20041713 Ver 1_More Info Received_20050802

WARD AND SMITH, P.A.
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
FRANK H. SHEF1,11?LI), JR.
[phone]
Fax [phone]
fhs0)Wardandsmith.com
August 22, 2005
Mr. Mickey Sugg
Project Manager
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Wilmington District
PO Box 1890
Wilmington, NC 28402-1890
Ms. Noelle Lutheran
N.C. Division of Water Quality
Wilmington Regional Office
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, NC 28405
Mr. Steve Rynas
Federal Consistency Coordinator
North Carolina Division of Coastal Management
400 Commerce Avenue
Morehead City, NC 28557-3421
RE: 401 Water Quality Certification
Section 404 Permit
CZMA Consistency Determination
Dolphin Ridge and Royall Oaks Subdivisions
Emerald Isle, North Carolina
Our File 860233-00007-001
Dear Mickey, Noelle, and Steve:
COPY
We are writing in response to the written requests for additional information issued by the
Division of Coastal Management ("DCM") on July 7, 2005, and the Division of Water Quality
("DWQ") on July 11, 2005, and a verbal request by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
("USACE") which was relayed to me by Mickey when we met on July 28, 2005. We enclose a
copy of the DWQ and the DCM requests for your reference. We are providing this information
in a consolidated fashion so that each of you will receive the same materials.
1001 COLLEGE COURT PO BOX 867 NEW BERN, NC 28563-0867
GREENVILLE NEW BERN RALEIGH
[phone] [phone] [phone]
WILMINGTON
(910) 7941-4800
WARD AND SMITH, P A.
Mr. Mickey Sugg
Ms. Noelle Lutheran
Mr. Steve Rynas
August 22, 2005
Page 2
In response to your respective requests, we also enclose the following documents for your
review:
1. The Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, Restrictions and Easements of
Dolphin Ridge and Royall Oaks, recorded in 1991 in Book 656, Page 234 in the
office of the Register of Deeds of Carteret County, that show the deed restrictions
concerning the maximum built upon area for the subdivisions pursuant to the
State Stormwater Management Permits (see Paragraph 28 on Page 23) (in
response to DWQ request) and that show the deed restrictions concerning
protection of the originally delineated (i.e., "old" wetlands) within the
subdivisions (see Paragraph 31 on Page 24) (in response to DCM request), along
with a copy of the wetlands surveys approved in 1991 by the USACE for each
subdivision;
2. Justification for the Amount of Fill Requested for Lot 2 in Royall Oaks
Subdivision and Lots 12, 93, and 9 in Dolphin Ridge Subdivision (in response to
USACE request);
3. Survey maps which depict the revised and reduced proposed fill areas on the
specified lots, as well as additional detail requested by DWQ (any previously
proposed fill that involved any "old" protected wetlands has been removed and we
have reduced the fill requested for "new" wetlands areas to the greatest extent
possible) (please note that the red lines on the surveys indicate where retaining
walls are proposed to be constructed to prevent any fill from flowing into the
adjoining wetlands) (in response to USACE, DWQ and DCM requests);
4. A copy of the "new" restrictive covenants that will be recorded for each of the
subject lots as they are sold (with the blanks being appropriately completed).
These new restrictive covenants will provide additional protection for the "old"
wetlands areas on the lots plus new protection for the remaining "new" wetlands
areas after the proposed fill has been completed. These restrictions supplement
the restrictive covenants in Paragraph 31 on Page 24 of the Declaration of
Covenants recorded in 1991 (and referenced above) that protect only the "old"
wetlands (in response to DWQ request);
5. Justification as to the Project's Consistency with the State Coastal Management
Program and Alternative Development Scenarios Considered to Minimize Impact
on Wetlands (in response to DCM request).
Please note that in our attempt to work with each of you and to limit our impact on the wetlands
to the greatest extent possible, we hereby withdraw our request to fill any of the wetlands on
WARD AND SMITH, P. A.
Mr. Mickey Sugg
Ms. Noelle Lutheran
Mr. Steve Rynas
August 22, 2005
Page 3
Lot 6 in the Royall Oaks Subdivision since that lot is suitable for residential purposes without the
requested fill. As noted above, none of the proposed fill areas on the lots are within the "old"
wetlands that are subject to the original 1991 deed restrictions. Furthermore, to ensure that the
fill placed on each of the lots is limited to the permitted fill areas, the applicant (The Nassau
Corporation) will complete the fill activities on each of the lots before each lot is sold (in
response to DWQ request) to a future owner. Also, it is the intent of the applicant to perform the
fill activities immediately after the permits are secured to avoid any concern DWQ has expressed
about the permits expiring prior to compliance with them.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at [phone]. We
respectfully request that you issue, respectively, a Section 404 Permit, a 401 Water Quality
Certification, and a CZMA Consistency Determination for these lots at your earliest
convenience.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Yours very truly,
Frank H. Sheffield, Jr.
FHS:rlc
NBMAIN\644456\1
Enclosures
cc: The Nassau Corporation
Clint D. Routson, Esq.