20051666 All Versions_Other Agency Comments_19940630

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North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
• _ _ - 512 N. Salisbury Street, Raltinh, North Carob;t 27604-1188, 919 733-3391

Charles R. RiUwooel, Executive Director
MXM0R ANDUM

TO: Jolin R. Parker, 404 Coordinator
Division of Coastal Management
]?ROM: Richard 8. Hamilton ~(,1(~~w~d)~.~1~?tai~~
As: i. stint Director
Dn't'F June 30, 1994

SLTnJECT : U_ S . Army Corps of Engineers Public Notice No.
199102608, Review of on-application by Stokes County
Soil and Water Cons a nation District to place fill
material in waters; and contiguous wetlands of Town Fork
Creek in conjunction with construction of Town Fork
Watershed Structure No. 11B, Forsyth and Strokes
Coiinties.
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) has
reviewed the information provided by the U.S. Army Corps of
Hngince)-n, and biological field staff conducted site visito on 2
October 1990, 7 April 1992, 29 October.1992, and 21 June 1994.
'.ehese comments are provided in accordance with provisions of the
Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S_C. 466 et seq.), and the Fish and
Wildlife Coordination Act (48 ;teat.. 401, as amended; 16 U.S.C.
6G1•-6674.) .
Project sponsors propose to Construct a roller-Compacted
concrete darn on Town Fork Creek west of Germanton in order to
create z 149-acre reservoir. The reservoir will impact
approximately 19,000 linear feet of stream habitat (6.7 acres) in
Uhn peTinanexit pool. An additional. 10,000 linear feet of streatn
habitat (3.4 acres) will be temporarily inundated by a 25-year
storm event (flood storage pool). A bottomland hardwood wetland
(0.36 acre) and a wetland disturbed by agricultural activities
(0.37 acre) will be impacted by the. permanent pool, and a spring
seep/wet: pasUure (0.12 acre) will br inundated by the flood
storeige pool. `total waters and wetlands impacts associated with
the 1,t*r manc-nt pool and flood :storage- pool would be 7.43 and 3.52
aca:en, respectively. The applicant proposes to mitigate for
these adverse impacts by creating 4 acres of shallow-water
wetlands and 6 acres of temporarily-flooded wetlands that will be
allowgd to vegetate naturally. The purpose of this project is

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1~~97.i1.'.6138 face 2 Juiac 30, 1.914

flood c(-. "ro) ind municipal./itiduvtr.i.a1, writer supply. Ten flood
cnritrol !t.rrt'c;tUrC., have been built: Lo date au part of the Town
1..'ork Crc~n% • w.tto sired Plan.
. {i owii - Fork -Creek - is a wajor tributary of the Dan Rivgr in
Forayth and aLoke, Counties. Bcgianing with our comments dated 0
Oc't:ol)er 1.9:)0 to M. Melba McGee, we have emphasized the high
cminii-ty of fi.st?erir_s resource:,, ill the .t,Lreawand have recommended
that, thc_ p -Oicet'not be built. llabitrat at the dam site is
r4ver:.r with Mlblkltrate of angular 11odroek, cobble, gravel, and
,;and. ni.o7.agical field staff of the kJCWRC: conducLed f.isi
r..awpj i.nq -an --7 Auril '1994 and 2,1 Junc- 199&. (tide latter effort in
to a request by the NyorLh Carolina Division of
1•lalvirow-nenual Management.) and collected 30 fish species, which
roprerent;rj an ex.tromely diver: e anal- Mace for a piedmont ^L>:eam
of this ni.se. Vwo species.; c;olIncted, the bigcyc jurnprock axyd
7'iVill4li::Jcl d-t.,t'LC are listed by the rytat:c_ as rpeci.e.s of special
concern. (see. attached list) . Given Lite quality of the habitat
and di.veruo fi nh issamblage, wo do not agree with statcments made
in the Public Notice that habitat at the structure site is
dominaLed by an "unstable, sandy sr:bstrate" and that fish species
cnllf-~cnt,nd in thn stream "indicate only poor to fair stream
h+a.bital'." .
7'hc; cnivi rorscncntal review pz'~>ces ha r, resulted ill a rat ter
I-n-i.cf Environmental Assessment: for tlic ,jcc-pe of this pz-oi(tct and
a I''i.ttcli.ng of No Si.gnificanL iwptact wish which we have not yet
ronc•tirred (memorandum dated 9 March 1993 to Ms. McCee) . We have
mr.t-_ with project sponsors nevexal t i.r:,r.:; to develop minimum flow
level dow:a;t -rec irn of the uropc.f:cd data; however, we are i.ri
dirs~scj ..er•trvIT:t: with project sponsors r(-garding quality of the
habitat affected and the scope: of miLigati.on.
I(APvuucli.tig TOWO Fork Creek will impact a _:ignificZnL amount.
nt h-i.clh goali.t-_y ac.plat is habitat and t, diverse riverine fish
a~s;~?u?lal,~.<lt:. It. i.;; our recomrnen0aLion that this permit be doni.ed
atul ncU tIx'o'j0r;1: not be hua.).t.
Tf t;b pormi.t; is issued over our objection, the following
rcconimorid at; ions :;hould be incorporated into Lite permit as
r;c,rsCU.ti,cm :
1) The. minimum releasie from the reservoir should ba 5.8 cubic
fort- pv.r second (cfs) at: full pool., 4.2 cf.,; when water
supply .tor-age is reduced to 70 percent, 1.3 cfs when water
rsiipply atorage is at 25 percent capacity, and 0.7 cfs when
t bo uLiLe supply pool ir, deplet:.nd. Project s;pon:sova worked
with hi ningical staff and thr Nc)):th Carolina Division of
41:~tr:r. Iles urces to develop thnse minitaum flat-is.
2) A vec4,~-1_W;*d huffr_r of at- least 100 feet wide should be left:
and i f, rii rbed botween the edge of the permanent pool and all
dove lopinc!nt -rcLivi.ti.es ill order to protect water duality and
provide a travel Corr iclor for wildlife. ReeeuL information

