PROJECTS

 
MIDDLE OCONEE RIVER MITIGATION BANK
JACKSON COUNTY, GA

WEC permitted this commercial stream and wetland mitigation bank located in Jackson County, Georgia. Stream and wetland restoration actions at this site included the selective breaching of a man-made levee located along the Middle Oconee River, which reconnected this segment of the river to its historic floodplain. The permitting effort included preparation of a mitigation banking prospectus, coordination of site and project related meetings with the appropriate regulatory personnel, collection of pertinent baseline data, preparation of a mitigation banking instrument, and negotiations with regulatory agencies. Currently WEC conducts annual monitoring at this site, and manages stream and wetland credit sales.




BIG COTTON INDIAN CREEK MITIGATION BANK
CLAYTON COUNTY, GA

WEC permitted this commercial stream and wetland mitigation bank located in Clayton County, Georgia. Stream restoration actions at this site included the restoration of a channelized and entrenched tributary to Big Cotton Indian Creek by relocating the stream to a constructed stream channel designed to mimic reference conditions. The permitting effort included preparation of a mitigation banking prospectus, coordination of site and project related meetings with the appropriate regulatory personnel, collection of pertinent baseline data, preparation of a mitigation banking instrument, and negotiations with regulatory agencies. Currently WEC conducts annual monitoring at this site, and manages stream and wetland credit sales.




COLONIAL PIPELINE COMPANY MAINTENANCE PROJECTS
MS, AL, TN, GA, SC, NC, VA AND MD

Colonial Pipeline Company transports refined petroleum products along their network of pipelines that extends from the Texas coast to New Jersey. These pipelines require constant maintenance, typically involving the repair of corroded, dented, or exposed pipeline segments. Occasionally these maintenance projects encroach into streams and wetlands, requiring permitting. WEC has permitted such maintenance projects in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. The extent of our permitting efforts has varied from state to state, and was dependent upon the conditions of the individual streams and wetlands that have been disturbed. In most cases our permitting effort has included a survey of the site for jurisdictional waters and threatened and endangered species and the submittal of a permit application or notification to the appropriate State and/or federal regulatory agencies.





COLONIAL PIPELINE COMPANY
KNOXVILLE, TN EXPANSION PROJECT

WEC obtained an Aquatic Resources Alteration Permit (ARAP) and authorization from the US Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District under Nationwide Permit 12 for the replacement of two 10-inch diameter pipeline segments with 16-inch diameter pipe. One segment extended along a 43-mile corridor from Ooltewah, TN to Niota, TN, and the other segment extended along a 24-mile corridor from Lenoir City, TN to Knoxville, TN. WEC field delineated jurisdictional waters along both corridors, surveyed these waters with GPS, and surveyed for protected species in areas of potential habitat. Additionally, WEC designed and implemented mitigation for the wetland impacts associated with the project, and continues to monitor the success of these efforts.





HENRY COUNTY WATERSHED BIOASSESSMENT AND LONG-TERM BIOMONITORING
HENRY COUNTY, GA

WEC conducted a county-wide biological watershed assessment on behalf of the Henry County Water and Sewerage Authority as required by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division for the expansion of the County’s water pollution control plants. This effort included sampling fish and benthic invertebrates, conducting physical habitat assessments, and measuring of in situ water quality parameters at 40 locations within and adjacent to the County. The results of this effort were submitted to EPD, and incorporated into the County’s watershed modeling effort. In accordance with the County’s Watershed Protection Plan, WEC continues to sample 12 of these sites every other year.





