20040561 Ver 3_Other Agency Comments_20080828

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
P. O. BOX 1890
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28402-1890
IN REPLY REFER TO
Regulatory Division
Action ID: SAW-2007-02699-010
Mr. Calvin Peck
August 28, 2008
Village of Bald Head Island
Post Office Box 3009
Bald Head Island, North Carolina 28461-7000
Dear Mr. Peck:
(VI-0Lo_ Brwnow;c:k).
Please reference the interagency pre-application meeting held on September 19, 2007;
our letter dated April 23, 2008, providing our comments on your Draft Environmental
Assessment (DEA) for the proposed beach restoration project of South Beach and West Beach
on Bald Head Island; and your permit application dated June 26, 2008, for your proposed beach
restoration project on Bald Head Island, Brunswick County, North Carolina.
Your permit application and DEA has been evaluated pursuant to applicable procedures
of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899.
The Corps of Engineers issued a public notice for your project on August 13, 2008, soliciting
comments on your permit application. The comment period for this notice expires on
September 12, 2008.
On February 6, 1990, the Department of Army (DA) and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) establishing procedures
to determine the type and level of mitigation necessary to comply with Clean Water Act Section
404(b)(1) Guidelines. This MOA provides for first, avoiding impacts to waters and wetlands
through the selection of the least damaging, practical alternative; second, taking appropriate and
practical steps to reduce impacts on waters and wetlands; and finally, compensation for
remaining unavoidable impacts to the extent appropriate and practical. To enable us to process
your application, in compliance with the MOA, we request that you provide the following
additional information:
a. Permits for work within wetlands or other special aquatic sites are available only if the
proposed work is the least environmentally damaging, practicable alternative. Please furnish
information regarding any other alternatives, including upland alternatives (moving homes or
structures), to the work for which you have applied and provide justification that your selected
plan is the least damaging to water or wetland areas.
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b. It is necessary for you to have taken all appropriate and practicable steps to minimize
wetland losses. Please indicate all that you have done, especially regarding development and
modification of plans and proposed construction techniques, to minimize adverse impacts.
c. The MOA requires that appropriate and practicable mitigation will be required for all
unavoidable adverse impacts remaining after all appropriate and practicable minimization has
been employed. Please indicate your plan to mitigate for the projected, unavoidable loss of
waters or wetlands or provide information as to the absence of any such appropriate and
practicable measures.
According to your application, you propose to excavate material from approximately
158.4 acres of Jay Bird Shoals and place this material on 16,200 feet of beach at South Beach. In
accordance with 33 CFR Part 325, the potential environmental impacts associated with your
project may require the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS). Although we cannot provide a timetable for projects requiring an EA or
EIS, typically the permit processing time is much greater for projects requiring preparation of an
EIS. While a final decision regarding the required environmental document that will be needed
for your project cannot be made until permit evaluation is complete, we will discuss our opinions
with you following the public notice comment period or September 12, 2008.
Please be aware that, should an HIS be required, in accordance with our regulation
Appendix B, 33 CFR Part 325, the District Commander may prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) or may obtain information to prepare an EIS, either with our staff or by
choosing a contractor, either at the expense of the Corps of Engineers or at the expense of the
applicant, who reports directly to the district engineer. Due to budgetary constraints, preparing
an EIS for the referenced project cannot be funded by this office. Thus, preparation of the EIS
would be accomplished by a "Third Party Contractor" paid by the Village of Bald Head but who
is selected and supervised directly by the District Commander (Regulatory Division of the
Wilmington District).
Finally, please be aware that the Corps cannot issue a final permit for your proposed
activity until your project has been determined consistent with the approved state Coastal Zone
Management (CZM) Program. Please reference the enclosed document titled "North Carolina
Federal Consistency Certification Submission Guidance (Subpart "D" 15 CFR 930)", for
information on the steps involved in obtaining this determination. Once you have made this
determination, you should submit to the Corps a statement indicating that your proposed activity
complies with, and would be conducted in a manner that is consistent with, the approved state
CZM Program. The Corps will then forward your determination to the North Carolina Division
of Coastal Management with a request for concurrence or non-concurrence.
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Your application, pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, has been assigned
Action ID No. SAW-2007-02699-010 and will be coordinated by the undersigned, available at
telephone [phone].
Sincerely,

Dave Timpy, Project Manager
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office
Enclosure
Copy Furnished With Enclosure:
Christian Preziosi
Land Management Group, Inc
3805 Wrightsville Avenue, Suite 15
Wilmington, NC 28403
Copies Furnished Without Enclosure:
Mr. Doug Huggett
Division of Coastal Management
North Carolina Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
400 Commerce Avenue
Morehead City, North Carolina 28557
s. Cyndi Karoly
Division of Environmental Management
North Carolina Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
2321 Crabtree Blvd, Suite 250
Raleigh, North Carolina 27604-2260
Mr. Ron Sechler
National Marine Fisheries Service
101 Pivers Island
Beaufort, North Carolina 28516
Mr. Ronald J. Mikulak, Chief
Wetlands Section - Region IV
Water Management Division
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
61 Forsyth Street, SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Mr. Pete Benjamin
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Fish and Wildlife Enhancement
Post Office Box 33726
Raleigh, North Carolina 27636-3726
Steve Everhart, District Manager
Wilmington Regional Office
NC Division Of Coastal Management
127 Cardinal Drive Ext
Wilmington NC 28405-3845