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Home My WebLink About20071843 Ver 1_Public Notice_20061121h.+v 2 1 2006 tVATER QUAD IsaeiLMLt, ,,A ST~TER BRAiiuh DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY Wilmington District, Corps of Engineers Post Office Box 1890 Wilmington, North Carolina 28402-1890 Action ID No. 2003-682-010 AMENDED PUBLIC NOTICE November 16, 2006 DUE TO AN INCORRECT COMMENTING DEADLINE IN THE NOVEMBER 8 ,2006 PUBLIC NOTICE, THIS AMENDED PUBLIC NOTICE SUPERSEDES THE NOVEMBER 8TH PUBLIC NOTICE, AND IMPLEMENTS A CORRECTED COMMENTING DEADLINE OF DECEMBER 15, 2006. The District Engineer has received a wetland and stream mitigation development plan describing the establishment of a wetland and stream mitigation bank (Bank) in Brunswick County, North Carolina for Federal and State permits as described below: Bank Sponsor Stone Farm, LLC c/o DeCarol Williamson 2618 New Village Way Wilmington, North Carolina 28405 This public notice does not imply, on the parts of the Corps of Engineers or other agencies, either favorable or unfavorable opinion of the establishment of the Bank, but is issued to solicit comments regarding the factors on which final decisions regarding the Bank will be based. WATERWAYS AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The proposed Bank, known as the Stone Farm Regional Mitigation Bank, is located north of Georgetown Road (SR 1163) and east of Seaside Road (SR 1165), adjacent to the Little Caw Caw Canal/Creek and Drowned Bay, just east of Calabash, Brunswick County, in the lower Lumber River Basin. PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The bank sponsor proposes to establish, design, construct, and operate a wetland and stream compensatory mitigation bank composed of drained and existing wetlands and channelized streams located at the headwaters of the Little Caw Caw Canal and Drowned Bay in the southern tip of Brunswick County. The total Bank size is approximately 1,050 acres. The primary objective of the bank is to restore approximately 100 acres of riverine wetlands, 300 acres of non riverine wetlands, and approximately 10,435 linear feet of intermittent and perennial streams. Additionally, approximately 170 acres of wetlands are planned for enhancement and approximately 250 acres of wetlands will be preserved. At this time, the Corps of Engineers have not made a final verification on the location and amount of areas that currently do not meet the hydrology parameter for jurisdictional status. However, it has been determined that authorization from our office will be required to accomplish the stream restoration objectives. The proposed geographic service area encompasses the lower Lumber River Basin at the at the hydrological break of the Waccamaw River (03040206 eight-digit cataloging unit) and the Carolina Coastal (03040207 eight-digit cataloging unit) as depicted in the 1974 Hydrological Unit Catalog Map of North Carolina (See attached map). This mitigation bank may be considered one of a number of practicable alternatives available to applicants on a case-by-case basis to compensate for unavoidable wetland impacts associated with permits issued under the authority of Sections 404 and 401 of the Clean Water Act for projects located within the prescribed geographic service area. Oversight of this wetland and stream compensatory mitigation bank will be by a group of Federal and State agency representatives known as the Mitigation Bank Review Team (MBRT). The MBRT shall be chaired by the Wilmington District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is comprised of representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, N.C. Division of Water Quality, N.C. Division of Coastal Management, and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. The actual approval of the use of this mitigation bank for a specific project is the decision of the Corps of Engineers pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The Corps provides no guarantee that any particular individual or general permit will be granted authorization to use this proposed wetland and stream compensatory mitigation bank to compensate for unavoidable wetland and water impacts associated with a proposed application, even though mitigation from this bank may be available and the project may be within the established service area. AUTHORITY: A Public Notice is recommended pursuant to Federal Guidance for the Establishment, Use and Operation of Mitigation Banks (60 Federal Register Number 228). FEDERAL EVALUATION OF PROPOSAL: The Corps of Engineers is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, state, and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate this proposed mitigation bank. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps in evaluating this proposal. Comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, cultural values, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards and flood plain values (in accordance with Executive Order 11988), land use, 2 navigation, shore erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership, and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people. Preliminary review of the proposal indicates that: 1) An environmental impact statement will not be required; 2) No species of fish, wildlife, or plant (or their critical habitat) listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (PL 93-205) will be affected; and 3) No cultural or historic resources considered eligible or potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places will be affected. Additional information may change any of these preliminary findings. A copy of the Mitigation Restoration Plan is available for review in the offices of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Division, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, North Carolina 28402 Written comments pertinent to the proposal will be received in this office, Attention: Mr. Mickey Sugg, Wilmington Regulatory Field Office, Post Office Box 1890, Wilmington, North Carolina 28402, until 4:15 p.m., December 15, 2006 or telephone (910) 251-4811. 3 ?f 9.J r - r a x 12" S04 L'n ??7ccM }•t` 930 a n • : V _ v Ouswwt' ??f ?.. 1 _ V - ff O.R• ? 4,9' ?- ?+ t r pap-._ t ~ G?}? rf 7 , k Ff? l7 R?•o. ' \ 934 / Cm R 1411 '- Cry ,'?-srCQ. /- _ - ?' ? -` ,?. '. -,. l U• ? N . --? L^.'? R. 5 F? • tlic4mari55 - 'x?is - y ? - y\ A ?; B r??ryl2ae i _? .. ?r ? Qo. "J 179 4 ire. 1 y t- \rs J '? t ` l O.ea rsM ?r i? ti ntopA v. • `?.?`?,_ 7 ? i'RCS`-" P t?"`??j' / ?1}?., ??11?. ??b?: i ??.. 1 - ' .j+, t, > a: q ??? \1 ?,? ataVssk' 9t?4 ^` t r .t11`? tUl LaoMn9 Afi 1 u tza15?"'"? ; t Ocean 151P C:01 - t aen ? . ?" ocean Isle co.t. zLa.n..yPicr !-CJi2^J SS \? 21 -??'2 i, •_ pf_RS"?? ?.AM? 9 ?Up6Q1 :t-; \ \.? Cpl - ?? - . Go?:•t ' 'GJRS:i £C:2C,1 Fe hiit$Pier P f ? Y 1 qE t \ / i<6 .Sir _ tt Y'%?: \ • a lli e- U-cee Hl a[If - 1 \ Myrtle Reach 0 2 4 mi Stone Farm Mitigation Bank Brunswick County Figure 1. Vicinity Map Brunswick County, NC DeLorme Gazatteer Land Management Group, Inc. rv Stone Farm Mitigation Bank Figure 8. Restoration Plan Brunswick County 2,000 4,000 ft Land Management Group. Inc. Stone Farm Mitigation Bank Figure 7. Geographic Service Area Lumber River Basin 5 10 Brunswick County (with corresponding hydrologic units Miles Land Management Group, Inc.