20051642 Ver 1_Complete File_20050825

O?O? W AT ?9QG
Michael F. Easley, Governor
William G. Ross Jr., Secretary
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Alan W. Klimek, P.E. Director
Division of Water Quality
September 2, 2005
Mr. Whit Jones
488 NC 11 South
Magnolia, NC 28453
Dear Mr. Jones:
RE: Wetland permitting issues at your property at NC 11 and NC 24/27
DWQ # 20051642
Duplin County
As you know, Ms. Noelle Lutheran and I conducted a site visit to your property on
August 25, 2005 to determine the extent of wetlands on the property, to visit the mitigation site
that you planted in 1992/1993 and to discuss wetland permitting issues with respect to a
proposed commercial development on this site. The following items should address these
issues. Please call me at 919-733-9646 if you have any questions.
1. Wetland delineation: It is our understanding that Ms. Lillette Granade with the
US Army Corps of Engineers has determined that the wetlands on this property
are isolated and therefore not subject to Section 404 Permitting. As you know,
the Division of Water Quality administers a state permitting program for isolated
wetlands. Those rules first require a delineation and then survey or GPS location
on those wetlands. At your request, Ms. Lutheran and I did a preliminary
delineation on the site and located the wetland line with pink flagging. Please
have those flags surveyed or GPSed with survey grade GPS and displayed on a
site map so we can then sign the map to approve the wetland delineation. That
map should be sent to both Noelle and me so we can review it before approval.
II. Mitigation site: The mitigation site appears to be quite successful and could
provide adequate compensatory mitigation for the proposed impact depending on
the acreage of impact and acreage of mitigation. In addition, the following
changes will need to be made at the mitigation site:
a. A conservation easement will need to be recorded for the entire mitigation
site to protect it from future disturbance. A third-party will need to hold the
easement. Either a local land trust organization or the NC Ecosystem
Enhancement Program (EEP) will be acceptable to DWQ. Draft conservation
easements may be obtained from the EEP or from the US Army Corps of
Engineers. DWQ will need to review and approve the easement before it is
recorded.
b. Ditch plug: The ditch on the east side of the property is still open and
potentially functional with respect to drainage of the site. In contrast, the
ditch on the west side of the property has become filled in and is no longer
functioning. We believe that the east side ditch will need to be plugged
(i.e., filled) for a length of about 100 feet to ensure that the restored wetland
hydrology will be retained. Please provide a written plan for our approval for
that plugging.
401 oversight/Express Review Permits Unit
1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1650
2321 Crabtree Boulevard, Suite 250, Raleigh, North Carolina 27604
Phone: [phone]/ FAX [phone] /Internet http://h2o.enr.state.nc.usfncwetfind s
One
N Carolina
Nakrally
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer- 50% Recycled/10% Post Consumer Paper
IV
V
c. Vegetation management: Periodic bushhogging of the mitigation site has
allowed the planted oaks to grow rapidly and develop a closed canopy on the
site. However bushhogging in the future will need to cease so a complete
wetland ecosystem with various layers of forest (canopy, saplings, seedlings,
shrubs and herbs) can develop. This issue should be addressed in the
conservation easement.
d. Type of mitigation: Please clarify what part of the mitigation site was
jurisdictional wetlands when it was planted and what part was not
jurisdictional wetlands when it was planted. Please provide documentation
(such as an aerial photo from around the time of planting) to confirm this
difference. We will need a tabulation of the acreage by type of mitigation
(restoration, enhancement and preservation) for this site.
Development Plan for Commercial site: As we discussed, we will need a
development site plan for the proposed commercial development. As we
discussed, it is likely that this plan will require filling of the isolated wetlands
adjacent to NC 24/27. If the impacts exceed one acre (which is likely), then
compensatory mitigation will be required by DWQ at a 2:1 ratio. We expect that
the mitigation site can satisfy this requirement but you will need to report the
acreage of both the mitigation site and the proposed development site. The site
plan will also need to contain provisions for on-site stormwater treatment with
Best Management Practices designed to provide 85% TSS removal according to
DWQ's stormwater design manual.
Development Plan for Residential site: We understand that the other site that
you own on NC 11 is slated for residential development. We also understand
that a wetland delineation exists for that site and that the wetlands on the site are
isolated as well. Please provide a surveyed or GPSed delineation map for that
site so we can approve that delineation as well. A development plan for that site
will also be required in order to approve the impact to wetlands. Similarly, the
mitigation site should be able to provide suitable mitigation for this project
depending on the amount of impact.
Applications for wetland fill: Once DWQ has reviewed and approved the above
items, you will need to submit an application for fill of isolated wetland using the
Preconstruction Notification Form (PCN) available on our website
(h2o.enr.state.nc.us/ncwetlands). If fill is greater than one acre of wetlands, then
a fee of $475 will be required. Fill of less than one acre has a fee of $200. If you
propose to fill more than one acre of isolated wetlands, then our rules require a
Public Notice and public comment period before we can issue any approvals.
I hope that this letter addresses the delineation and permitting issues on this site.
Please call me at 919-733-9646 if you have any questions.
rs,
-
y
il al ice
Cc: Noelle Lutheran, D
Lillette Granade, Wilmingtoof Engineers
Fn
Becky Fox, US EPA
File copy
Central files
2
- -• - a_? r? -. ??, .. ,'ate' Fr'.' -
r r

4/?2

. _
?

1

--- ---------- ----------

7
- - - rt -? r I--r
I
L-

4 (Fp 5 , T
w
I ? I I I F ?! I I ?T .;
i I ? t? ? I i j ( I
S I ! ? I I? I
_ I I Ci
i
WQ_ - fiI rw?lr l ! -I- 1
? ?i1 rr
l;-1 ; I
I ? ? I r ! ? I I I +? I?I? i
I
? r Ir
I I
I )I i I
- - - ?' J- - - - -?-
I I 1
.I I
r?
1
I _
I h ,
--- -- II I I .Jl- I j ' ?? • ?'
I
I
I
\Chi
j l
-III
i
I
I
?I
------ --ice ' "t
- ?j
I i1 I i i 1; 1 j ??
? ? ??I' Iz at ? W L
ey I
?

r ?-
I?/41j +uh?W ? 4?
? }(JaYJ
lRe ?G

I I
I

on
lI CoI
I
r `
I
\ E
I ??y
32-
3
I47 ?.
CV" l?? ;
4+
I ?
? KS
I
I. _ .-- --
I
I I
t
i
t ? ? I 4
4.
4
I
f 1 I i,.
9 s
I _ ; Lr I i ? ?3t
7N T,
?P T 1' r i d

r K n ] ??