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4.a) Holloway Wetland Delineation ReportWetland Delineation Report 16987 197th Street N. Scandia, Minnesota Prepared for: Mark Holloway July 21, 2014 BES Project No. 2014.025 Wetland Delineation Report Mark Holloway Site, 16987 197th Street N. Scandia, Minnesota July 21, 2014 Background Bopray Environmental Services LLC (BES) has completed a wetland delineation on the an approximately 1.9 acre site located in the SE ¼, of Section 30, T32N, R19W, City of Scandia, Washington County, Minnesota (Figure 1). The site consists of a wooded lot on the St. Croix River with a cabin on the east half of the lot and a garage near the south property line. The topography of the site gently slopes east with a steep slope along the St. Croix River according to the U.S.G.S. quadrangle topographic map (Figure 2). On July 19, 2014 BES completed the delineated of the wetland boundaries on the site. The approximate site and wetland boundaries are shown on an aerial photo in Figure 3. The wetland boundaries were surveyed by Hult & Hebeisen PA and incorporated in to the site plans which will be provided separately from this report. The purpose of this delineation was to identify wetlands on the site for site planning and wetland regulatory purposes. Methodologies The site was evaluated for wetlands based on the methods contained in the Level 2, “Routine Determinations“ section of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “Wetland Delineation Manual” (Technical Report Y87-1, 1987) and the Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual: Northcentral and Northeast Region. This is the methodology currently used to determine wetlands by both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for implementation of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and by the Minnesota W etland Conservation Act. Soil colors described herein follow “Munsell Soil color Wetland Delineation Report 16987 187th Street N., Scandia, MN BES Project No. 2014-025 July 21, 2014 2 Charts”. According to the Climatology Working Groups’ webpage, the area was at 200-225% of normal year to date precipitation at the time of the site visit. Results Wetland A Wetland A is a hardwood swamp that originates from a groundwater seep on the west part of the site and forms a small stream that drains across the lot to the east and into the St. Croix River. The vegetation is dominated by black ash (Fraxinus nigra), skunk gooseberry (Ribes glandulosum), spotted jewel weed (Impatiens capensis) and skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). The vegetation community met the dominance test (100%) and has a prevalence index of 2.11. This wetland is classified as a Palustrine, Broad-leaved, Deciduous, Saturated, (PFO1B) basin. Soils in the basin consisted of more than 24 inches of N 2/0 muck (A1). Near the center of the west half of the lot the wetland narrows into a small flowing stream (A1) with a bedrock bottom. Free water (C2) was observed at a depth of 20 inches and saturation (A3) was at 0 inches in the wetland soil pit at the time of the site visit. The other wetland hydrology indicators observed in the basin included, geomorphic position (D2) and a positive FAC-neutral test (D5). The adjacent upland vegetation is dominated by sugar maple (Acer saccharum), black ash, yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), tartan honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica), enchanters nightshade (Circaea canadensis), penn sedge (Carex pensylvanica), skunk cabbage, woodland sedge (Carex blanda), jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and hay scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula). The vegetation community met the dominance test (53.85%) but had a prevalence index of 3.43. The upland soils consisted of seven inches of 7.5YR 3/1 fine sand, over five inches of 7.5YR 3/2 sand, over seven inches of 7.5YR 3/4 sand, over 7.5YR 3/4 sand with 5% 10YR 4/6 iron concentrations. Free water and saturated soil was not observed within a depth of 25 inches in the upland soil pit. The wetland boundary was generally staked along a break in topography and vegetation community. As the stream from Wetland A flows east the slope changes from about 2% to more than 20%, and the channel narrows to only 2-3 feet wide. This stream joins the St. Croix River near the northeast corner of the lot. There is a similar stream that just encroaches on the southeast corner of the lot as well. Between the two streams the shoreline of the St. Croix River is along a 20% slope. The wetland boundary along the River was about two feet higher than the water lever and appeared to have several seep areas. Another sample point (SA-X) was established on the south side of the driveway adjacent to sample point SA-W. The vegetation is dominated by black ash, sugar maple, red pine (Pinus resinosa), prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum), common buckthorn, skunk cabbage, Virginia creeper, enchanter’s nightshade, and jack-in-the-pulpit. The vegetation community failed the dominance test (50%) and had a prevalence index of 3.07. The soil consisted of 16 inches of N Wetland Delineation Report 16987 187th Street N., Scandia, MN BES Project No. 2014-025 July 21, 2014 3 2/0 silt loam over mixed 10YR 5/2, 10YR 6/2, 10YR 5/3, and 10YR 7/1 weathered sandstone (A12). Free water and saturated soil was not observed within a depth of 27 inches in the upland soil pit. This area fails to meet all three wetland criteria. The National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) (Figure 4) identifies the St. Croix River as the only wetland/riverine resource on the site. The NWI map classifies the River as a Riverine, Upper Perennial, Unconsolidated Bottom, Permanently flooded (R2UBH) waterway. The