ALACULSY MITIGATION BANK
MURRAY COUNTY, GA

WEC permitted this commercial stream and wetland mitigation bank located in Murray County, Georgia. Stream mitigation actions at this 510-acre site include riparian restoration and preservation adjacent to approximately 7.6 miles of the Conasauga River and its tributaries in agricultural fields of the Alaculsy Valley, as well as riparian areas damaged by southern pine beetle, (Dendroctonus frontalis) infestation on the surrounding slopes. Wetland mitigation actions included hydrologic and vegetative restoration of a wetland area in an agricultural field located in the floodplain of the Conasauga River. The permitting effort included preparation of a mitigation banking prospectus, coordination of site and project related meetings with the appropriate regulatory personnel, collection of pertinent baseline data, preparation of a mitigation banking instrument, and negotiations with regulatory agencies. Baseline monitoring by WEC personnel verified the presence of the state endangered and federally threatened blue shiner (Cyprinella caerulea) and state threatened holiday darter (Etheostoma brevirostrum) within the portion of the Conasauga River flowing through the site. WEC currently conducts annual monitoring of this mitigation bank.

Blue Shiner State-endangered and federally threatened

Holiday Darter State-threatened

TURNING STONE CASINO RESORT
ATUNYOTE AND KALUHYAT GOLF COURSES
ONEIDA COUNTY, NY

WEC personnel field delineated and GPS-surveyed streams and wetlands at the Turning Stone Casino Resort golf course sites in Oneida County, New York. WEC assisted designers Tom Fazio and Robert Trent Jones, Jr. in the course designs with regards to minimizing impacts to the streams and wetlands. Additionally, WEC designed and implemented an off-site mitigation area, which mitigated for the unavoidable stream and wetland impacts at these sites.






CARBO CERAMICS
WILKINSON COUNTY, GA

WEC obtained an Individual Section 404 Permit (IP) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District for the construction of a CARBO Ceramics manufacturing facility and railway spur. The railway spur resulted in impacts to 2.3 acres of wetlands adjacent to Commissioners Creek. WEC delineated the jurisdictional waters on the project site, surveyed the jurisdictional waters boundaries using GPS, surveyed Commissioners Creek for the endangered robust redhorse (Moxostoma robustrum), and prepared the IP application.
 

Daimler-Chrysler Facility
Savannah, Georgia

WEC was selected by the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism to assist them in locating and permitting a viable “Mega-Site” suitable for an automobile manufacturing facility. Prior to the site location, WEC was the lead in the development and preparation of the “Mega-Site” site selection criteria (e.g., size, rail, transportation, utility infrastructure, etc.) that would later be incorporated into the required alternative site analysis needed for USACE Section 404 permitting, as well as for use in future “Mega-Site” site selections . WEC evaluated various sites with regard to their suitability, as well developed and prepared the necessary USACE permit for 132 acres of wetland impact and supporting documentation (wetlands, protected species, habitat classification archeology, alternative layout configurations, mitigation, etc.). The USACE permit was issued with 90 days of permit submittal clearing the way for the Georgia site to be selected by Daimler- Chrysler over several other sites in the U.S.


Kia Automobile Manufacturing Facility
West Point, Georgia

The professionals at WEC assisted the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) in locating the Kia Automobile Manufacturing Facility in Georgia. WEC evaluated 4 large land tracts (2,000 -3,000 acres) to determine the preferred site with respect to potential impacts to wetland/stream areas, endangered species, flood plains, and cultural resources related to the siting of Kia’s first North American manufacturing facility. Following the selection of a 3,000 –acre site in West Point, Georgia, WEC performed a field delineation and GPS survey of the wetland/stream boundaries, endangered species surveys, managed the cultural resource survey and reporting. These data were used to prepare a Section 404 USACE permit application, as well as the EPD stream buffer variance application for the development of the site, which included the Kia facility, a new DOT interchange and access road on I-85, relocation of an existing Georgia Power substation and power line, development of a CSX rail spur to serve the Kia facility, as well as numerous support utilities (sewer, water, natural gas, fiber optic, etc.). The above applications included a detail alternative site analysis, stormwater management plan, and mitigation plan to off set the impacts to 10,000 linear feet of stream and 25 acres of wetlands. The permits were obtained from the USACE and EPD approximately 3 months from submittal.