19961054 Ver 2_More Info Received_20090903

Bruce Marek, P.E. n @99 yW n
5489 Eastwind Rd i1
Wilmington, NC 28403
910-799-9245 SEP ` $ 2009
Sept 2, 2009 DENR-WATER QUAI.IrY
WETLANDS AND STORMWATER WMCn
Mr. Chad Coburn
NC DENR DWQ
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, NC 28405
Re: DWQ Project # 96-1054v2 and CAMA Permit # 90-97 Major Modification Submittal for Marina
Maintenance Dredging, Bennett Brothers Yachts, Inc. 1701 J.E.L. Wade Drive, Wilmington, NC:
Dear Mr. Coburn,
This letter is in response to your August 2009 request regarding the Bennett Brothers Yachts CAMA
91-96 Major Modification Request for maintenance dredging of their marina within the existing
footprint of the marina, that we eliminate the maintenance dredging request from the proposal. Since
this is the only item in our CAMA 90-97 Major Modification Submittal which was accepted as a
complete application, along with 27 sets of engineering drawings plus fees paid to and collected by the
state, being asked to remove the maintenance dredging is perplexing.
We have been working through CAMA, as lead agency, to state our case for this maintenance
dredging, which we believe is allowable, through exemption for maintenance dredging for marinas in
an urban waterfront. CAMA has confirmed that they consider this marina, at 1701 J.E.L. Wade Drive,
Wilmington to be part of the Wilmington Urban Waterfront and the Wilmington Industrial Waterfront.
As we understand it, there is a specific 60 day time frame for additional agencies to review the
submittal (the reason for 27 sets of drawings), with an available 75 day extension to CAMA of this
review period for them to receive responses. We feel that we are following this procedure as intended.
This procedure resulted in your agency receiving our packet as our application for 401 Water Quality
Certification. We hope that the merits of the project, intended to keep the marina floating docks
floating at low tide, would merit said water quality certification.
In normal cases, I believe this certification would have come out of the fees already paid to CAMA, or
if we desired express service, by a separate fee paid directly to DWQ.
That a portion of, but not all of the marina, is in a PNA has obviously delayed/complicated obtaining
the required 401 Certification. My August 6, 2009 response to your July 16, 2009 request for more
information was intended to satisfactorily answer your questions about the site and to give you some
historical background on its long time usage as dockage/wharfs, dating back to its days as a lumber
mill, pre-Civil War. The Isabel Holmes bridge, immediately downstream of the site, historically
speaking, is a recent addition: larger ships, barges and schooners for many decades used the site to
unload timber and load lumber.
The Bennett Brothers Yachts boatyard/marina should really be looked at for its contribution and
benefit to the water quality of the Cape Fear River Basin/New Hanover County marine environment.
Bennett Brothers Yachts DWQ Project #96-1054v2 / CAMA 90-97 Bruce Marek P.E. 9-2-09
The marina has earned the prestigious "Clean Marina" designation. For its boat bottom pressure
washing operation, after containment of wash water, it utilizes a state of the art treatment process that
removes suspended particles through the process of flocculation, which separates the waste particles,
which are then drained off, dried and disposed of with their other waste/paint materials through their
contracted waste disposal service. For upland boat maintenance work, Bennett Brothers Yachts has a
fully enclosed, NFPA compliant paint building that can house yachts as large as 80' to 90' in length.
Not many boatyards in the state have such environmentally compliant facilities. The site, of course, is
also covered under a state stormwater permit and has an on-site stormwater retention pond.
Probably even more important to the water quality of not only the site, but the downtown Cape Fear
riverfront in general, Bennett Brothers Yachts marina has public in-slip holding tank pump-out
facilities throughout the marina. With an elaborate plumbing system, no docked vessel needs to leave
its slip to get "pumped out". Piping is arranged so that all slips are reachable by hose. We believe the
next nearest public pump-out location south of Bennett Brothers is south of the State Ports at
Wilmington Marine Center. Bennett Brothers definitely has better access depth for larger yachts, as
the access channel to Wilmington Marine Center can be pretty shallow at low tide.
With the stated goal of the EPA and the State to make New Hanover County a "no discharge zone" in
2010, based on a sufficient number of marinas (9) with pump-out facilities, it would be a shame if this
lofty goal of regional water quality issues ends up having pump-out accessability problems if small
marinas can't keep their slips or doors open. Per the Wilmington Star News, Aug 30, 2009, "to be
effective, no discharge zones must have enough accessible pump out facilities to serve the boating
public". 401 Water Quality Certification for the Bennett Brothers Yachts maintenance dredging
project can help to keep sufficient pump-out availability in downtown Wilmington.
New Hanover County is noted for its many water related activities and boating opportunities.
Boatyards and marinas are necessary for both pleasure yachts and commercial fishing vessels. Bennett
Brothers Yachts is doing its best to not only follow, but to lead by example in having an
environmentally friendly marina coupled with a working boatyard. Bottoms are cleaned, bottoms are
painted, hulls are painted, engines are replaced and sailboats are rigged. With the elevation of J.E.L.
Wade Drive about 30' above the river level, the marina site is probably the best hurricane hole in New
Hanover County.
We hope the above helps you to make an independent positive decision on the water quality
certification. While we understand the desire to categorically deny the certification based on the
shoreline rating of PNA, the marina is adjacent to the dredged river navigation channel, so dredging in
the area has occurred. The Army Corps of Engineers has already indicated a positive response to our
project. We also understand that there are areas of downtown Wilmington that have been deemed "no
longer functioning PNA".
After an initial multi-agency scoping meeting in 2008 and multiple discussions with CAMA, I
submitted the Major Modification to the Permit asking for, for a lack of better wording, a dredge
amount that would hopefully not require re-dredging for approximately another 10 years, based on the
marina being open now for 11 years and the shoaling under the docks to date. If a lesser amount of
dredging, at a possible shorter time interval between would be more acceptable to DWQ, then we
would be happy to limit the amount of dredging at any one time. Perhaps one minor dredging will
suffice for years. There was a broken City of Wilmington stormwater drain several years ago near
Hilton Street that contributed some amount of silt to the marina area, which would not be considered as
a recurring occurrence.
Bennett Brothers Yachts DWQ Project #96-1054v2 / CAMA 90-97 Bruce Marek P.E. 9-2-09
While there is some speed gain in using a hydraulic dredge, if a backhoe on a barge, or crane and
bucket methodologies are deemed more easily "certified", please let us know. We did ask for the
option to use a backhoe on a barge in our original narrative.
To summarize, based on the now available history of the site and past usages/disturbances, coupled
with the best management practices that Bennett Brothers Yachts employs, we feel that maintenance
dredging of the existing footprint of the marina would not be a significant adverse impact or
degradation of the water quality.
Thanks in advance for your kind for your attention to this matter. If you have any questions, please
call me at 910-799-9245 or cell 910-228-2484 or email me at [e-mail]
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Bruce Marek, P.E. .FH ???
Cc: Tricia Bennett, President, a')'r' h ? Yachts, Inc.
Holley Snider, CAMA; Steve EV'O 10? A-WA; Rich Carpenter, DMF; Molly Ellwood, NCWRC; Ian
McMillan, 401 Wetlands Unit
Bennett Brothers Yachts DWQ Project #96-1054v2 / CAMA 90-97 Bruce Marek P.E. 9-2-09