DNR Protected Waters Inventory map (Figure 5) does identify the St. Croix River as a public waters wetlands on the east side of the site. The Washington County Soils Survey (Figure 6) shows the site is mapped predominantly as Copaston loam (100B, 100C), with a small area of Faxon silt loam (408) encroaching on the south property line. The Copaston soil map units are listed as having 0% hydric soils. The Faxon soil map unit is listed as having 85% hydric soils. Wetland Classification BES’ classification of the wetlands is based on observations of the site and is include in Table 1 below. Table 1. Summary of Wetland Characteristics Basin Class Circ. 39 Type Isolated Y/N Comments Wetland A Hardwood Swamp, (seepage area) PFO1B 7 N Wetland A is hardwood seepage area on the west half of the lot. A small stream flows from Wetland A to the St. Croix River. The wetland boundary along the River followed a line of seepage about 2-3 feet above the water level. Jurisdiction Table 1 indicates whether the wetlands are isolated or not for purposes of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) jurisdiction under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. This determination is made by BES in the field at the time of the delineation and is essentially our best professional opinion based on the portion of the particular wetland we observed. In some cases, only a small portion of the wetland edge that is present on the property being delineated is evaluated. If no inlets or outlets are observed in the evaluated area, and none are evident on topographic maps or aerial photos, we are inclined to determine the wetland is isolated. However, since the entire wetland is sometimes not assessed, it is possible that inlets and/or outlets do exist and that the wetland has a surface connection to a federal “navigable” water and, thus, falls within the jurisdiction of Section 404. Therefore, a determination by BES of whether a particular Wetland Delineation Report 16987 187th Street N., Scandia, MN BES Project No. 2014-025 July 21, 2014 4 wetland is isolated or not should not be considered a final determination with regard to COE jurisdiction until the COE concurs with the determination. Wetlands A does have a surface connection directly to the St. Croix River and therefore the COE will likely take jurisdiction over the wetland on this site. The St. Croix River is identified on the protected waters inventory so the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will have jurisdiction over the River to the Ordinary High Water (OHW) elevation of 680 feet. Wetland A and any wetlands along the St. Croix River above the OHW are regulated under the Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act (WCA) which is administered by the City of Scandia and the Washington Conservation District. A copy of this report should be submitted to the Corps of Engineers and the LGU responsible for administering the WCA. Supplying these agencies with reports will serve the dual purpose of determining which agencies have jurisdiction and beginning the process of obtaining concurrence with the delineated wetland boundaries. If the on-site wetland may be affected during site construction, all necessary permits should be obtained prior to construction. Additional information regarding the wetlands’ vegetation, soils and hydrology and the site survey is included in Appendix A. Ground level photos of the wetlands are included in Figure 7, 8 and 9. The information contained herein represents the findings of BES during wetland evaluation activities conducted on July 19, 2014 at the referenced site. Respectfully, Bopray Environmental Services LLC ______________________________ _______________________ Kelly J. Bopray Date Professional Soil Scientist Certified Wetland Delineator Enclosures Figure 1. Location Map 16987 197th Street N. Scandia, Minnesota Project No. 2014.025  N Not to Scale Approximate Site Location Figure 2. U.S.G.S. Quadrangle Map 16987 197th Street N. Scandia, Minnesota Project No. 2014.025  N Not to Scale Approximate Survey Limits Figure 3. Aerial Photo With Approximate Wetland Boundaries 16987 197th Street N. Scandia, Minnesota Project No. 2014.025 Wetland A Approximate Site Boundary Upland SA-U SA-W SA-X Upland Figure 4. National Wetland Inventory Map 16987 197th Street N. Scandia, Minnesota Project No. 2014.025  N Not to Scale Approximate Site Boundaries Approximate Site Boundaries Figure 5. DNR Protected Waters Inventory Map 16987 197th Street N. Scandia, Minnesota Project No. 2014.025  N Not to Scale Approximate Site Location Figure 6. Washington County Soil Survey Map 16987 197th Street N. Scandia, Minnesota Project No. 2014.025  N Not to Scale Soil Map Unit Legend 100B Copaston loam, 0-6% slopes, 0% Hydric soils 100C Copaston loam, 6-12% slopes, 0% Hydric soils 408 Faxon silt loam, 85% Hydric soils Approximate Survey Limits Figure 7. Ground Photos 16987 197th Street N. Scandia, Minnesota Project No. 2014.025 Wetland A looking east from the head of the seepage area to where the wetland narrows into a small stream channel. The soil in Wetland A (SA-W) consisted of think dark muck and mucky silt loam. Figure 8. Ground Photos 16987 197th Street N. Scandia, Minnesota Project No. 2014.025 The upland forest (SA-U) on the north side of Wetland A. The soil profile at SA-U was sandy and had high chroma colors with no redoximorphic features. Figure 9. Ground Photos 16987 197th Street N. Scandia, Minnesota Project No. 2014.025 This is the small stream channel that flows from Wetland A to the St. Croix River along the north side of the lot. The St. Croix River looking south. The east side of the lot is an abrupt 20% slope with numerous boulders along the shoreline. The wetland edge followed a seepage line about two-three feet above the water line. Appendix A