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Home My WebLink AboutAppendix O.0 - Watercourse Summary Memo 03-24-2021MEMORANDUM TO: CITY OF BOZEMAN ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT BRIAN HEASTON P.E.; LANCE LEHIGH P.E.; KARL JOHNSON FROM: BRIDGER LAND GROUP (MATT HAUSAUER P.E.) SUBJECT: BLACKWOOD GROVES SUBDIVISION – WATERCOURSE SETBACKS DATE: 3/17/2021 CC: C&H ENGINEERING AND SURVEYING (ETHAN COTE P.E.) The purpose of this memo is to summarize the watercourse determinations from a meeting held on 2/24/2021 and subsequent email correspondence between the City of Bozeman Engineering Department and Bridger Land Group. The Blackwood Groves Subdivision is a 120-acre residential emphasis mixed-use development in south Bozeman, east of South 19th Avenue, west of Sacajawea Middle School and south of Alder Creek Subdivision. The property contains five (5) waterways – all of which are irrigation ditch laterals of the Middle Creek Ditch Company. The Bozeman Municipal Code (BMC) sets criteria for if a waterway is subject to watercourse setbacks as defined in Sec. 38.410.100 BMC. A summary of each waterway and the watercourse setback determinations is provided below – a summary exhibit of these waterways is attached to this memo: WL-1 (“Alder Creek”) Type: Natural Channel/Irrigation Ditch Lateral – Middle Creek Ditch Company. City Watercourse Setback Required: Yes. 310 Permit Required: Yes – only at the Figgins Creek confluence. 404 Permit Required: No. Description: Natural drainage depression that is controlled by a headgate off the Middle Creek Ditch near Goldenstein Lane. This waterway is a lateral of the Middle Creek Ditch Company but likely contains naturally-occurring drainage so is subject to the City setback requirements. WL-1A (Irrigation Ditch) Type: Irrigation Ditch Lateral – Middle Creek Ditch Company. City Watercourse Setback Required: No. 310 Permit Required: No. 404 Permit Required: No. Description: Irrigation ditch cut along the south property boundary (running east-west) to divert flows from a drain tile installed on the agricultural land to the south. WL-1B (Irrigation Ditch) Type: Irrigation Ditch Lateral – Middle Creek Ditch Company. City Watercourse Setback Required: No. 310 Permit Required: No. 2 404 Permit Required: No. Description: Irrigation ditch cut through the middle of the property boundary (running north/south). The ditch is controlled by a head gate located in the southeast section of the property. WL-1C (“Figgins Creek”) Type: Irrigation Ditch Lateral – Middle Creek Ditch Company. City Watercourse Setback Required: Yes. 310 Permit Required: Yes – up to confluence with Alder Creek. 404 Permit Required: No. Description: Irrigation ditch excavated along the east property boundary (running north/south). The flow in the ditch is sourced from a groundwater seep to the south of the property near the northeast corner of the Eagle Mount property. A City watercourse setback is applied to this waterway since this appears to be a naturally-occurring seep. WL-1D (Irrigation Ditch) Type: Irrigation Ditch Lateral – Middle Creek Ditch Company. City Watercourse Setback Required: No. 310 Permit Required: No. 404 Permit Required: No. Description: Irrigation ditch excavated along the west property boundary (running north/south). The ditch is controlled by a head gate off the Middle Creek Ditch located approximately ¼ mile southwest of the 19th Ave/Goldenstein Lane intersection. ATTACHMENTS: 1) Exhibit – City Watercourse Jurisdictional Determination 2) Army Corps of Engineers Jurisdictional Determination Letter DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, OMAHA DISTRICT HELENA REGULATORY OFFICE 10 WEST 15TH STREET, SUITE 2200 HELENA, MONTANA 59626 REPLY TO ATTENTION OF March 8, 2021 Regulatory Branch Montana State Program Corps No. NWO-2021-00319-MTH Subject: Jurisdictional Determination (JD) - Middle Creek Ditch – Blackwood Groves Subdivision Attn: Mr. Grant Syth Blackwood Land Fund, LLC 140 Village Crossing Way, Unit 3B Bozeman, Montana 59715 Dear Mr. Syth: We are responding to your request for an approved jurisdictional determination regarding the above-referenced project. The 117.47-acre project site is located near Middle Creek Ditch, within Section 24, Township 2 S, Range 5 E, at Latitude 45.643923°, Longitude -111.052857°, Bozeman, Gallatin County, Montana. Based on available information, an approved jurisdictional determination has been completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for the ditches and adjacent wetlands identified in your request and is enclosed for your information. We concur with the estimate of waters of the United States, as depicted in the previously submitted project maps. Approximately 0.46-acre of an intermittent ditch, named Middle Creek Ditch (NWW-1), NWW- 1a, NWW-1c, and NWW-1d, are present within the survey area. These waters are not regulated under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Additionally, approximately 2.05 acres of palustrine emergent wetland, named WL-1, WL-1a, WL-1b, WL-1c, and WL-1d, are present within the survey area. These waters are not regulated under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Our basis for this determination regarding the intermittent ditch portions is the application of the USACE definition of waters of the United States. Middle Creek Ditch (NWW-1), NWW-1a, NWW-1c, and NWW-1d do not relocate a tributary, were not constructed in a tributary or otherwise adjacent wetland and thus, are not regulated under the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR). As such, USACE has determined they meet the (b)(5) exclusion identified in the NWPR and no further action by USACE is required for the currently proposed project. Our basis for this determination regarding the wetlands portions is the application of the USACE definition of waters of the United States. WL-1, WL-1a, WL-1b, WL-1c, and WL-1d do not meet the definition of adjacent wetlands and thus, are not regulated under the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR). As such, USACE has determined they meet the (b)(1) exclusion identified in the NWPR and no further action by USACE is required for the currently proposed project. -2- This letter contains an approved jurisdictional determination for your subject site. If you object to this determination, you may request an administrative appeal under Corps regulations at 33 CFR Part 331. A Notification of Appeal Process (NAP) and Request for Appeal (RFA) form is enclosed. If you request to appeal this determination you must submit a completed RFA form to the Northwestern Division Office at the following address: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division ATTN: Melinda Larsen, Regulatory Appeals Review Officer 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite 400 Portland, OR 97232 Email: Melinda.M.Larsen@usace.army.mil In order for an RFA to be accepted by the Corps, the Corps must determine that it is complete, that it meets the criteria for appeal under 33 C.F.R. part 331.5, and that it has been received by the Division Office within 60 days of the date of the NAP. Should you decide to submit an RFA form, it must be received at the above address by May 7, 2021. It is not necessary to submit an RFA form to the Division Office if you do not object to the determination in this letter. This determination has been conducted to identify the limits of Corps of Engineers' Clean Water Act jurisdiction for the particular site identified in this request. This determination may not be valid for the wetland conservation provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985. If you or your tenant are U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program participants, or anticipate participation in USDA programs, you should request a certified wetland determination from the local office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service prior to starting work. This determination is valid for five (5) years from the date of this letter, unless new information warrants revision of the determination before the expiration date. Please refer to identification number NWO-2021-00319-MTH in any correspondence concerning this project. If you have any questions, please contact Jerin Borrego at 10 W 15th Street, Suite 2200, Helena, MT 59626, by email at Jerin.E.Borrego@usace.army.mil, or by telephone at 406-441-1364. Sincerely, Sage L. Joyce Montana Program Manager Enclosures: NAP/RFA Delineation Map Cc: Ms. Lynn Bacon, TerraQuatic, LLC, via email at lbacon@terraquaticllc.com