The Army Corps of Engineers is seeking public comment on Timbermill Wind’s plans to fill in ditches and wetlands for a proposed 45-turbine 1,933-acre wind energy facility near Edenton.
Much of the project area is in what was formerly known as Bear Swamp, which has been historically ditched and drained to convert forested wetlands to agricultural use.
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The Corps’ Wilmington District announced Monday that the company seeks authorization to temporarily impact 187.68 acres of wetlands, 0.15 acres of streams and 5.16 acres of jurisdictional tributaries or ditches for the construction.
The project would permanently impact 27.03 acres of wetlands, 0.03 acres of stream and 0.54 acres of ditches. The project area is part of a roughly 6,300-acre site about 2 miles north of Edenton in Chowan County.
The project would also include 6.1 miles of transmission line to interconnect the facility to Virginia-based Dominion Energy’s existing Winfall to Mackeys transmission line in North Carolina.
The Corps said its general practice is not to make a final permit decision until the North Carolina Department of Division of Water Resources issues, denies or waives state certification as required by Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.
Also, the Corps said it was aware of the presence of species listed as threatened or endangered or designated critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act and would make a final determination on the effects of the proposed project after additional review and completion of any necessary biological assessment or consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or National Marine Fisheries Service.
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Written comments pertinent to the proposed work are being accepted until 5 p.m. May 28. Comments should be submitted to Mr. Anthony D. Scarbraugh, Washington Regulatory Field Office, 2407 West Fifth St., Washington, NC 27889 or email to anthony.d.scarbraugh@usace.army.mil.
