20001520 Ver 1_Other Documents_20010112

State of North Carolina
Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
Division of Water Quality
Michael. F. Easley, Governor
Sherri Evans-Stanton, Acting Secretary
Kerr T. Stevens, Director
Mr. Bill Gilmore, P.E., Manager
Planning and Environmental Branch
North Carolina Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 25201
Raleigh, North Carolina, 27611

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January 12, 2001
Re: Permit Application for the construction of the Bethyl Bypass in Pitt and Edgecombe Counties.
DWQ No. 001520; T.I.P. No. R-218B.
Dear Mr. Gilmore:
The Division of Water Quality has reviewed your submittal for a 401 Water Quality Certification for the
aforementioned project. Review of your application revealed it lacking necessary information required for
making an informed permit decision. The permit application was deficient in the following areas:
Review of the permit application indicates that 599 linear feet of steam impact requires mitigation.
However, the North Carolina Wetlands Restoration Program has indicated that they will provide only
476 linear feet of steam mitigation. The NCDOT needs to identify how they plan on providing
mitigation for the additional 123 linear feet of stream impacts,
The project, as described, does not adhere to the Tar-Pamlico Riparian Buffer Rules (15A NCAC 2B.
0259). The stormwater design presently shows ditches draining through the buffer and discharging
directly to the steam. This design is not permitted within the rules. The stormwater needs to be
designed to result in diffuse flow at nonerosive velocities through the buffers. A direct discharge into
the stream may be permitted if elevation constraints preclude the ability to obtain diffuse flow or safety
issues such as flooding of the road may occur. In those cases, a grassed swale that discharges through
the buffer maybe permitted provided it meets the following criteria, pending DWQ review:
• The grassed swale must have a minimum of 3:1 horizontal to vertical side slopes, -
• The average slope of the grassed swale cannot exceed four percent without the presence of
rock check dams,
• Should the average slope of the grassed swale exceed four percent, then rock check dams
in the swale will be required,
• The grassed swale must be 100 feet in length for every acre of drainage area draining to the
swale,
• The depth to groundwater from the bottom of the grassed swale must be at least twelve
inches,
• The average velocity of flow in the grassed Swale cannot exceed two feet per second for
the two-year storm, and four feet per second for the ten-year storm.
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Wetlands/401 Unit 1621 Mail Service Center Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1621
Telephone [phone] FAX [phone]
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State of North Carolina
Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
Division of Water Quality
Michael F. Easley, Governor
Sherri Evans-Stanton, Acting Secretary
Kerr T. Stevens, Director
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NCDENR
Therefore, pursuant to 15A NCAC 2h .0507(a)(5), we will have to place the permit application on hold until
we are supplied the necessary information. Furthermore, until the information is received by the NC
Division of Water Quality, we request (by copy of this letter) that the US Army Corps of Engineers place
the permit application on hold.
Hopefully, we can work together to expedite the processing of your permit application. If you have any
questions or require additional information, please contact John Hennessy at 919-733-5694.
Sincerely,
Program
cc: Deborah Sawyer, DWQ Washington Regional Office
Mike Bell, USACE Washington Field Office
File Copy
C:\ncdot\R-218\correspondence\00152OWd.doc
Wetlands/401 Unit 1621 Mail Service Center Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1621
Telephone [phone] FAX [phone]
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