Correspondence between

Mike, As | mentioned, in August of 2014 | learned that the Lapeer County Road Commission (LCRC) had requested that the KWA widen Norway Lake Road through the Lapeer State Game Area (LSGA) after KWA installs the pipeline in the road. The attached letter from Larry Osborn (WadeTrim on behalf of the KWA) to Jennifer Olson (DNR) describes the request. There are at least two components of this work that could substantially slow progress in constructing the KWA line through the LSGA. The first is that the state (DNR) apparently owns the land on which the added road width would be placed. Typically, 1 xxxEND_PAGE:deq16_b3_0014_0687_086 these lands are purchased using federal dollars and the federal government seeks compensation if the lands are no longer used for fish and wildlife habitat. Also, the centerline of the road may not match the centerline of the ROW, which could further complicate matters, especially if the LCRC requires that the road be moved to match the ROW (or vice versa). The DNR's response to Mr. Osborn's letter will probably address these issues. However, as a point of reference, it took 10 months for the DNR to grant the KWA a permanent easement at another location on the route. The second complication is that much of land beside Norway Lake Road through the LSGA is forested wetland that is protected under Part 303, Wetlands Protection, of the NREPA. As | advised KWA representatives in August of 2014, the expansion of the roadway into wetland will need to be addressed under a new permit application. Although there is a minor project (MP) category for limited wetland fills for transportation safety purposes, it is likely that the additional wetland fill in this case will exceed 0.1 acres or otherwise fail to meet the MP criteria. That means that the DEQ's Water Resources Division (WRD) would have to prepare and issue a public notice, which opens a 20-day public comment period. The Lansing District WRD staff are currently backed up in our permit processing due to the roll-out of the MiWaters system on top of the normal heavy load of summer permit application. It is likely that we would need the full 120 days allowed for in statute to process this application. Further, if an affected party (say the LCRC) requested a public hearing on the permit application, we would be allowed an additional 60 days in which to hold a hearing and assess the public comments from the hearing and the 10-day post-hearing comment period. All of this assumes that the KWA doesn't require time to provide additional information after they submit their permit application. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, it is likely that this permit application would require a (concurrent) federal review. The EPA has generally been submitting its comments near the end of their 90-day review period, which starts when they receive our Public Notice and thus, typically, corresponds with our 120th day. Also, it is likely that the KWA will have to mitigate (at 2:1) for all permanent wetland losses, which will, ata minimum, increase the cost of the project. It may also slow the process down as KWA will need to either purchase credits in a wetland mitigation bank or design and build its own mitigation wetland. Let me know if you have any questions on this or need additional information/documents from me. Thanks. Chris Christopher Clampitt Lansing District Water Resources Division Michigan Department of Environmental Quality 525 W. Allegan Street P.O. Box 30242 Lansing, MI 48909 Phone: 517-243-6956; FAX: 517-241-3571