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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRadio Island CAMA Application Narrative 20211007 Radio Island Shoreline & Infrastructure Protection Project Permit Modification Request Project Narrative October 7, 2021 Submitted by: Moffatt and Nichol 1 A. INTRODUCTION In 2020, Carteret County obtained the following permits for the dredging of East Taylors Creek along the Beaufort waterfront in Carteret County (Figure 1): - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Action ID SAW-2017-02286, - Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) Permit No. 35-20, issued by the N.C. Division of Coastal Management, and - Water Quality Certification No. 2019-1718, issued by the N.C. Division of Water Resources. The referenced permits are provided as Attachment 1. At the time of the permitting of the East Taylors Creek dredging project, spoil material was originally scheduled to be trucked to the Atlantic Veneer site off Lennoxville Road. However, an opportunity arose to allow for the beneficial use of the dredge material. Specifically, Carteret County proposes to place the beach compatible material along the eastern estuarine shoreline of Radio Island, which serves as a heavily utilized recreational beach managed by the County. This beneficial placement of dredge material will stabilize and restore an eroding shoreline, while also providing protection to portions of Marine Road, which has been severely damaged due to erosion. Accordingly, Carteret County respectfully requests that the above referenced permits be modified to allow for the beneficial use of the East Taylors Creek dredge material in the manner described in this project narrative, as well as the attached permit application forms (Attachment 2) and permit drawings (Attachment 3). Please note that the previously permitted dredge dimensions within East Taylors Creek will not be altered. Figure 1 – East Taylors Creek and Radio Island 2 B. PROJECT LOCATION The proposed Project is located on Radio Island, an approximately 255-acre island, within the Beaufort Inlet complex (Figure 1). Radio Island was created in the early 1930s by placing material dredged from shipping channels (Morehead City Inner Harbor and Bulkhead Channels) onto emergent marsh and subtidal bottom lands of Bogue Sound and Newport River. The development of Radio Island was part of a plan to create a deeper shipping channel and build port facilities in Morehead City, North Carolina. The island was originally owned by the U.S. Navy, but after World War II, the territory was sold to private investors. The North Carolina State Port Authority (NCSPA) owns and operates approximately 208 acres of the island, mainly the west and south portions of the island. Private property is generally focused on the north portion. The US Government owns a 3.9-acre parcel at the southern tip of the island that support US Navy/Marine Corps Landing Craft Utility (LCU) operations. Carteret County leases approximately 2,775 linear feet shoreline along the southeast side of the island, adjacent to Bulkhead Channel, from NCSPA to serve as public recreational beach. This public recreational beach is heavily utilized by the public, with the associated 63- space parking area often full, with vehicles overflowing onto adjacent road right-of-ways (Photos 1, 2, and 3). Marine Road bisects the island in the north and south direction, providing access to the public beach, US Navy facility and the NCSPA property. Photo 1 – Recreational Beach at Radio Island (Moffatt & Nichol, June 18, 2021) 3 Photo 2 - Recreational Beach at Radio Island (Crystalcoast.com, date unknown) Photo 3 – Overflow Parking at the Beach Access Facility (Moffatt & Nichol, June 18, 2021) The western edge of Bulkhead Channel, a federal navigation channel, is less than 60 feet from the mean tide line of the Radio Island shoreline. The frequent passage of commercial and recreational 4 vessels and the exposure of the beaches to storm surge from Hurricanes Matthew (2016), Florence (2018), and Dorian (2019) entering Beaufort Inlet has resulted in accelerated erosion of the entire beach length. In the past five years, the dry beach width has been reduced to less than 20 feet in many locations, with 450 linear feet of Marine Road compromised and unstable. Another 300 linear feet of the road is currently threatened, and if erosion continues at the present rate, another 900-foot segment of road may be vulnerable to damage (Photos 4 and 5). Photo 4 –Existing Condition of the Shoreline and Marine Road (Moffatt & Nichol, June 18, 2021) 5 Photo 5 –Existing Condition of the Shoreline and Marine Road (Moffatt & Nichol, June 18, 2021) Radio Island is used by Marines and other military units for training and other Joint Military Exercises. Due to the road breaking down, access to the ramp is more difficult and less safe. Fixing the road and the erosion causing the road to collapse will make Marine Road more accessible to everyone involved. The ramp is normally used approximately 10-12 times per year but was used slightly less last year (2020) due to COVID. The proposed Project would promote compatible land use by preserving the established public access beach areas on the Island. The beneficial use of dredge material for beach nourishment would restore natural habitat and serve as a barrier to protect critical infrastructure that provide accessibility to the U.S. Navy’s LCU ramp and utility services. C. PROPOSED PROJECT The proposed Project is intended to restore and stabilize the southeast shoreline of Radio Island to protect Marine Road, improve public access, and maintain the County’s recreational beach. The Project consists of the beneficial reuse of approximately 35,630 cubic yards of material dredged from East Taylors Creek for placement on approximately 2,820 linear feet of estuarine shoreline along the southeast side of Radio Island. The design template for restoring and stabilizing the shoreline consists of placing approximately 10 cubic yards per linear foot of the material along the 2,820 linear feet of shoreline. The placement geometry consists of a dune system (8 feet above existing grade) of varying top width (20 to 35 feet) that transitions to a beach berm that varies between 20 feet and 60 feet. The beach berm transitions to existing grade between +3 feet NAVD88 and -5 feet NAVD88. The design 6 template will vary as placement progresses continuously along the beach, with changes to the top width of the dune and beach berm to match existing grades and nearshore slopes. The design template will protect Marine Road by attenuating wave action and reduce wave overtopping, which significantly reduces the potential for undermining the road in the future. The Project will improve protection to County infrastructure that supports public access to the beach along the northern extent of the project. There are two primary methods of dredging and transporting the material for placement on the beach, Hydraulic dredging with mechanical placement or mechanical dredging with mechanical placement. The County wishes to present both of these two options to the selected dredge contractor, who will then select the most advantageous option based upon equipment needs and availability, schedule, and cost. Both of these methodologies are further detailed below. 