HomeMy WebLinkAboutWetland Delineation 001284006
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Zoe Ann Lamp
From: Touchstone EcoServices [touchstoneeco@earthlink.net]
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 2:50 PM
To: Zoe Ann Lamp
Cc: Jim Pivarnik
Subject: Port of Port Townsend_ North Hangar Project Wetland Letter
Attachments: Wetland Boundary Letter_7-08.pdf
Dear Zoe Ann,
Jim Pivarnik asked me to send you a letter with the most up-to-date information regarding Wetland A at the airport
so that the county could complete the permitting process for their north hangar construction project. J have
attached the letter here.
Please let me know if there is any additional information you need from me to complete the Port's permit.
Diane Brewster
Touchstone EcoServices
125 N. 168th Street
Shoreline, Washington
(206) 801-7154
7/14/2008
'"I'~S
TOUCHSTONE
ECOSERVICES
ZoeAnnLamp
Jefferson County Department of Community Development
621 Sheridan Street
Port Townsend,
W A 98368
July 11,2008
Transmitted hv electronic email to:zlamv@coJefferson.wa.usandiim@portofpt.com
RE: Wetland A Boundary
Hangar Construction Project
Jefferson County International Airport
Port Townsend, Washington
Dear Ms. Lamp:
At the request of Jim Pivarnik, Deputy Director at the Jefferson County International
Airport, Touchstone EcoServices (TES) has prepared this letter regarding the Wetland A
boundary at the airport. The County has requested information on the most recent delineation
and evaluation of Wetland A in conjunction with permit approval for the hangar construction
project located adjacent to the northeast end of the runways. I understand that Mr. Pivarnik has
already provided you with a copy of the Revised Wetland Delineation Report{dated June 15,
2005) and the latest site plan drawings for the hangar project, which include Wetland A
boundaries.
I have been working with Jim Pivarnik and Larry Crockett at the Port since 2002
providing wetland services as part of the 2002 airport master plan update and subsequent related
site improvements. As part ofthe master planning update, while working for Landau Associates,
I completed the 2002 wetland verification. During that effort, we noted that the southern portion
of Wetland A was becoming more marginal as compared to the previous 1998 wetland
delineation report prepared by Pacific Rim Soil & Water. This change in wetland conditions was
evidenced by an increase in facultative-upland and upland plant species and the poor health and
reduced area of obligate wetland vegetation. The 2005 Revised Wetland Delineation Report, that
I also prepared while at Landau Associates, re-rated the onsite wetlands using the Washington
State Department of Ecology's newly revised wetland rating system. This was done in
preparation for submittal of the hangar site plan and the associated critical area reporting to be in
compliance with both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wetland reports requirements
and the Jefferson County Unified Development Code
I have been out to the airport on numerous occasions since the wetland verification effort,
including site visits with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) regarding the impacts to the
northwest lobe of Wetland A. During that time, it was noted by both myself and the Corps staff
that the south end of Wetland A was getting drier than had been observed in 2002. This change
in wetland conditions was evidenced by the presence of wetland soils, hydrology, and a plant
community dominated by facultative and facultative-wetland vegetation in approximately the
northwestern third of the 1998 original wetland delineation. In the remainder of the original
wetland delineation, wetland hydrology was lacking and a well-established plant community of
facultative, facultative-upland and upland vegetation is now present.
However, the Corps indicated that to change the Wetland A configuration from its 1998
delineated boundaries as documented in Corps files, the Port would need to conduct a year-long
hydrology study to document the lack of wetland hydrology and determine the new southern
wetland boundary. Because the Port is completing the hangar project using a grant from the
FAA and because the FAA required that work on the stormwater pond and grading for the
hangars was to begin that same year, the Port chose to leave the Wetland A boundary as it was
originally delineated in order to comply with FAA grant requirements;
Please let me know if you need any additional information about the Wetland A
boundary.
Best Regards,
~~A
Diane Brewster
Professional Wetland Scientist, Certification # 1721
Cc: Jim Pivarnik, Port of Port Townsend Deputy Director
Wilcox Enhancement Plan
June 2008
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Touchstone EcoServices