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Home My WebLink About20040325 Ver 2_Public Notice_20090209??-o3aS va- US?Army Corps PUBLIC NOTICE Of Engineers Wilmington District Issue Date: February 5 2009 Comment Deadline: March 6, 2009 Corps Action ID No: 2009-00189 The Wilmington District, Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received a prospectus proposing to establish a non-riparian wetland mitigation bank, known as Barra Farms Phase II Wetland Mitigation Bank (Barra Farms II), within a 1,791-acre tract owned by Southern Produce Distributors, Inc. and located near Cedar Creek, in Cumberland County, North Carolina. Specific plans and location information are described below and shown on the attached plans. This Public Notice is also available on the Wilmington District Web Site at www.saw.usace.army.miI/WETLANDS/; and the prospectus can be accessed at http://www.savv.usacc.armv.milAN7FTLANDS/N1Inuation/Banks/Pclidi m D Sponsor/Owner: Mr. Stewart Precythe Southern Produce Distributors, Inc. Cr_ q 2nn9 Post Office Box 130 Faison, North Carolina 28341 a?S?Ka?r cz .-"RgRANCH DS WD STORM`N Agent: Land Management Group, Inc. c/o Mr. Christian Preziosi Post Office Box 2522 Wilmington, North Carolina 28402 Authority The Corps will evaluate this prospectus and the establishment of the mitigation bank in accordance with the procedures outlined in 33 CFR Part 332. Additionally, this proposal will also be reviewed pursuant to the permitting authority under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act if construction work involves the discharge of fill material in waters and/or wetlands of the United States. Location The current proposed bank adjoins the constructed and completed Barra Farnis I Wetland Mitigation Bank site (reference Action ID. 1997-04890) and is positioned in the same wetland complex, which encompasses most of Harrison Creek Bay at the headwaters of Harrison Creek. The proposed Barra Farms 11 is located at 34.943 latitude/ -78.699 Longitude, west-southwest of SR 2003 (Doe Hill Road) and NC Hwy 210 intersection, just east of Cedar Creek Community and approximately 15 miles east of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina. It is situated within the 8-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) 03030005, Lower Cape Fear River. Existing Site Conditions The proposed 1,791-acre Barra Farms II site is divided into two tracts, North and South, with the current Barra Farms I Bank inserted in the middle of the tracts. The North tract encompasses 1,500 acres, which 440 acres are Prior Converted (PC) Farmland and currently under agricultural production, 260 acres of Commenced Conversion (CC) completed by January 1, 1995, and 410 acres of CC not completed by January 1, 1995 as determined by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). The remaining 390 acres are not subject to the NRCS PC or CC determinations. The North Tract has been severely ditched along the southern portion and contains farming and logging access roads throughout. The central and north sections of the tract contain a few roads and roadside ditches, but remain intact for the most part. These areas have been selectively timbered and are predominantly vegetated by red maple (Acer rubrum) and sweet gum (liquidanzbar styraciflua) in the canopy strata with loblolly bay (Gordonia lasianthus) and red bay (Persia borbonia) prevalent in the sub-canopy. The dominant ground cover is fetterbush (Lyonia lucida) and gallberry (Ilex glabra). Cumberland and Hoke County Soil Survey list the following hydric soil types: Croatan Muck, Torhunta, Lynn Haven, and Leon sand. The soil types were field confirmed by licensed soil scientist with Land Management Group. The hydrologic flow for the North Tract is in a southern and western direction. The tract drains into two major canals located along its southern and western borders and empties into what is the "First-order tributary" of Harrison Creek. The southern drainage canal is the common boundary of Barra Farms II and the completed Barra Farms I Bank site. The South Tract of Barra Farms II is comprised of 291 acres and shares a common boundary with Barra Farms I along South Tract's northern boundary. This tract contains a main collector ditch, which originated in Barra Farms I, that