Public Notice ISSUED: 11 February 2019 EXPIRES: 13 March 2019

Transcription

1 SPONSOR: Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources Public Notice ISSUED: 11 February 2019 EXPIRES: 13 March 2019 REFER TO: MVP JTB SECTION: Clean Water Act 1. WETLAND COMPENSATORY MITIGATION BANK PROPOSAL 2. SPECIFIC INFORMATION SPONSOR S ADDRESS: Board of Water and Soil Resources 520 Lafayette Road North St. Paul, Minnesota PROJECT LOCATION: The project site is located in Section 35, Township 111 North, Range 39 West, Redwood County, Minnesota. Latitude , Longitude BANK SERVICE AREA: The proposed bank is located within Upper Mississippi River Basin in Minnesota, also referred to as Bank Service Area (BSA) 9. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: The sponsor is proposing to develop the Stolp Wetland Bank. The proposed bank site is approximately 77.7 acres in size, including upland buffer areas. NEED AND OBJECTIVE OF PROJECT: The sponsor is proposing to re-establish and rehabilitate the vegetation and hydrology of five wetland basins to generate approximately credits for the Local Government Road Wetland Replacement Program (LGRWP). BSA 9 has a shortage of LGRWP credits and is projected to run out of credits in ESTABLISHMENT, OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT: The sponsor is proposing to restore hydrology by disabling the subsurface tile and open ditch drainage network. Construction strategies include blocking tile, filling the ditch, construction of embankments and the installation of a water control structure. The sponsor proposes to restore by rehabilitation, acres of Fresh Wet Meadow and Shallow Marsh type wetland. The sponsor also proposes the reestablishment of acres of shallow marsh and fresh wet meadow wetland and acres of upland buffer. OWNERSHIP AND LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT: The bank sponsor and credit owner will be the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). Prior to construction, BWSR will purchase an easement from the fee title owner, Jay Stolp, authorizing the agency and its agents to perform restoration and monitoring activities within the project area. Long term maintenance of the project is a condition of the easement and is the responsibility of the fee-title owner. TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY AND QUALIFICATIONS: BWSR is staffed by professional engineers, hydrologists, soil scientists and vegetation specialists, who have experience completing hundreds of wetland restoration projects in Minnesota for both regulatory purposes and conservation programs, such as Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) and the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).

2 Regulatory Branch (File No. MVP JTB) ECOLOGICAL SUITABILITY: Site conditions are favorable for restoring the natural hydrology regime. Shallow embankments will be used to prevent impacts on adjacent lands, but will not impound water beyond the natural condition. This site is located in a highly altered landscape, of intensive row cropping on all sides but one. To the east is a natural landscape consisting of the Gales WMA, a 239 acre natural area. Water from the proposed bank site flows into a tile line that enters an unnamed ditched stream, which flows north through a large basin with the WMA. Restoration of this site will expand wildlife habitat and corridors. HYDROLOGY: The drainage system on-site is a combination of sub surface tile, an open ditch, and graded draws. Water can enter the site through precipitation and two road culverts, one along the north side just east of the ditch, and one along the western side south of the driveway. Subsurface tile lines converge at various points to outlet into the open ditch, which winds through the center of the site flowing southeast. Waters collected by the ditch exit the site to the south, entering a buried 10- inch tile line. Graded draws for Wetland 4 and Wetland 5 exist to discharge pooled water into the road ditch. CURRENT LAND USES: The 77.7 acre site is typical of the prairie pothole region, with a rolling topography and artificial drainage features to make the soils more productive for cropping. Elevations range from 1105 Mean Sea Level (MSL) to 1121 MSL, with a 16 foot drop in elevation between the highest elevation and the lowest point, which is the outlet for the site. The proposed mitigation bank area includes areas in row crop production and an open ditch. A network of tile lines outlets into the open ditch, which flows to the southeast exiting the site into buried tile. Gravel roads border the northern and eastern edges of the site. An existing building site is in the northeast corner, with multiple structures. COORDINATION WITH RESOURCE AGENCIES: This project has been coordinated with the following members of the Interagency Review Team (IRT) and other resource agencies: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 3. FEDERALLY-LISTED THREATENED OR ENDANGERED WILDLIFE OR PLANTS OR THEIR CRITICAL HABITAT None were identified by the bank sponsor or are known to exist in the action area. However, Redwood County is within the known historic range for the following Federally-listed species: Northern Long-Eared Bat Prairie bush clover Hibernates in caves and mines swarming in surrounding wooded areas in autumn. Roosts and forages in upland forests during spring and summer. Native Prairie on well-drained soils. This notice is being coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Any comments it may have concerning Federally-listed threatened or endangered wildlife or plants or their critical habitat will be considered in our final assessment of the described work. 4. JURISDICTION This proposal is being reviewed in accordance with the practices for documenting Corps jurisdiction under Sections 9 & 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act identified in Regulatory Guidance Letter Page 2 of 3

3 Regulatory Branch (File No. MVP JTB) 5. HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL The Corps will review information on known cultural resources and/or historic properties within and adjacent to the project area. The Corps will also consider the potential effects of the project on any properties that have yet to be identified. The results of this review and the Corps determination of effect will be coordinated with the State Historic Preservation Officer independent of this public notice. Any adverse effects on historic properties will be resolved prior to the Corps authorization of the work in connection with this project. 6. PUBLIC HEARING REQUESTS Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. Requests for public hearings shall state, in detail, the reasons for holding a public hearing. A request may be denied if substantive reasons for holding a hearing are not provided or if there is otherwise no valid interest to be served. 7. REPLIES/COMMENTS Interested parties are invited to submit to this office written facts, arguments, or objections within 30 days of the date of this notice. These statements should bear upon the suitability of the location and the adequacy of the project and should, if appropriate, suggest any changes believed to be desirable. Comments received may be forwarded to the applicant. A copy of the full prospectus submitted by the Sponsor is available to the public for review upon request. Replies may be addressed to: Regulatory Branch St. Paul District Corps of Engineers 180 Fifth Street East, Suite 700 St. Paul, MN Or, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROJECT, call Justin Berndt at the St. Paul office of the Corps, telephone number To receive Public Notices by , go to: and add your information in the New Registration Box. Enclosure(s) Page 3 of 3

4 MVP JTB Figure 1 of 2 Figure 1. Location map of the proposed Stolp Wetland Bank Site within the Sleepy Eye Creek minor watershed, of the Cottonwood River major watershed, of Bank Service Area 9.

5 MVP JTB Figure 2 of 2 APPENDIX A. CONCEPT PLAN OF PROPOSED CONDITIONS