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~ I <br /> <br /> . <br /> January 31, 2006 <br /> ~ FEB p r 2006 „ <br /> y^ " ~ John Otsyula . <br /> Oregon Department of State Lands <br /> 775 Summer Street NE <br /> Salem, Oregon 97301-1279 <br /> COYOTE CREEK <br /> ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, Michele Hanson <br /> INC. US Army Corps of Engineers <br /> 1600 Executive Parkway, Suite 210 <br /> Natural Resource Inventory, Eugene, Oregon 97401 <br /> fLrsessment, Ecological Design <br /> and Permit Facilitation Re: Joint Permit Application Updates the Airport Road Realignment Project <br /> City of Eugene Airport /Lane County <br /> Corps Permit #1999-01575 /DSL 34526-RF,/ CCES #04-03 <br /> Dear John and Shelley, <br /> Attached please find the revised and updated Joint Permit Application for <br /> the Airport Road Realignment Project in Lane County. The project has recently <br /> undergone an increase in wetland boundaries and, subsequently, in wetland. impact <br /> ! calculations. The critical issue in these changes has been the difficulty in <br /> establishing "average" hydrology during 1) a period of drought (winter 2005) and <br /> 2) a period of extreme precipitation (winter 200h7. <br /> ' First, here is a little project history: <br /> The notice to proceed with delineation, rare plant surveys and Joint Permit <br /> Application preparation was received by me from the City of Eugene in mid-April <br /> 2004. March 2004 was the fourth driest March on record in Eugene. Every month <br /> was below normal rainfall in 2004, except October. Needless to say, there was no <br /> adequate hydrology in winter /spring 2004. I conducted some preliminary <br /> ' delineation field work, during the summer, collecting information regarding hydric <br /> soils for informing the design process. <br /> Additional field work was conducted in February 2005. Unfortunately, <br /> winter 2005 was one of the driest on records, and the hydrologic information <br /> gained was not representative of average hydrologic conditions. However, the <br /> project was progressing. We submitted the delineation, rare plant surveys and JPA <br /> May 9, 2005. . <br /> ' The Corps permit was issued on August 2, 2005, utilizing the multiphase <br /> permit for this last phase of the Eugene Airport Expansion projects. <br /> Review of the delineation was begun in September, 2005. In October, <br /> additional historic aerial photographs were provided to DSL and, on October 28, a <br /> set of aerial photos from 2/25/2002 were submitted, showing potential wetland <br /> areas. However, even these aerials were taken during a period of below average <br /> ' 2766 t Crow Road rainfall. In fact, 7 of the last 10 years have had below average rainfall. <br /> Eugene, OR 97402 I provided additional information to the state on the delineation in <br /> Tel. (541) 484-7336 December, and met with DSL staff at the site on January 13. At that time, we had <br /> Mobile (541) 521-2806 fallen into the pattern of intense rainfall we are still operating in.'The review could <br /> Fax. (541) 484-1233 not be conducted due to the excessive precipitation. <br /> I met with DSL staff later in January, and developed mapping that <br /> CoyoteCreekES@peoplepc. com represented the extreme extent of potentially jurisdictional areas. I was advised <br /> that this would allow for concurrence and subsequent permit application by the <br /> state. I was also advised that the delineation could be reviewed later in the spring <br /> <br />