20080868 Ver 2_Emails_20081205

Subject: WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION GRANTED TO PCS PHOSPHATE FOR
EXPANSION
From: Diana Kees <[e-mail]>
Date: Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:56:46 -0500
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Michael F. Easley, Governor William G. Ross Jr., Secretary
N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Release: IMMEDIATE Contact: John Dorney
Date: Dec. 5, 2008 Phone: [phone]
WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION GRANTED TO PCS PHOSPHATE FOR EXPANSION
RALEIGH - The state Division of Water Quality today issued water quality
certification for the expansion of mining areas for the Potash Corporation of
Saskatchewan Phosphate Division more commonly known as PCS Phosphate Inc. of
Aurora.
The certification is one step in the process of acquiring a federal permit for
wetlands and stream impacts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The
certification approves impacts to 18,621 feet of streams; 3,789 acres of wetlands;
19 acres of ponds and 28.14 acres of streamside buffers. These impacts are
anticipated to occur over a 35-year period on three tracts of land on the east,
south and west of the current mining site.
The certification requires that the Bonnerton Road Non-Riverine Wet Hardwood Forest
located west of the current mining site be protected. This wetland area is a
"wetland of exceptional state or national significance ecologically" due to its age
and the types and diversity of species - both plant and animal - that are present.
The certification also includes general and specific conditions for protection of
water quality standards and the preservation of the designated uses of downstream
areas. Among the conditions detailed are requirements for sedimentation and erosion
control and groundwater monitoring for several chemical parameters and to ensure
that the hydrology of adjacent wetland areas is maintained. A water management and
stream monitoring plan for water quality, water quantity, fish and other aquatic
animal populations shall be continued for the life of the permit. This plan shall
be designed to assure the protection of downstream water quality standards
including primary and secondary nursery area functions in all tributaries to South
Creek, Porter Creek, Durham Creek and the Pamlico River adjacent to the mine site.
Wetland and stream mitigation is required by the certification to be done in
accordance with mitigation approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Buffer
mitigation is to be carried out for approximately 23 acres of the approved buffer
impacts. Mitigation for the remaining proposed impacts is subject to state
Environmental Management Commission approval and may require an alternative
approach to development of the site.
PCS Phosphate Inc. began operation in North Carolina in 1965. The company mines
phosphate ore and manufactures phosphoric acid, solid and liquid fertilizers,
animal feed supplements and purified phosphoric acid used in food products and
industrial processes.

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