The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About19970616 Ver 3_401 Application_20110415J .- Modification to the 401 Water Quality Certification Pursuant to Section 401 of the Federal Clean Water Act . . . • • , , • , with ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS , . • . • • • • . THIS CERTIFICATION is issued in conformity with the requirements of Section 401 Public Laws 92-500 and 95-217 of the United States and subject to the North Carolina Division of Water Quality (NCDWQ) Regulations in 15 NCAC 2H .0500. This certification requires off-site mitigation for 3937 linear feet of stream impacts, and authorizes no additional stream or wetland impacts. This approval is only valid for the purpose and design that you submitted in your modified application dated received April 15, 2011. All the authorized activities and conditions of certification associated with the original Water Quality Certification dated April 20, 1988 still apply except where superceded by this certification. Should your project change, you are required to notify NCDWQ and submit a new application. If the property is sold, the new owner must be given a copy of this Certification and approval letter, and is thereby responsible for complying with all the conditions. If any additional wetland impacts, or stream impacts, for this project (now or in the future) exceed one acre or 150 linear feet, respectively, additional compensatory mitigation may be required as described in 15A NCAC 2H .0506 (h) (6) and (7). For this approval to remain valid, you are required to comply with all the conditions listed below. In addition, you should obtain all other federal, state or local permits before proceeding with your project including (but not limited to) Sediment and Erosion control, Coastal Stormwater, Non-discharge and Water Supply watershed regulations. This Certification shall expire on the same day as the expiration date of the corresponding Corps of Engineers Permit. Condition(s) of Certification: I. All other conditions written into previous the Water Quality Certification dated April 20, 2011 for this project still apply. 2. Compensatory mitigation for an additional 3937 linear feet of impact to streams is required. We understand that you have chosen to perform compensatory mitigation for impacts to streams through the North Carolina Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP), and that the EEP has agreed to implement the mitigation for the project. EEP has indicated in a letter dated March 28, 2011 that they will assume responsibility for satisfying the federal Clean Water Act compensatory mitigation requirements for the above-referenced project, in accordance with the Tri-Party MOA signed on July 22, 2003 and the Dual- Party MOA signed on April 12, 2004. Violations of any condition herein set forth may result in revocation of this Certification and may result in criminal and/or civil penalties. This Certification shall become null and void unless the above conditions are made conditions of the Federal 404 and/or Coastal Area Management Act Permit. This Certification shall expire upon the expiration of the 404 or CAMA permit. If you wish to contest any statement in the attached Certification you must file a petition for an administrative hearing. You may obtain the petition form from the office of Administrative hearings. You must file the petition with the office of Administrative Hearings within sixty (60) days of receipt of this notice. A petition is considered filed when it is received in the office of Administrative Hearings during normal office hours. The Office of Administrative Hearings accepts filings Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00am and 5:00pm, except for official state holidays. The original and one (1) copy of the petition must be filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings. The petition may be faxed-provided the original and one copy of the document is received by the Office of Administrative Hearings within five (5) business days following the faxed transmission. The mailing address for the Office of Administrative Hearings is: Office of Administrative Hearings .... 6714 Mail Service Cedter Raleigh, NC 27699-6714 Telephone: (919)-733-2698, Facsimile: (919)-733-3478 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA 1 ,9r4 ROG ?glA?ry DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION y BEVERLY EAVES PERDUE GOVERNOR April 6, 2011 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Field Office 151 Patton Avenue, Room 208 Asheville, NC 28801-5006 ATTN: Mr. Monte Matthews NCDOT Coordinator EUGENE A. CONI'I, JR. SECRETARY R I,= C* e&V V3 Subject: Modification Request for Individual Section 404 Permit and to Individual Section 401 Certification for R-0529 US 421 from Deep Gap to Boone Watauga County NCDOT Division 1 I State Project Numbers 8.1750601 T.I.P. Project Number R-0529 Debit $570.00 from WBS Element 34342.1.2 Reference: • Individual 401 Water Quality Certification No. 3085 issued April 20, 1998 • Department of the Army Permit issued May 4, 1998. COE Action ID 199707161. • Ecosystem Enhancement Program acceptance letter issued March 28, 2011. Dear Mr. Baker: This letter addresses the mitigation requirements specified for TIP project R-0529 that to date remain unfulfilled. At the time the initial permits were issued, the NCDOT entered into an agreement with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) for the NCWRC to provide stream mitigation for this project. In accordance with the NCDOT/NCWRC agreement for R-0529 mitigation requirements, the NCWRC identified and developed several mitigation sites. In July 2005, the NCDOT