Empire Wetland Mitigation Update

for

Tioga County Extension Project

Prepared by:

Upper Susquehanna Coalition

Tioga County Soil and Water Conservation District

183 Corporate Drive

Owego, NY 13827

Prepared for:

Wayne Graham

National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation

Environmental Compliance Manager

1100 State Street

Erie, PA 16501

19 January 2012

Project: Tioga County Extension Project

The Mitigation Goal: As mitigation for the permanent conversion of federally regulated waters of the United States consisting of 1.86 acre of palustrine scrub shrub (PSS) and 4.56 acre palustrine forested (PFO) wetlands to emergent/herbaceous wetlands, the permittee shall provide compensatory mitigation in accordance with the April 10, 2008 Final Compensatory Mitigation Rule.

Background on the USC/TWT:The Upper Susquehanna Coalition (USC), established in 1992, is a network of 19 Soil and Water Conservation Districts in NY and PA covering the headwaters of the Susquehanna River that work under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by each District and both State Conservation Committees. The USC has an active wetland restoration program that includes wetland mitigation projects. Tioga SWCD is the administrator, representing the USC. The Wetland Trust (TWT) is a nonprofit corporationwhose mission is protection, conserve and restore wetlands. It will be the long-term land steward in this projectthrough fee simple ownership of the subject properties.

Synopsis of Mitigation Accomplishments

(2)Mitigation Plan: The Wetland Mitigation Plan, dated 5 May 2011,was written by the USC for Empire and as modified by special conditions in the US Army Corps Provisional Permit No. 2009-01809, dated 22 July 2011. This report provides information on the Permit paragraph F. Mitigation, numbers 1 through 12, 14,15, as follows:

F.Mitigation

1.As mitigation for the permanent conversion of federally regulated waters of the United States consisting of 1.86 acre of palustrine scrub shrub (PSS) and 4.56 acre palustrine forested (PFO) wetlands to emergent/herbaceous wetlands, the permittee shall provide compensatory mitigation in accordance with the April 10, 2008 Final Compensatory Mitigation Rule: This is the mitigation target, which was achieved as described below.

2.The permittee has agreed to contribute $609,300 to The Wetland Trust, which has agreed to dedicate these funds for the following:Funding for 609,300 provided through a contract signed and approved by all parties.

A.Campground Road Mitigation Site II: The Wetland Trust owns this site. "Restore 1.86 acres PSS wetlands, create 1.6 acres PFO wetlands, and preserve 0.6 acre mixed deciduous PFO wetlands. A hydrophytic herbaceous layer element will be established as a foundation for the PSS and PFO plantings." Restoration began on 12 May 2011 and was essentially complete by 16 June, with additional planting and site modifications continuing through 13 November 2011. Attached to this synopsis is the

B.Wayland Site: Purchase 84-acre parcel for preservation/protection: Parcel contains 29.66 acres mixed-deciduous PFO wetlands, 7.1 acres alder scrub shrub swamp, and 40.39 acres upland buffer. Purchase completed on 1 June 2011, with deed in name of The Wetland Trust.

C.Herforth Site:Purchase 11.5 acres for preservation/protection: Parcel contains 5.52 acres hemlock hardwood PFO wetlands interspersed with vernal ponds and includes 5.07 acres of surrounding upland forested habitat. This purchase of two adjacent parcels was completed on 29 December 2011with deed in name of The Wetland Trust.

3.The permittee is required to provide verification of the transfer of mitigation funds to The Wetland Trust. Verification must be sent to the attention of Judy Robinson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 7413 County House Road, Auburn, New York 13021, prior to the placement of any fill in a water of the United States, including wetlands. The permittee remains responsible for the success of the restoration of the wetlands in the area designated for the authorized project. Completed.

4.The REVISED DRAFT Compensatory Mitigation Plan (Plan) dated 5 May 2011, submitted by the Upper Susquehanna Coalition (USC) on behalf of the permittee is hereby accepted as the FINAL Plan and made a part of this permit as Appendix A. The permittee must implement the mitigation in accordance with the plan and any permit conditions. The mitigation performance standards listed in the Special Conditions supersede any conflicting standards listed in the compensatory mitigation plan as listed previously. A report on the performance standards will be submitted in 2012 after a full year's growth. This task is on schedule for submittal in 2012.

5.The permittee is required to place Conservation Easements (Easements) held by a conservation-oriented 3rd party organization on the above three (3) sites that are identified in the Plan on Pages 22 (Wayland), 23 (Herforth), and 25 (Campground Road II)to guarantee preservation for aquatic resources in-perpetuity. The 3rd party holding the Easements must be a qualified grantee under State Law, have the expressed purpose of protecting natural or aquatic resources in perpetuity. Draft 3rd party conservation easements were developed for all three sites, includes information as described in numbers 6, 7,9,10,11 below, have been submitted with this synopsis to the US Army Corps for approval before final filing at the appropriate county clerk officesdescribed in numbers 8 and 12 below.