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7.h910?CII8 Parle 3 June 30, 1994

from project sponoors indicate that a buffer zone of -
approximately 400 feet wide will be left undisturbed around
-tile permanent pool-to accommodate flood waters.
'3) A deeded public righC-of.-way -from the nearest • public road
should be included an a component of the project to allow
pul?l.ie fishing and possibly public hunting.
4) A mitigation plan that compensates for the loss of 10.1
acres of stream habitat should be developed. The proposed
mitigation plan involves the incidental creation of shallow
water wetlands, which-are very different from existing
r..ondiLion . We prefer that unavoidable impacts to waters
and wetlands be mitigated in-kind when feasible. Possible:
mitigation would be enhancement or restoration of streatti'
habitat in the watershed.
's'hank you for the opporhinity to review and comment on this
project, If you have ahy questions regarding these comment.9,
pJ.Gase contact KaStephanie Goudreau at 704/G52-4257,
cc w/ a.Unchment
,/Ms. .SLephanie Goudreau, Mt. Region Habitat Coordinator
Mr. aae Mickey, District 7 Fisheries Biologist
Mr. Deiv.i d Sawyer, District 7 Wildlife Biologist
Ms. Melba McGee, Office of Policy Development
Mn. Janice Nicholls, USFWS, Asheville
Mr. Jolm Dorney, DEM, Raleigh
Mr. Steve Reed, DWR, Raleigh
Mr.. John Thomas, COE, Raleigh
Honorable Richard Mudd, District 7 Commissioner

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S,Tj"v f.),;y OT, rISI1 SPECIES CQT,L1,',U F-D YN rowN i-wy, CREEK

7• APRIL, 199?, AND 21. JUNIs 1994

. ('c~mmnn..Alzin~ ~r: ~n~f.ic N~Yrne

St.r rr~:x'crllez aimpostopla caliomalum
Iil.uahcatl chub 1Jvcortris lept:ocephalus
2iwl). chub Nozcoml--; raneyi
C.'r.:e1c chub :yen:c~ti2tas jtroln~zculattr4
Whiter nuc:kerr.' C.'a t_astomus conunez so~~ i
NorLhct:11 hog sucker rtypental.rum ni.gricaris
po,,.nrak,_ lrncr sucker Nyperrtelium roanokense
c:~~lclrtr z ccilrcaxsr. Mc~-'ostomij etythrurtne
~tjj,q,:yE jurnpros~k noxostoma ariaitunum
2c:r-enc ont Shiner l,uxi luF, ct'Yasinus
t,Pdl Lp s31iine.r Notrupis chi.l.iticu
2vittintin shiner cyponella analustana
2ltcaas~Lill slta.tac r rythrurtis ardens
2;c ut:aii shiner Notropis hud,onius
Whi.t:e whiner LuX_flura albeolus
2swa_l. owtail s1iinc•r. Notropis prncne
1'Jcrident.ifi-ed shiner Nocropis sp.
2mitnt.ain r_edbelly dace: phox.inur oruan
T]arg.i.iied madtom Notu>:us insign.i4
f•'1 at: bullhead Arneitrrus Nlatyccphalus
L5erebw roarnoka
211t)itrlU}ii'. dcirtCT.'
,7ohnny darter i,uhcost:oraa nigrum
pantc1.1 l darter Ft heontowa flabellarc
a , 2Iti.ve,xweed darter- iz vitcostcuna podosLCnronca
(A,ris .y darter I,ChFost:oma vi troom
izedbreasst Fauniish LLl)omic `llritUs
r111.trg'a.ll. I,eprirni..s trracroc:hia-rrs
(;revs stinfi.sh r,epurlris cyarrelltr::
ris qulvstis
Warr-<-.)u .h Lcran,f
fornccnolith bass ,~~icz-opteru:~ s~rJranic3es
special conccrn sspc--ci.en
:iIn .olerwnt to ;rreurn cie[jradat:ivrt (from North Carolina Index
of Minnie Integrity developed by North Carolina Division of
1;r;vi cortrr:tznt.al Manager•,+.ent)