20081295 Ver 1_Public Notice_20080825

Notification of a Public Notice from Wilmington District Regulatory...
Subject: Notification of a Public Notice from Wilmington District Regulatory Division, US Army Corps Of Engineers
From: "Wallace, Nancy SAW" <[e-mail]>
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:48:45 -0400 2 g 5
BCC: a
PUBLIC NOTICE
ISSUE DATE: August 22, 2008
COMMENT DEADLINE: September 22, 2008
CORPS ACTION ID#: SAW-2008-2384
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The Wilmington District, Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received a prospectus describing the
establishment of a stream and wetland compensatory mitigation bank, known as the Farmer Creek Stream and Wetland
Mitigation Bank which is being proposed by Restoration Systems, LLC in order to generate 2,329 stream mitigation credits and
0.13 wetland mitigation credits, located on 6.7 acres on Bartlett Farm Road, near Newland, Avery County, North Carolina.
POC: Amanda Jones, telephone [phone] extension 231
EXPIRATION DATE: 5:00 p.m., September 22, 2008
1 of 1 8/22/2008 2:16 PM
08 1 2 9 5
M PUBLIC NOTICE
US Army Corps
Of Engineers
Wilmington District
Issue Date: 22 August 2008
Comment Deadline: 22 September 2008
Corps Action ID #: SAW-2008-2384
The Wilmington District, Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received a prospectus describing the
establishment of a stream and wetland compensatory mitigation bank, known as the Farmer
Creek Stream and Wetland Mitigation Bank for Federal and State permits as described below:
Bank Sponsor:
Restoration Systems, LLC
This public notice does not imply, on the part of the Corps of Engineers or other agencies, either
favorable or unfavorable opinion of the work to be performed, but is issued to solicit comments
regarding the factors on which final decisions will be based. Specific plans and location
information are described below and shown on the attached plans. This Public Notice and all
attached plans are also available on the Wilmington District Web Site at
\\ x%7\ .saw.usace.army.miI/wetlands. The complete prospectus and mitigation plans are also
available at the Wilmington District, Asheville Regulatory Field Office. Please contact 828-271-
7980 extension 231, to request a copy.
WATERWAYS AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The proposed bank site is
located on Bartlett Farmer Road, approximately 2.5 miles southwest of Newland, in Avery
County, North Carolina. The approximate geographic coordinates are 36.0669° north latitude and
-81.9717° west longitude. The site is located along and adjacent to unnamed tributaries to
Squirrel Creek on approximately 6.7 acres within the French Broad River Basin, Hydrologic
Unit Code (HUC) 06010108. (See attached maps).
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The bank sponsor proposes to establish, design,
construct, and operate a stream and wetland compensatory mitigation bank composed of 6.7
acres located southwest of Newland, Avery County, North Carolina.
As stated by the sponsor, the primary goals and objectives of this proposed mitigation bank are
to improve water quality, enhance flood attenuation and restore aquatic and riparian habitat.
Specifically the sponsor plans to restore 0.13 acre of wetlands and 1,980 linear feet of stream
channel, enhance 130 linear feet of stream channel, and preserve 1,310 linear feet of stream
channel. The sponsor states the goals and objectives will be accomplished by: 1) removing non-
point sources of pollution associated with agricultural activities, 2) reducing sedimentation
within onsite and downstream receiving waters, 3) reestablishing stream stability and the
capacity to transport watershed flows and sediment loads by restoring stable dimension, pattern
and profile, 4) promoting floodwater attenuation by reconnecting bankfull flows to abandoned
floodplains, restoring entrenched tributaries, restoring depressional floodplain wetlands, and
revegetating floodplains, 5) improving aquatic habitat by enhancing stream bed variability and
the use of in-stream structures, 6) promoting an overall ecological uplift to wildlife, trout, and
fisheries habitat by shading/cooling surface waters, filtering nutrients, reducing sedimentation,
reducing downstream flooding, and increasing in-stream habitat, 7) improving trout habitat,
migration, and spawning in an area with know trout in lower reaches of the Bank. The sponsor
states that the proposed bank will be protected in perpetuity by a conservation easement. The
applicant states that upon completion the proposed bank will offer 2,329 Stream Mitigation Units
and 0.13 Wetland Mitigation Units. The proposed geographic service area is the 8 digit HUC,
06010108, located within the French Broad River Basin.
