19960987 Ver 1_Merger Process Documentation_20080407

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STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
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DEPART OF TRANSPORTATION "~~~,
MICHAEL F. EASLEY
GOVERNOR
Apri13, 2008
Mr. Doug Huggett
NC Division of Coastal Management
Parker Lincoln Building
2728 Capital Boulevard
Raleigh, NC 27604
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LYNDO TIPPETT
SECRETARY
Re: Cedar Point Mitigation Site, Carteret County, State Project No. 6.16901T, TIP No.
R-2105AB, Action ID No. 200100396, DWQ Proj. # 011850, DCM Permit No. 19-02
Mr. Huggett:
As you are aware, the Department has monitored the Cedar Point Mitigation Site since its
construction in March of 2002. Located in Carteret County, adjacent to both NC 24 and the
White Oak River in Swansboro, this 14.34 acre site provides upfront mitigation for future
wetland impacts in the White Oak River Basin. The site was excavated and planted with
Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens in May of 2002; due to vegetation failure the site was
tilled and replanted in May of 2003. Hydrologic monitoring consisted of two surface water
gauges that were set to record surface water readings every hour. According to permit
conditions, NCDOT was required to monitor the Cedar Point Mitigation Site for five years or
until success criteria were met; with vegetation and hydrologic monitoring conducted annually.
After each growing season, annual monitoring reports were submitted to the appropriate
regulatory agencies via the Natural Environment Unit's (NEU) website:
http: //www. ncdot. org/doh/preconstruct/pe/neu/Monitoring/MonitoringReports. html
After five years of coastal marsh vegetation monitoring, vegetation data for 2007 indicates that
the site has met the 80% frequency of targeted species criteria by yielding 100.0%. The
vegetative cover scale value of 4.0 is close to meeting the requirement of 5.0 for year five.
Annual monitoring data is provided within the monitoring reports submitted between 2002 and
2007.
The fifth year of hydrology monitoring indicates that the Deer Creek Mitigation Site is
functioning as a coastal marsh. The surface gauges indicate that the site is being flooded twice
daily during the growing season. Annual surface water monitoring data is provided within the
monitoring reports submitted between 2002 and 2007.
MAILING ADDRESS: TELEPHONE: [phone] LOCATION:
NC'DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FAX: [phone] PARKER LINCOLN BUILDING
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS 2728 CAPITAL BOULEVARD
1598 MAIL SERVICE CENTER WEBSITE: WWW.NCDOT.ORG RALEIGH NC
RALEIGH NC 27699-1598

NCDOT requests that the appropriate resource agencies provide written documentation stating
that no further monitoring is required and that the site is closed. If you have any questions about
this project, please contact Mr. Randy Griffin at [phone].
Sincerely,
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Philip S. arris, III, P.E., Unit Head
PDEA- Natural Environment Unit
cc: Mr. William Wescott, USACOE
Mr. David Wainwright, DWQ
Mr. Travis Wilson, WRC
Ms. Kathy Matthews, EPA
Mr. Gary Jordan, USFWS
Mr. David Harris, P.E., NCDOT-REU
Mr. Jay Johnson, NCDOT-DEO
Mr. Ron Sechler, NOAA