HomeMy WebLinkAbout20251106_PLN1308_Quail Ridge JARPA Letter 1
RESOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING
November 5, 2025
City of Arlington, Planning and Land Use Division
18204 59th Avenue NE
Arlington,WA 98223
RE: Quail Ridge JARPA
The proposed construction of new homes at Quail Ridge requires a utility crossing of a wetland. A
pipe will be placed underground via trenching through the wetland and its buffer. The proposed trench
will be temporary and the affected wetland and buffer will be restored to pre-construction conditions
after the pipe is placed.
The US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) regulate
the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands, through
the Nationwide Permit (NWP) program. Projects that result in a loss of waters of the U.S. may require
pre-construction notification (i.e. JARPA application for a permit) when projects meet certain
parameters. Loss of waters of the U.S. is defined as follows:
"Waters of the US. that include the filled area and other waters that are permanently adversely affected by
flooding excavation, or drainage because of the regulated activity. Permanent adverse effects include permanent
above grade, at grade, or below grade fills that change an aquatic area to dry land, increase the bottom elevation
Of a water body, or change the use of a water body. The acreage of loss of waters of the U.S. is the threshold
measurement of the impact to existing waters for determining whether a project may qualz)�for a NWP,•it is not
a net threshold that is calculated after considering compensatory mitigation that may be used to offset losses of
aquatic functions and values. The loss of stream bed includes the linear feet of stream bed that is filled or
excavated. Waters of the U.S. temporarily filled,flooded, excavated, or drained, but restored to pre-construction
contours and elevations after construction, are not included in the measurement of loss of waters of the U.S."
The Quail Ridge project is proposing a temporary impact within a wetland that will be restored to pre-
construction contours and elevations immediately after the pipe is installed. As a temporary wetland
impact,this project will not result in a loss of waters of the U.S. and is not subject to the NWP program,
so no DARPA is required.
Wetland Resources, Inc.
John Laufenberg
Principal Ecologist
Professional Wetland Scientist
9 9505 191h Avenue SE, Suite 106, Everett, WA 98208 t.425.337.3174 S, www.wetlandresources.com