20081022 Ver 1_Approval Letter_20080815

0~0~ W AT ~qQG Michael F. Easley, Governor
y William G. Ross Jr., Secretary

CO r North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
-i
Coleen H. Sullins, Director
Division of Water Quality
August 15, 2008
Macon County
DWQ Project 20081022
TIP No. B-4179
NCSR 1513 (Cat Creek Road)
Approval of 401 Water Quality Certification with Additional Conditions
Dr. Greg Thorpe, PhD,, Manager
Project Development and Environmental Analysis
North Carolina Department of Transportation
1548 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina, 27699-1548

Dear Dr. Thorpe:
You have our approval, in accordance with the conditions listed below, for the following impacts to Rabbit Creek for the
purpose of constructing a fifty-three (53) foot bottomless con-span culvert on NCSR 1513 (Cat Creek Road) in Macon
County:

Stream Im acts in the Little Tennessee River Basin
Site Permanent Streambank Permanent Temporary Total Stream
Fill in Stabilization Fill in Impacts in Stream Impacts
Intermittent (linear ft) Perennial Perennial Impact Requiring
Stream (linear Stream Stream (linear ft) Mitigation
ft linear ft linear ft linear ft
Site 1 0 82 53 144 279 0
Total 0 82 53 144 279 0
Total Stream Permanent Impact for Project: 135 linear feet. Temporary Impacts for Project: 144 linear feet.

The project should be constructed in accordance with your application dated June 16, 2008 (received June 27, 2008) and
additional information received on July 29, 2008, including the environmental commitments made in the application
letter. After reviewing your application, we have decided that these impacts are covered by General Water Quality
Certification Nos. 3689, 3701 and 3688, corresponding to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit
Numbers 13, 23 and 33. In addition, you should acquire any other federal, state or local permits before you proceed with
your project including (but not limited to) Sediment and Erosion Control, Non-Discharge and Water Supply Watershed
regulations.
This approval is valid solely for the purpose and design described in your application (unless modified below). Should
your project change, you must notify the DWQ 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
conditions. If total wetland fills for this project (now or in the future) exceed one acre, or if total impacts to streams (now
or in the future) exceed 150 linear feet, compensatory mitigation may be required as described in 15A NCAC 2H .0506
(h) (6) and (7). For this approval to be valid, you must follow the conditions listed in the attached certification and any
additional conditions listed below.
No ehCarolina
,Naturally
North Carolina Division of Water Quality 2090 U.S. Highway 70 Swannanoa, NC 28778 Phone [phone] Customer Service
Internet: www.ncwaterquality.org FAX [phone] 1-877-623-6748

An Equal OpponunitylAffirmative Action Employer

Dr. Greg Thorpe, PhD.
August 15, 2008
Page Two

Condition(s) of Certification:

