NAME OF APPLICANT: DR Horton, Gulf Coast, c/o Hydrik Wetlands Consultants, Attn: Mike Henry, 2323 Hwy. 190 East, Suite 2, Hammond, LA 70401.
LOCATION OF WORK: Approximately 1.6 miles north of Hwy 190, on Duff Rd. in Walker Louisiana, in Livingston Parish, within the Lake Pontchartrain Basin in hydrologic unit (HUC 08070202), as shown on the attached drawings.
The work described below was partially completed prior to obtaining a Department of the Army permit and was in violation of Section 301 of the Clean Water Act. All legal issues concerning the unauthorized work have since been deferred.
CHARACTER OF WORK: The applicant has requested Department of the Army authorization to clear, grade, excavate, and place fill and aggregate material for the construction of a residential subdivision (Foxglove) to include 322 residential lots, 4 storm water detention ponds, 2 recreational areas, drainage and utility improvements, roadways, green space, 3 concrete culverts, a sewerage treatment plant, and ingress egress. Approximately 280,000 cubic yards of excavated fill from onsite and concrete aggregate material will be deposited to complete the project. The proposed project is situated on and approximately 142-acre tract that has been determined to contain approximately 23.5 acres of forested wetlands. Approximately 16.7 acres of wetlands will remain undisturbed, approximately 6.8 acres of forested wetlands will be permanently impacted, and approximately 0.34 acres of other waters of the U.S. will be permanently impacted. An earlier permit was issued at this site on April 20, 2007 with the same Corps permit number for this subdivision (Foxglove) to Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Development Company (‘Weyerhaeuser’). Weyerhaeuser received two time extensions on their permit, April 18, 2012 and October 2, 2015. Presently, the only work performed was the installation of three concrete road crossing culverts within the development. Weyerhaeuser subsequently transferred their permit to DR Horton, Gulf Coast in October of 2018. DR Horton, Gulf Coast has requested a modification to the original authorization and a time extension to complete work. Changes include an increase in the number of home lots, detention ponds, and impacts to wetlands onsite. The original authorization permitted impacts to approximately 2.43 acres of forested wetlands which compensatory mitigation was provided. The new subdivision plan and lay out will add an additional 4.2 acres of forested wetland impacts making the total impacts to forested wetlands 6.8 acres. During the permit modification and time extension process the applicant started work on the property with the intention of working only in non-jurisdictional areas. The applicant impacted wetlands that were not already permitted and mitigated for with the original authorization. Approximately 1.14 acres of jurisdictional forested wetlands were impacted prior to receiving proper permitting and proposed compensation for the loss of wetland resources. The applicant was asked to stop work for which they complied and have agreed to continue with the permit process.
The applicant stated that the proposed project has been designed to avoid and minimize direct and secondary adverse impacts to the maximum extent practicable. Any further reduction would limit usage of the property deeming the project impracticable. As compensation for unavoidable wetland impacts, the applicant proposes to mitigate in-kind wetland credits from a Corps approved mitigation bank located in the watershed.
The applicant may be required to fully or partially restore the site to pre-project conditions if issuance of a permit is determined to be contrary to the public interest.