20160979 Ver 1_Poplar Creek Year 4 Monitoring Credit Release

November 28, 2023
Regulatory Division
Subject: Year 3 Monitoring Report Review and Credit Release associated with Neu-Con
Umbrella Mitigation Bank – Poplar Creek Mitigation Site (AID SAW-2016-01985)
Ms. Jamey McEachran
EBX-Neuse I, LLC
3600 Glenwood Avenue, Suite 100
Raleigh, North Carolina 27612
Dear Ms. McEachran:
This correspondence is in reference to the monitoring report and credit release
request submitted for the RES Neu-Con Umbrella Mitigation Bank, Poplar Creek
Mitigation Site, Action ID SAW-2016-01985. The purpose of this letter is to transmit
comments provided by the NC Interagency Review Team (NCIRT) during the review of
the monitoring report and to confirm the annual credit release.
The review of the annual monitoring report followed procedures outlined in Section
332.8(o)(9) of the Mitigation Rule. The comments listed below were provided by the
NCIRT during this process. While it is not necessary to provide a response to specific
comments at this time, please be sure to address the issues raised in future monitoring
report submittals.
Maria Polizzi, NCDWR
1.Please make sure all future monitoring reports are uploaded to Laserfiche upon
submittal.
2.Overall the species diversity and heights are looking good in all of the plots. The stem
counts seem very high, especially in plots 5,7,and 8. Are the stem counts in the
monitoring plots representative of the surrounding areas, and is there a reason this
site was planted so heavily?
3.It appears no volunteer stems were recorded in any plots this year, despite almost
100 volunteer stems being counted across all of the plots in MY3. Is this accurate,
and does RES have an explanation for why the volunteer stems disappeared? Was
action taken to remove volunteer stems that was not recorded in section 1.7? DWR
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
69 DARLINGTON AVENUE
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403-1343
was interested to see the number of Sweetgum stems in MY4 after the discussion
about potential Sweetgum thinning in MY3.
4.Thank you for including information and photos about the small erosional issue above
XS 1/2. Does RES have an idea of what conditions/processes that led to the creation
of this feature (i.e. loose soil, lack of vegetation)? Is there a concern that similar
features might appear as a result of similar conditions in other locations?
5.Please make section 1.7 “Year 4 Monitoring Performance” either the first or last
section in the report, rather than in the middle. This will allow the IRT to more easily
see what is new in the current monitoring year and review monitoring reports quicker.
a.Additionally, it is recommended that Easement boundary conditions be its own
subsection within section 1.7, rather than within the “vegetation” subsection.
Casey Haywood, USACE
1.To confirm, were volunteer stems not counted this year? The table needs to show
both planted and volunteer stems. Also, in MY3 DWR noted that thinning sweet gums
could benefit planted stem growth; what is the status of the sweet gums? Table 7
indicated that there were no sweet gums in MY4, but in MY3 there were 52 stems.
2.Thank you for providing photo documentation of the erosional feature repair on YB2A
above XS 1,2. Please continue to monitor the area in MY5. Was the feature caused
by runoff from the driveway/road?
3.The report stated that the stage recorder recorded 3 bankfull events however, looking
at the graph it looks like only 2 were recorded. It might be helpful to adjust the scale of
the graph in future reports.
4.The flow gauges were adjusted due to uncertainty of accurate flow data. To clarify,
were the gauges set to the wrong downstream elevation at installation or is it
something that will need to be reevaluated yearly? Also, the number of days on some
of the flow gauge graphs don’t appear to be consecutive as indicated for YB2-A and
YB3.
5.Chinese privet and Bradford pear were treated along reaches YB1-C, YB2-B, and
YB3. Is the area of treatment significant? Figure 2 did not indicate the location(s) of
invasive species. It would be helpful to provide an estimate of the area being treated
in future reports.
Based on our review of the monitoring report and the results of the NCIRT review, we
confirm that you have satisfied requirements included in the approved banking instrument
and mitigation plan for this site. Accordingly, with this correspondence we confirm the
release of credits as shown on the attached credit release schedule.
Additionally, per the request included in your monitoring report submittal, we confirm
that you may release the bond (#K15481043) in the amount of $59,400.00.
Thank you for your interest in restoring and protecting waters of the United States. If
you have questions regarding this letter, please contact me by email at
[e-mail] or telephone [phone].

Sincerely,

Casey Haywood
Project Manager, Mitigation Branch
Enclosure

cc (by email):
NCIRT Distribution List
Project Name:
Sponsor Name:
USACE Action ID:
NCDWQ Action ID:
Non-Forested
Wetland Credits
Warm
Water
Cool
Water
Cold
Water
Riparian
Riverine
Riparian
Non-Riverine Non-Riparian Coastal
3,926
3,926
Scheduled
Releases
Warm
Water
Cool
Water
Cold
Water
Scheduled
Releases
Riparian
Riverine
Riparian
Non-Riverine Non-Riparian Scheduled
Releases Coastal
1 (Bank/Site Establishment)1, 2 15%588.90 15%15%6/26/2019
2 (Year 0/As-Built)3 15%588.90 15%15%4/17/2020
3 (Year 1 Monitoring)10%392.60 10%10%5/24/2021
4 (Year 2 Monitoring)10%392.60 10%15%1/26/2022
5 (Year 3 Monitoring)10%392.60 15%20%11/3/2022
6 (Year 4 Monitoring)5%196.30 5%10%12/3/2023
7 (Year 5 Monitoring)10%392.60 15%15%
8 (Year 6 Monitoring)5%196.30 5%NA NA
9 (Year 7 Monitoring)10%392.60 10%NA NA 12/3/2023
Stream Bankfull Standard4 10%392.60 NA NA NA NA NA NA Varies4
Total Credits Release to Date 2,355.60
Date
Wilmington District Mitigation Bank Credit Release Schedule
4 - A 10% reserve of credits to be held back until the bankfull event performance standard has been met.
1 - The first credit release milestone is based on the potential credits stated in the approved mitigation plan.
2 - The first credit release shall occur upon establishment of the mitigation bank, which includes the following criteria:
1) Execution of the MBI or UMBI by the Sponsor and the USACE;
2) Approval of the final Mitigation Plan;
3) Mitigation bank site must be secured;
4) Delivery of the financial assurances described in the Mitigation Plan;
5) Recordation of the long-term protection mechanism and title opinion acceptable to the USACE;
6) 404 permit verification for construction of the site, if required.
3 - The second credit release is based on the credit totals from the as-built survey, and may differ slightly from the credit totals stated in the mitigation plan.
Contingencies (if any): None
Signature of Wilmington District Official Approving Credit Release
Poplar Creek Stream Mitigation Project
EBX-Neuse I
SAW-2016-01985
2016-0979v2
Potential Credits from Mitigation Plan
Forested Wetland Credits
Total Potential Credits
Projected
Release Date
Actual Release
Date
Potential Credits from As-Built Survey
Stream Credits
Credit Classification
Non-Forested Wetland
CreditsForested Wetland CreditsStream Credits
Current and Future Credit Releases
Credit Release Milestone
Johnston
03020201
2019
10/9/2023
County:
8-Digit HUC:
Year Project Instituted:
Date Prepared:
28 November 2023