runs in a northwest to southeast direction, and lateral ditches that empty into the collector ditch from both sides. SR 2041 (Gip Road) borders the southern end of this tract. Vegetative cover within the South Tract is similar to the North Tract. The soil type for this tract is predominantly Croatan Muck. Project Purpose Basic: The basic purpose of the proposal is to establish a wetland mitigation bank within a 1,791-acre tract in order to provide compensatory mitigation for non-riparian wetland impacts associated with Department of the Army authorizations pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Overall: The Sponsor is proposing to restore approximately 926 acres, enhance 183 acres, and preserve 610 acres of wetlands within the site in order to generate 2 approximately 1,116 credits to be used for compensatory mitigation. The targeted wetland community type is a Carolina Bay/pocosin non-riparian headwater wetland system; and is expected to improve water quality functions, such as nutrient removal/transportation, increase water storage capacity, sediment/pollutant reduction, and to restore and preserve wildlife habitat. Project Description Due to the size of the bank site and the uncertainty of future market needs, the construction of Barra Farm II will occur in two sections. As previously stated, the bank site is separated into the North and South Tract. Section One will encompass approximately 830 acres of the central and northern parts of the North Tract and all of the 291-acre South Tract. Upon approval of the Mitigation Plan and execution of the Mitigation Banking Instrument, the projected construction start for Section One of the bank could be as early as December 2009. Section Two of the bank development will consist of the remaining 670 acres, which is mostly PC farmland, located in the southern part of the North Tract; and its construction timeframe will be based on market needs. The estimated 925 acres of the bank's wetland restoration will be accomplished by the backfilling and/or plugging of the secondary and tertiary ditches; and the removal of portions of the roadbeds to encourage natural sheet flow along the natural topographic gradient. During the agent's preliminary review, it appears that some of the boundary ditches may remain in place to prevent hydrologic trespassing. Additional evaluations will help determine specific limits and/or restrictions of the restoration work as it pertains to hydrologic trespassing. There is an estimated 65,300 linear feet of collector ditches and canals (or 12.4 miles) located within the boundaries of Barra Farms II. For the cleared and drained restoration areas, the site will be replanted in order to establish the targeted Carolina Bay/pocosin pre-conversion community type. Targeted canopy trees include pond pine (Pines serotina), sweet bay (Magnolia virginiana), red bay, water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica), Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), and bald cypress (Taxodium distichum). Additionally, there is an estimated 20 acres of wet pine savannah that will be restored during the construction of Section II by the planting of longleaf pine (Pines palustris). These areas are located in the southwest corner and southeast side of the North Tract; and are mapped as Leon/Kureb sand complex, Pactolus sand, and Lynn Haven. The proposed Geographical Service Area (GSA) includes the central & southern portion of 03030004 HUC (Upper Cape Fear), the entire 03030005 HUC (Lower Cape Fear); and the entire 03030006 HUC (Black). The sponsor, who owns fee simple title for the entire Barra Farms II, intends to transfer a perpetual conservation easement to an appropriate non-profit organization, which likely could be Sandhills Area Land Trust (SALT) that holds Barra Farms I conservation easement. It should be noted that Barra Farns II Wetland Mitigation Bank had been previously evaluated under a separate bank sponsor, EcoBank (Action ID. 2003-00583). A Public 3 Notice for that proposal was issued on April 4, 2003, and the restoration plan, similar to the current prospectus, had been completed, accepted by the Mitigation Bank Review Team, and verified by letter from our office on September 26, 2005. However, mitigation credits were withheld due to the