20090835 Ver 1_Staff Comments_20090909

Kulz, Eric
From: Kulz, Eric
Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2009 10:05 AM
To: Coburn, Chad
Subject: Doctor's Branch - New Hanover County (20090835)
Chad
First off, sorry for the long e-mail.
I don't really have any issues with the proposed work. I do have a number of issues with the proposed banking of
stream credit. Setting up a bank would require USACE to convene an Interagency Review Team (IRT) that would
comment on and approve proposed plans, etc.
First of all, the riparian zones are very narrow. Based on the drawings provided, portions of the streams to be restored
appeared to have buffer less than 50 feet wide on each side of the stream. The 2003 Interagency Stream Mitigation
Guidelines state that in most cases, a protected buffer of a minimum of 50 feet on Piedmont/Coastal Plain streams
extending landward from the bankfull elevation on each side of the stream will be required at mitigation sites. The
guidelines go on to say that consideration for reduced buffer widths will be based on issues related to construction
constraints and land ownership, and may result in increased mitigation ratios (reduced credit for streams with less than
50 feet of buffer).
I also did not see anything about a conservation easement, which would be requireed if the stream were to be
used to bank stream mitigation credit. Where is the Mitigation Banking Instrument?
The credit release schedule is not the correct stream credit release schedule revised and approved by the
state IRT. The approved credit release schedule is as follows:
IRT approval of the Restoration Plan, execution of the Mitigation Banking Instrument (MBI), recording of
conservation easement, and documentation of finanacial assurance =15%
Site construction and submittal of As-Builts = 15% (cum. 30%)
Successful completion of Yr 1 monitoring = 10% (cum. 40%)
Successful completion of Yr 2 monitoring = 10% (cum. 50%)
Successful completion of Yr 3 monitoring = 10% (cum. 60%)
Successful completion of Yr 4 monitoring = 10% (cum. 70%)
Successful completion of Yr 5 monitoring = 15% (cum. 85%)
Plus - 15% of the credit is released when the sponsor has documented 2 bankfull events in different years.
Chad, I would also include the following as a condition in the 401:
Mitigation Credit
Approval of the restoration plan and issuance of the 401 Water Quality Certification means that DWQ has
determined that the proposed activity will not remove or degrade significant existing uses of the surface water
(15A NCAC 2H .0506(a)). The issuance does not represent an approval of credit yield for the project.
I am really at a loss to figure out why this has not been handled by USACE as a bank, with the appropriate IRT
comments, etc.
Eric W. Kulz
Environmental Senior Specialist
N.C. Division of Water Quality
401 Oversight and Express Permitting Unit
2321 Crabtree Blvd., Suite 250
Raleigh, NC 27604
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
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