The proposed 6.7-acre bank site is currently utilized for Christmas tree farming and sparse
residential development. The main hydrologic features of the Bank include four reaches of
unnamed tributaries to Squirrel Creek and associated floodplains. The unnamed tributaries are
first and second order, perennial stream channels that drain approximately 0.3-square mile
watershed. These tributaries have been dredged/straightened in the past and are characterized by
eroding banks, bimodal sediment transport, and sparse riparian buffer. Approximately 0.13 acre
of the Bank is underlain by hydric soils, which are located within the floodplain adjacent to
Reach 1. Extensive floodplain manipulations associated with stream ditching, straightening,
rerouting, and deforestation have effectively reduced the groundwater hydrology from these
areas. The enclosed map shows the approximate location of proposed restoration and
enhancement sites.
This mitigation bank may be considered one of a number of practicable alternatives available to
applicants to compensate for unavoidable stream and 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 collectively referred to as the Interagency Review Team
(IRT). The IRT shall be chaired by the Wilmington District, 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, and the 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 wetland compensatory mitigation bank to
compensate for unavoidable wetland impacts associated with a proposed permit, even though
mitigation from this bank may be available.
AUTHORITY: A Public Notice regarding proposed mitigation banks is required pursuant to the
rules published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) for Compensatory Mitigation for
Losses of Aquatic Resources (33 CFR 332.8(d)(4)).
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,
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 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.
Written comments pertinent to the proposed work, as outlined above, will be received in this
office, Attention: Amanda Jones, Asheville Regulatory Field Office, 151 Patton Avenue, Room
208, Asheville, North Carolina 28801, until 5:00 p.m., September 22, 2008.
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Directions to The Bank from Morganton, North Carolina: Syr1 i,?k\
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Take Highway 181 north to Pineola (-30 miles)
Turn left(travel south on Highway 221 for - 3 miles
Turn right on Mount Pleasant Road and travel northwest for-3 miles
Turn left on Squirrel Creek Road at Mount Pleasant and travel northwest for -1 mile ! r ^?'f "?•
Turn right on Bartlett Farmer Road
Reach I of The Bank is begins just above the first set of houses on the right
Point in road at the downstream end of Reach 1 of the Bank
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Latitude: 36.0669'N, Longitude: 81.9717 °W I r , c sir
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Source: 1977 North Carolina Atlas and Gazetteer, pp. 32 S 33. t ?w. 1; 1
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CLF FIGURE ?
2126 Rowland Pond Dr SITE LOCATION Ckdby:
(9199)55-' 93NC27592 FARMER CREEK MITIGATION SITE wGL
Dale:
(919) 341J839 fax
Avery County, North Carolina May 2008
„? Pro)ecl 08-009
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0 215 430 860 1,290 1,720
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Legend
Drainage Area= -0.3 square mile t
® Proposed Easement = -6.7 acres r
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2126 Rowland Pond Drive
Nlliow Spring, NC 27692
'919)216.1693
'919) 303879 fax
M EMAMW .'430 c
DRAINAGE AREA AND TOPOGRAPHY
FARMER CREEK MITIGATION SITE
Avery County, North Carolina
FIGURE
CLF
May 2008 3
08.009
Legend N
M Proposed Easement = -6.7 acres
ME Planting/Supplemental Planting Area = -4.2 acres
- Stream Restoration
- Stream Enhancement Level 1
- Stream Preservation
3'SSS22 Braided Reach Stream Preservation
Riparian Wetland Restoration -0.13 acres
Old Backfilled Channel
Trout Ponds
---- Pond Inlets/Outlets
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2128 Rowland Pond Drive PROPOSED CONDITIONS CLF
fiUllow, Spring. NC 27582 pew: /?
)919) 9) 2 216-1693 5-1897 FARMER CREEK MITIGATION SITE May 2008
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1919) U1 3839 fax Avery County, North Carolina
Project
^aico+ET?a?c'•d• Y? 08-009