absence of finalizing the financial assurances, documenting ownership, recording acceptable preservation mechanism, and not providing a construction schedule. Additionally, when reviewing that bank proposal, our office verified the use of Nationwide Permit No. 27, pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, to impact approximately 6.62 acres, or 125,400 linear feet, of jurisdictional waters in order to undertake the construction of the bank. This permit verification was dated April 12, 2004. Evaluation and Commenting Information The Corps is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, State and local agencies and officials, including any consolidated State Viewpoint or written position of the Governor; Indian Tribes and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the establishment of Barra Farms II Wetland Mitigation Bank. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps of Engineers in evaluating the approval of this bank. To make this decision, all factors which may be relevant to the proposal will be considered including the cumulative effects thereof; among those are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historic properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, flood plain values (in accordance with Executive Order 11988), land use, navigation, shoreline 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. The Corps has reviewed the proposal and has examined all information provided by the sponsor, as well as information and onsite inspections associated with the previous 2003 Barra Farms II proposal. Our preliminary review indicate the following: 1) An Environmental Impact Statement will not be required; 2) No listed species of fish, wildlife, and/or plant species (or Critical Habitat) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 is expected to be impacted by the construction of the bank; and 3) There are no presence of cultural or historic resources within the proposed project site. A "no effect" detennination for threatened and endangered species and for cultural and/or historic resources has been made at this time. Any additional or new infornation may change any of these preliminary findings. Written comments pertinent to the proposed work, as outlined above, will be received by the Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, until 5pm, March 6, 2009. Comments should be submitted to Mr. Mickey Sugg, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403-1343, or via internet at micke .t.suQi?(c?,usace.arm..mil . If you have any questions or in need of a copy of the bank prospectus, please contact Mr. Sugg at (910) 251-4811. 4 ?. r , I- , e. r- r , > j 1 ! - _- ?. I ol'? L t - 1. r - `' - - i z _•- . I c ^ t , SITE - i .^ • ? ? ? :mot', 1 f .. .• a z .. - ,.nu) c..trr a t. _ - Z?COr __ -._.. -- --- --_. _ --i _ _ - .. - - - 17, i L N 0 2.4 4.8Ni. SCALE 1"= 2.4 miles Barra Farms Regional Mitigation Bank Phase II Cumberland Countv Figure 1. Vicinity map. LMG L !IAI:Af.L'R!IT I:AOIlPv LARD r cem - ? i •? 1 1 I i J 1 1 I r I I t ? I Ir; ? 11 ? - 1 . ' T i ?r ? .Si ldw. N 1 0 9,000 6,000 Feet Barra Farms Regional Mitigation Bank Figure 2. Phase II USGS Topographic Map Autryville Quandrangle Cumberland County ?tLMGE!.4L•T GROUP l•c fn.rrnnrrrnrn, fnmun.rnrr Legend ® Project Boundary Barra Farms I Mitigation Bank N Barra Farms Regional Mitigation Bank Phase II Figure 3. NRCS Soil Survey Map 0 3,000 6,000 Feet Cumberland County LMG ip 61AlI.1f.LNC1: i c11111P i.:: a Q?"?`5,a???d ° Cry 0 c a?= m Ra L y, c ry - ? C ? U I LL m - F m 5 a N U d cO ? O ? N 3 N L v E o m U L 6 ? O l7 O Ca _ `0 = co m ? c ii = N C U m 0 n W W O O M ?0 P l® - Alamance Franklin Nash Randolph Chatham i Wake - Wilson - Johnston Greene Lee 1 li Harnett Wayne Moore - Lenoir. v y i F yettev' Richmond Hoke Cumberland -?? ~=? NC-24 C2jo Sampson \ Duplin • Barra ars F\ Re ional MiZi on Ba k Scotland _ -. po ty \ / =Ci Robeson Bladen \ \r y ? Pender F/ ? ? sw ? I NC-74 ? Lake' Waccamaw New Hanover i \ ? *Columbus (( Wilmington ' - - County Boundary Brunswick Geographic Service Area Nc-2>> 03030007 I 03030006 -?'._------?-- ------ -- °'? 03030004 03030005 N + Figure 10. Barra Farms Regional Mitigation Bank Phase II Geographic Service Area (GSA) alk SCALE " Cumberland County LMG ° : 1 = 10 miles _ ?• <