1. There shall be no excavation from or waste disposal into, jurisdictional wetlands or waters associated with this permit
without appropriate modification. Should waste or borrow sites, or access roads to waste or borrow sites, be located
in wetlands or streams, compensatory mitigation will be required since that is a direct impact from road construction
activities.
2. Sediment and erosion control measures must be installed and maintained on the project site until all disturbed soils
are permanently stabilized. All bare soil should be seeded as soon as possible following disturbance. Erosion
control mating shall be used in conjunction with appropriate seeding on disturbed stream banks. Matting should be
secured in place with staples or wherever possible, live stakes of native trees. Tall fescue shall not be used in
riparian areas.
3. The post-construction removal of any temporary bridge structures must return the project site to its preconstruction
contours and elevations. The impacted area shall be revegetated with appropriate native species.
4. Strict adherence to the most recent version of NCDOT's Best Management Practices For Bridge Demolition and
Removal approved by the US Army Corps of Engineers is a condition of the 401 Water Quality Certification.
5. For projects impacting waters classified by the NC Environmental Management Commission as Trout (Tr), High
Quality Waters (HQW) or Water Supply I or II (WS-I, WS-II), stormwater shall be directed to vegetated buffer
areas, grass-lined ditches or other means appropriate to the site for the purpose of pre-treating stormwater runoff
prior to discharging directly into streams. Please refer to the most current version of Stormwater Best Management
Practices, Mowing of existing vegetated buffer areas is strongly discouraged.
6. If multiple pipes or barrels are required, that shall be designed to mimic natural stream cross section as closely as
possible including pipes or barrels at flood plain elevation and/or sills where appropriate. Widening the stream
channel should be avoided. Stream channel widening at the inlet or outlet end of structures typically decreases water
velocity causing sediment deposition that requires increased maintenance and disrupts aquatic life passage.
7. The dimension, pattern and profile of the stream, above and below the new culvert and old bridge, shall not be
modified. Disturbed floodplains and streams shall be restored to natural geomorphic conditions.
8. Native riparian vegetation (e.g. rhododendron, dog hobble, willows, alders, sycamores, dogwoods, black walnut and
red maple) must be reestablished within the construction limits of the project by the end of the growing season
following completion of construction.
9. The use of rip-rap above the Normal High Water Mark shall be minimized. Any rip-rap placed for stream
stabilization shall be placed in stream channels in such a manner that it does not impede aquatic life passage.
10. Rip-rap shall not be placed in the active thalweg channel or placed in the streambed in a manner that precludes
aquatic life passage. Bioengineering boulders or structures should be properly designed, sized and installed.
11. Heavy equipment shall be operated from the banks rather than in the stream channels in order to minimize
sedimentation and reduce the introduction of other pollutants into the stream.
12. All mechanized equipment operated near surface waters must be regularly inspected and maintained to prevent
contamination of stream waters from fuels, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, or other toxic materials.
13. The Permittee shall ensure that the final design drawings adhere to the permit and to the permit drawings submitted
for approval.
14. Discharging hydroseed mixtures and washing out hydroseeders and other equipment in or adjacent to surface waters
is prohibited.
15. No rock, sand or other materials shall be dredged from the stream channel, except where authorized by this
certification.
16. A copy of this Water Quality Certification shall be maintained on the construction site at all times. In addition, the
Water Quality Certification and all subsequent modifications, if any, shall be maintained with the Division Engineer
and the on-site project manager.
17. All fill slopes located in jurisdictional wetlands shall be placed at slopes no flatter than 3:1, unless otherwise
authorized by this certification.
18. During the construction of the project, no staging of equipment of any kind is permitted in waters of the U.S., or
protected riparian buffers.

Dr. Greg Thorpe, PhD.
August 15, 2008
Page Three

19. The outside buffer, wetland or water boundary located within the construction corridor approved by this
authorization shall be clearly marked by highly visible fencing prior to any land disturbing activities. Impacts to
areas within the fencing are prohibited unless otherwise authorized by this certification.
20. The permittee and its authorized agents shall conduct its activities in a manner consistent with State water quality
standards (including any requirements resulting from compliance with §303(d) of the Clean Water Act) and any
other appropriate requirements of State and Federal law. If DWQ determines that such standards or laws are not
being met (including the failure to sustain a designated or achieved use) or that State of Federal law is being violated,
or that further conditions are necessary to assure compliance, DWQ may reevaluate and modify this certification.
21. The issuance of this certification does not exempt the Permittee form complying with any and all statutes, rules,
regulations or ordinances that may be imposed by other government agencies (i.e. local, state, and federal) having
jurisdiction, including but not limited to applicable buffer rules, stormwater management rules, soil erosion and
sedimentation control requirements, etc.
22. The Permittee shall report any violations of this certification to the Division of Water Quality within 24-hours of
discovery.
23. Upon completion of the project, the NCDOT Division Engineer shall complete and return the enclosed "Certificate of
Completion Form" to notify NCDWQ when all work included in the §401 Certification has been completed. This
form shall be returned to the Transportation Permitting Unit of the NC Division of Water Quality, 2321 Crabtree
Blvd., Suite 250, Raleigh, North Carolina 27604.

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 this Certification is unacceptable to you have the right to an adjudicatory hearing upon written request within sixty (60)
days following receipt of this Certification. This request must be in the form of a written petition conforming to Chapter
150B of the North Carolina General Statutes and filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings, 6714 Mail Service
Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-6714. If modifications are made to an original Certification, you have the right to an
adjudicatory hearing on the modifications upon written request within sixty (60) days following receipt of the
Certification. Unless such demands are made, this Certification shall be final and binding.

Sincerely,

-
~4. ~~CA
Coleen H. Sullins, Director
1~t Division of Water Quality

cc: David Baker, USACE, Asheville Field Office
J. B. Setzer, P.E., Division 14 Engineer
Mark Davis, Division 14, DEO
Ed Ingle, Roadside Environmental
Marla Chambers, NCWRC
Marela Buncick, USFWS
Transportation Permitting Unit
Asheville Regional Office

081022 (Thorpe) TIP B-4796 NCSR 1513