, and the Final
Mitigation Plan dated April 2012, and the final release of credits is approved. Per the
mitigation plan, the final credit release is for 10% of the site’s credits, or 55.5 credits;

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however, due to the adjustments resulting from the removal of the roadbeds, this final
release has been reduced to 48.5 Non-Riparian Wetland Credits. Total final credits
released for the Brice Creek Wetland Mitigation Site include 547.5 Non-Riparian
Wetland Credits. With this correspondence we are also approving the release of the
remaining construction bond (Surety Bond # 023023410) and monitoring bond (Surety
Bond # 023023409).

As this release represents the final release for the site, this letter also confirms the
closeout approval of the site. At this point, the site will be transferred from the
monitoring phase to the long-term management phase. We have confirmed that the
long-term endowment has been fully funded and that the conservation easement is held
by the long-term steward for the project, the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust.
Please contact the long-term steward to be sure they are aware that the site is being
transitioned to the long-term management phase and that you will no longer be
monitoring the site or conducting site maintenance.

Please remember that you must continue to adhere to requirements of Section VIII
of the Instrument, including providing us with copies of all mitigation responsibility
transfer documentation along with updated site ledgers for all future credit transactions
within 30 days of the transaction, and on an annual basis at a minimum (if no credit
transactions occur) until the site is sold out.

Please note that this electronic copy provided to you via email is your official copy.
Should you wish to receive a paper copy of this correspondence, please contact us.
Thank you for your time and cooperation. If you have any questions, please contact me
by email at [e-mail] or by phone at [phone].

Sincerely,

Todd Tugwell
Chief, Mitigation Branch

Enclosure

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