The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About20031035 Ver 1_Mitigation Site Visit_20090129 Beverly Eaves Perdue, Governor Dee Freeman, Secretary North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Coleen H. Sullins, Director Division of Water Quality January 29,2009 Mr. Bill Biddlecome and Mr, William Wescott Washington Regulatory Field Office U.S. Army Corps of Engineers P.O, Box 1000 Washington, NC 27889-1000 Re: Neu-Con Mitigation Bank Westbrook Lowgrounds (Johnston County) DWQ # 20020569 Alexander Wetland Mitigation Site (Greene County) DWQ # 20021794 Casey-King Wetland Mitigation Site (Lenoir County) DWQ # 20011644 Marston Mitigation Project (Jones County) DWQ # 20031035 Nahunta Mitigation Project (Wayne County) DWQ # 20040895 Dear Mr. Biddlecome and Mr. Wescott: The Division of Water Quality (DWQ) 401 Oversight and Express Review Permitting Unit conducted site visits with the Mitigation Bank Review Team (MBRT) on January 27-28,2009. We appreciate the opportunity to coordinate site review with the other agencies, and we have provided our comments below for your consideration. Westbrook Lowgrounds · The stream was observed to be stable and developing expected functionality. DWQ supports release from monitoring with full stream credit. · Vegetation was observed to be generally dense and vigorous. Many individuals of tree species characteristic of the targeted wetland type have become well-established and quite large. The trend appears to be toward a diverse vegetative community. DWQ supports release from vegetation monitoring. · Wetland hydrology appears to have been restored over the majority of the site. The notable exception is in the southern portion of the restoration area where wells A W -I and A W -6 have demonstrated continual saturation during only two to six percent of the growing season based on 2003-2007 data. A jurisdictional delineation map developed by EcoScience was presented to the MBR T at the site visit. Our observations of soils and hydrologic conditions indicated that it would be necessary to collect more data points in order to determine which areas are uplands (<5%), jurisdictional wetlands (5-9%), and wetlands meeting success criteria (minimum 9% continual saturation during growing season). Once the data analysis is provided, we will work with the MBRT to make a decision about the amount of wetland mitigation credit generated by the project. ~rthCarolina !Votllrn//If 401 Oversight/Express Review Permitting Unit 1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carol ina 27699-1650 232 J Crabtree Boulevard, Suite 250, Raleigh, North Carolina 27604 Phone (919) 733.1786 / Fax (919) 733-6893 Internet: http://h2o.em.state . nc. us/ncwetlands An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer - 50% Recycled/10% Post Consumer Paper Mr. Biddlecome and Mr, Wescott US Army Corps of Engineers Neu-Con Umbrella Mitigation Bank Page 2 of3 Alexander Wetland Mitigation Site · DWQ is satisfied with the trajectory of wetland community development on the site. We support release from monitoring and closeout with full mitigation credit. Casey-King Wetland Mitigation Site · DWQ is satisfied with the trajectory of wetland community development on the site. We support release from monitoring and closeout with full mitigation credit. Marston Mitigation Proiect · In many areas, planted trees have been stunted by some combination of herbivory and poor soils. However, there are also areas in which planted (e.g. bald cypress) and volunteer (e.g. sycamore) trees are growing vigorously. Overall, the project has met the tree counts required in the success criteria. . The wetland restoration boundary was difficult to determine from maps available at the site visit. The bank sponsor committed to producing an overlay of the projected wetland mitigation line with monitoring points. Once the MBRT has had an opportunity to compare the map with notes from the site visit, we will work with you to finalize the credits generated by the project. Nahunta Mitigation Proiect . The MBRT visited the Gonder Tract on January 27, 2009. A lack of hydrology, possibly related to inclusions of sandy soils and water table interactions with the adjacent canal, appeared to be impacting both the stream and wetland components in some areas of this tract. The MBR T discussed these issues with the bank sponsor in the field. Proposed actions to be performed in the drier section of the tract included 1.) installation of another crest gauge and a monitoring well in the stream channel, and 2.) compilation and analysis of hydrology modeling and monitoring data. . As noted in previous letters, the site has shown variable success in meeting both success criteria and minimum wetland hydrology. While some tracts (Edmundsen North and South) have generated data indicating success, other tracts (Cole, Tapp, Cook) have had mixed results. The entire site will need to be explored more thoroughly in order to determine the amount of mitigation credit present. It is our understanding that the bank sponsor plans to submit a tract- by-tract analysis of site conditions to the MBRT during monitoring year 5 (2009), If you have any questions related to our comments or this mitigation bank, please feel free to contact Tammy Hill or Eric Kulz at (919) 733-1786. Sincerely, ~((jj-~ Cyndi B. Karoly, Program Manager 401 Oversight and Express Review Progr~m N2{thCarolina /Valurn//!! 401 Oversight/Express Review Permitting Unit 1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1650 2321 Crabtree Boulevard, Suite 250, Raleigh. North Carolina 27604 Phone (919) 733-1786 / Fax (919) 733-6893 Internet: httO://h2o.enr.state. nc, us/ncwetlands An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer - 50% Recycled/10% Post Consumer Paper Mr. Biddlecome and Mr. Wescott US Army Corps of Engineers Neu-Con Umbrella Mitigation Bank Page 3 of3 Cc: File Copy (Tammy Hill) Matt Matthews - DWQ, Wetlands and Stormwater Branch Kathy Matthews - USEP A Howard Hall - USFWS Ron Sechler - National Marine Fisheries Service Travis Wilson - NCWRC N~lthCarolina /Vall/rnll!! 401 OversightlExpress Review Pennitting Unit 1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1650 2321 Crabtree Boulevard, Suite 250, Raleigh, North Carolina 27604 Phone (919) 733-1786/ Fax (919) 733-6893 Internet: http://h2o.enr.state,nc.us/ncwetlands An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer - 50% Recycled/10% Post Consumer Paper