6.The permittee is required to submit a DRAFT copy of the Easement language to be reviewed and approved by Judy Robinson of this office prior to recordation. The Easement documents shall contain language that clearly states the intention of protecting water resources. The Easement shall contain specific acreage of each mitigation element (i.e., number of acres for PFO preservation, restoration, etc.), legal description (metes and bounds) and surveyed maps for each property boundary and shall also include:

  • Caption (Parties and Date)
  • Recitals, including the protection of water resources and baseline documentation
  • Grant
  • Provisions, including annual easement monitoring
  • Habendum
  • Signatures and Acknowledgements
  • Schedule of Exhibits

7.Restrictions contained in the Easements shall specifically state that the mitigation areas identified in Special Condition 1 must not be adversely impacted by construction or structural modifications including, but not limited to the following:

  • Filling, excavating, dredging, mining or drilling, use of ATVs or other recreational motorized vehicles, removal of topsoil, sand, gravel, rock, minerals, or other materials, nor any building of roads or change in topography of the land in any manner (with the exception of the maintenance of small foot trails), construction or placement of buildings, camping accommodations or mobile homes, fences, signs, billboards or other advertising material, or other structures.
  • No removal, destruction, or cutting of vegetation, spraying with herbicides, grazing of domestic animals, or disturbance or manipulation of the mitigation area without first obtaining Department of the Army authorization. Control of nuisance vegetation, or any other manipulation within the mitigation areas, shall only occur after USACE concurrence that such management practices are necessary to ensure the long-term success of the mitigation program.

8.The approved Easements shall be executed and recorded with the appropriate County Recorder of Records for each site for the preservation of aquatic resources as mitigation for the authorized work.Upon approval by the US Army Corps all easements will be recorded.

9.The mitigation and preserved areas, as depicted in the Plan on Pages 22 (Wayland), 23 (Herforth), and 25 (Campground Road II), must be used solely for the protection of aquatic resources. Any other uses, including but not limited to the placement of buildings, roads, camping accommodations, mobile homes, fences, signs, billboards or other advertising material, dredging, mining or drilling, removal of topsoil, sand, gravel, rock, minerals, or other materials, are prohibited.

10. The permittee must not manipulate or alter the mitigation and preservation areas, water courses, lake shores, marshes or other jurisdictional areas without first obtaining Department of the Army authorization.

11. The primary purpose of the compensatory mitigation site is for the replacement of aquatic resource functions and services permitted under Department of the Army File No. 2009-01809. Any disturbance to this site that may result in the degradation/loss of aquatic resources is expressively prohibited. Activities, such as cutting or spraying vegetation, must be approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prior to initiation, unless already approved in the Plan dated 5 May, 2011.

12.Work authorized by this permit may commence prior to completion of the Easement process describe in Special Conditions 2, 3, and 4 above; however, the certified copy of the recorded Easements must be provided to Judy Robinson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Auburn Field Office, 7413 County House Drive, Auburn, New York 13021, by December 31, 2011 or by an approved extension date.

13. PerformanceStandards for Campground Road Restoration. These will be used to develop the monitoring reports, which will be submitted yearly, beginning in 2012.

14.The permittee must begin construction of the wetland mitigation located on the Campground Road Site II area prior to or concurrent with the filling activities authorized by this permit. The site must be constructed in accordance with the attached drawings as well as any permit conditions. Construction activities, including all planting requirements must be completed by November 15th of the year mitigation construction begins, or by a USACE approved extension date. . Restoration began on 12 May 2011 and was largely completed by 16 June, with planting and site modifications continuing through and completed on13 November 2011.

15.A baseline wetland construction report must be forwarded to this office by December 31 in the year of completion of all mitigation construction activities, or by an approved time extension. For purposes of this Special Condition, “completion” is defined as all activities associated with site grading and seeding and/or planting. The baseline report must include the following:

  • “As-Built” topographic survey of the mitigation area at 0.5 foot contour intervals
  • Photographs from fixed locations with a photo-location map
  • List of plants introduced through seeding and/or planting
  • Water depth and date of measurement from representative locations within the mitigation

area. Sample points will be fixed locations and shall be depicted on a map.

  • List of any modifications/adaptive management activities that differ from the original mitigation plan

An extension was approved until 20 January 201. 2 The Wetland Construction Report is attached to this synopsis.

16.The permittee is required to submit annual monitoring and/or compliance reports for the wetland mitigation project, as described in Special Condition 1A, to this office for the first five (5) years for PSS wetlands and ten (10) years for PFO wetlands following completion of the mitigation construction based upon data collected during each monitored year between June and October. This task is on schedule for submittal in 2012.

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