SAW-2012-00468

DISCLAIMER: Please download the attached PDF version of this notice for complete information, proper formatting, and inclusion of tables and figures.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Issue Date: October 7, 2015

Comment Deadline: November 6, 2015

Corps Action ID Number: SAW-2012-00468

The Wilmington District, Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received a modification request for the City of Charlotte Umbrella Stream and Wetland Mitigation Bank instrument which is used to establish stream and wetland compensatory mitigation banks sponsored by the City of Charlotte and which provides compensatory credits required by Federal and State permits as described below:

Bank Sponsor:

City of Charlotte Storm Water Services

Mr. Isaac Hinson

Mitigation Administrator

This public notice does not imply, on the part of the Corps of Engineers or other agencies, either favorable or unfavorable opinion of the work to be performed, but is issued to solicit comments regarding the factors on which final decisions will be based. The modified mitigation banking instrument is described below and the full instrument is included as an attachment. This Public
Notice and all attached plans are also available on the Wilmington District Web Site at 
http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/Missions/RegulatoryPermitProgram.aspx. The complete document is also available at the Wilmington District, Asheville Regulatory Field Office. Please contact 828-271-7980 extension 231, to request a copy.

WATERWAYS AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The proposed modified The umbrella mitigation bank
(Umbrella Bank) would be the basis for the establishment of multiple future proposed bank site all
of which, would be generally located within the city limits of Charlotte but may extend to other
areas within the limits of Mecklenburg County in North Carolina. The geographic service area (GSA)
for this Umbrella Bank includes lands containing warm water streams and non-tidal wetlands in the
Santee and Pee Dee watersheds (Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs) 03050103, 03050101, and 03040105) in
North Carolina. Use of a Bank site should compensate for impacts that occur in the same HUC as the
impacts. Use of the Bank to compensate for impacts beyond the GSA may be considered by the Corps or
the permitting agency on a case-by-case basis.

PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The changes to the MBI include the following:

1)  The authorization for the sponsor to sell credits to anyone seeking them.  The previous MBI
allowed the release of credits only to compensate for impacts undertaken by the City of Charlotte
and Mecklenburg County public projects located within the jurisdictional limits of Mecklenburg
County.
2)  The updates additionally ensure that the MBI complies with 40 CFR Part 230,
Compensatory Mitigation for Losses of Aquatic Resources; Final Rule;

As stated by the sponsor, the goal of the Umbrella Bank is “to restore, enhance, create and/or preserve non-tidal stream and wetland systems and their functions and values to compensate in appropriate circumstances for unavoidable stream and wetland impacts authorized by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act permits in circumstances deemed
appropriate by the USACE after consultation, through any applicable permit review process, with members of the IRT.”

Oversight of Umbrella Bank will be by a group of Federal and State agency representatives collectively referred to as the Interagency Review Team (IRT). The IRT shall be chaired by the Wilmington District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is comprised of representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, N.C. Division of Water
Quality, and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

The actual approval of the use of a mitigation site under the Umbrella Bank for a specific project is the decision of the Corps of Engineers pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The Corps provides no guarantee that any particular individual or general permit will be granted authorization to use this wetland compensatory mitigation bank to compensate for unavoidable wetland impacts associated with a proposed permit, even though mitigation from this bank may be available.

AUTHORITY:  A Public Notice regarding proposed mitigation banks is required pursuant to the rules published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) for Compensatory Mitigation for Losses of Aquatic Resources (33 CFR 332.8(d)(4)).

FEDERAL EVALUATION OF PROPOSAL: The Corps of Engineers is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, state, and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate this proposed mitigation bank. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps in evaluating this proposal. Comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, conservation,
economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, cultural values, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards and flood plain values (in accordance with Executive Order 11988), land use, navigation, shore 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.

Written comments pertinent to the proposed work, as outlined above, will be received in this office, Attention:  Crystal Amschler, Asheville Regulatory Field Office, 151 Patton Avenue, Room 208, Asheville, North Carolina 28801, until 5:00 p.m., November 6, 2015.