transferred management of all mitigation sites developed by the NCWRC associated with this and other TIP projects for which NCWRC had agreed to provide stream mitigation. EEP agreed to manage and complete any remaining work required to close out the existing NCWRC mitigation sites and to implement-any additional mitigation credits needed to satisfy the permit conditions associated with the TIP projects. EEP also agreed mitigation Projects developed under each agreement would be-utilized toward. meeting the mitigation needs of each specific TIP project. Currently, the EEP is scheduled to provide an additional 12,264 stream mitigation credits. The NCDOT requests that all permits for this project be modified to reflect that the EEP will provide the referenced mitigation credits. Please see attached EEP Mitigation Acceptance Letter, which provides further detail on the current status of mitigation credits for R-529. A copy of this permit application and its distribution list will be posted on the NCDOT website at http://www.ncdot.org/doh/preconstruct/pe/neu/permit.html Thank you for your assistance with this project. If you have any questions or need additional information, ?please contact. Ms. Carla Dagnino (919) 707-6110. 00 ?+ P Sincerely, Grego J. Thorpe, P nviro ental Management Director Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch CC: NCDOT Permit Application Standard Distribution List - 4 r? m El affste n a PROGRAM PROGRAM March 28, 2011 Mr. Gregory J. Thorpe, Ph.D. Manager, Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch North Carolina Department of Transportation 1548 Mail Service Center Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1548 Dear Dr. Thorpe: Subject: TIP R-0529 BA/BB/BD (R-0529), US 421 Widening, Watauga County, New River Basin - Cataloging Unit 05050001; USACE Action ID 1997-07161 This purpose of this letter is to notify you that the Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP) will provide the stream mitigation required to offset the impacts associated with the above referenced TIP project. According to information provided by the NCDOT, the project required 16,651 stream mitigation credits. The NCDOT entered into an agreement with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) for the stream mitigation needed for this project. In accordance with the NCDOT/NCWRC agreement for R-0529 mitigation requirements, the NCWRC identified and developed several mitigation sites. In July 2005, the NCDOT transferred management of all mitigation sites developed by the NCWRC associated with this and other TIP projects for which NCWRC had agreed to provide stream mitigation. EEP agreed to manage and complete any remaining work required to close out the existing NCWRC mitigation sites and to implement any additional mitigation credits needed to satisfy the permit conditions associated with the TIP projects. EEP also agreed mitigation projects developed under each agreement would be utilized toward meeting the mitigation needs of each specific TIP project. Most of the stream mitigation sites NCWRC had identified for TIP R-0529 were in design or construction at the time of transfer. EEP contracted with the NCWRC to conduct the monitoring activities on the six mitigation projects of which five are now complete and going through the close out process. Monitoring activities for the last project should be completed by 2013. Below is a table of the mitigation projects and associated stream mitigation credits developed by NCWRC specifically for TIP R-0529: Site Name County Phase Feet Ratio Credits UT to Peak Creek Bare Ashe Lon Term Management 2,183 3:1 728 UT to Laxon Creek (Carp) Watauga Lon Term Mana ement 538 1:1 538 Meat Cam Creek (Miller) Watauga Lon Term Management 652 3:1 217 Laxon Creek Race Watauga Lon Term Management 1,160 1:1 1,160 Obids Creek Wild Ashe Lon Term Management 1,819 3:1 606 Peak Creek owlin) Ashe Monitoring Year 3 1,707 1.5:1 1,138 Total Amount of Mitigation Produced 8,059 4,387 NOTE: Information above was as of March 15, 2011. 2zmtOrlvc9_. Pro,"P.GtLK? OurSt"A.t-L e*n NCDENR North Carolina Ecosystem Enhancement Program, 1652 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1652 / 919-715-0476 /www.nceep.net Mr. Greg Thorpe March 28,-2011 Page Two - TIP R-0529 BA/BB/BD EEP previously committed to providing the remaining amount of stream mitigation credits needed to offset the stream impacts associated with this TIP project in October 2005 and have worked on implementing sufficient stream mitigation credits in the cataloging unit to meet this. Currently, the remaining need is 12,264 stream mitigation credits but that amount could change based on any change on the six NCWRC implemented mitigation projects. The final amount of additional mitigation stream credits needed outside of the NCWRC identified mitigation projects will not be precisely known until all six of those mitigation projects have been closed out by the regulatory agencies. If the stream mitigation credits from the above mitigation projects change, then EEP will modify the remaining amount of stream mitigation credits needed for this TIP project. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Mr. Jim Stanfill at 919- 218-6872. Sincerely, V Wore, P.E. EEP Director cc: Mr. Scott McLendon, USACE - Wilmington Regulatory Field Office Mr. Todd Tugwell, USACE - Falls Lake Mr. Brian Wrenn, Division of Water Quality, Wetlands/401 Unit Ms. Linda Fitzpatrick, NCDOT - PDEA File: R-0529 BA/BB/BD RP.StDYl ?L9... Enh"tci its... Prot" Our stat& AA NCDENR North Carolina Ecosystem Enhancement Program, 1652 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1652 / 919-715-0476 / w ,nceep.net