1. MECHANICAL DREDGING A clamshell or excavator type dredge will remove the spoil material from East Taylors Creek for placement at Radio Island. The dredge material will be excavated and placed on a floating barge with a containment bin or hopper. Once loaded, the barge(s) will be towed through East Taylors Creek to the beach placement area and will be staged adjacent to the intended final disposition area of the beach. Dewatering of the material will take place during transit. The barges will come alongside an excavator or clamshell barge that is spudded down in shallow waters just off the beach. The excavator or clamshell will remove the material from within the barge and the material will be directly placed on the beach within the beach fill template. The final shaping and grading will be with excavators or bulldozers on the beach to the final grades as shown in the attached drawings. The location of the offloading of the material at the beach will progress along the project limits as the templates are filled to the required height and width. 2. HYDRAULIC DREDGING There are four main aspects to the hydraulic construction methodology: dredged material containment area (DMCA), pipeline conveyance, hydraulic dredging, and beach fill placement. a. DMCA In order to utilize the material on the Radio Island beach and to be able to control hydraulically dredged material on the recipient beach the creation of a DMCA will be required. To minimize the use of roads and transport of the material the DMCA was designed to be as close to the final material disposition location as possible, on Radio Island. The DMCA to be constructed will be comprised of two areas: the primary material containment area and the water clarification area. The proposed design would have the primary containment area to be constructed utilizing a series of containment dikes that are built to have a crest elevation of +28.0 feet NAVD88. The material to construct these dikes would be excavated by using existing material from within the footprint of the primary containment area. The hydraulically pumped material will be placed into the primary material containment area, in a slurry form, where the material will settle out and the effluent will run off through a fixed elevation water control structure “weir” into the water clarification area. The material within the primary placement area will be allowed to be stockpile to a maximum elevation of +34.0’ NAVD88 however the level of any ponded water within the 7 primary placement area will only be allowed to be ponded to a maximum elevation of +26.0 feet NAVD88 in order to maintain 2.0’ of freeboard within the primary placement containment dikes. The effluent discharged from the primary containment area into the clarification area will allow any fines that were dredged from East Taylors Creek to settle out before the effluent is released back into the surrounding body of water. The clarification area be utilized is an existing natural depression below +12.0 feet NAVD88. The effluent will be released from the clarification area to the surrounding body of water through a second water control structure. Pipelines will be utilized that will be capable of adjusting the ponding elevation though the use of weir boards to maximize the ponding elevation needed for clarification of the effluent. Due to the existing topography and in order to maintain 2.0 foot of freeboard the maximum elevation the water will be allowed to be ponded is +10.0 feet NAVD88, which should allow for over 24 hours of retention time prior to release of the effluent. Sedimentation and erosion control systems will be placed around the constructed containment dikes of the primary placement area. After removal of all dredged material from the primary placement area the containment dikes will be degraded and shaped as close as possible to pre-existing condition and the clarification area will be drained of free- standing water. b. Pipeline Conveyance The material that will be hydraulically dredged from East Taylors Creek will be hydraulically pumped in a slurry through a pipeline that will be placed between Carrot Island and the Taylor Creek navigation channel within the pipeline area shown on the permit drawings. The contractor will need to determine the best location for pipeline crossing the Bulkhead Channel based on pipeline size and surrounding bathymetry to ensure the pipeline does not impede advertised navigation depths. The pipeline will come ashore within in the project beach boundary and then be laid underneath Marine Dr. by open cut and cover placement. The pipeline will then be placed along the ground into the primary material placement area where the dredge slurry will be released. The pipeline will be removed at the conclusion of the project with the road repairs made the Marine Drive. c. Hydraulic Dredging A hydraulic dredge will excavate the material from East Taylors Creek. A rotating cutterhead will loosen the material from the harbor floor and then it will be “suctioned” into a pipeline in a slurry form (mixture of material and water). The material will then be transported to the DCMA through the above-described pipeline with the assistance of a series of pumps. There will be a primary pump positioned on the hydraulic dredge with a booster pump(s) installed along the pipeline route at locations based on the horsepower needed to efficiently pump the material to the DMCA. The location of the booster pump(s) will depend on contractor’s size of dredge and size of available pumps. The slurry will be handled at the DMCA as described above. d. Beach Fill Placement After the material placed into the DMCA has sufficiently been dewatered, the material will be excavated from within the DMCA with excavators or front-end loaders and loaded into off-road trucks. The trucks will then haul the material from the DMCA to the beach project site. The off- road trucks will only need to cross Marine Drive and will then be able transport the material down the existing beach or build the beach out creating a haul route as they progress. The 8 material will then be dumped within the beach profile with the final profile shaping and grading occurring with bulldozers and excavators on the beach. D. SEDIMENT COMPATIBILITY The following concerns was raised by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission about sediment compatibility during the scoping meeting for the proposed modification. The material was listed in the application to be 97% sand and 3% fines, but there was no other analysis provided. Please detail if there is additional information or if there are contamination concerns. Material must be suitable for estuarine beach placement. In response to this concern, the County implemented a sediment analysis effort along the Radio Island shoreline. The results of this analysis (Attachment 4) showed an average sand content of 96.5% and an average fines content of 0.5%. Therefore, the sediment resulting from the East Taylors Creek dredging project is considered compatible with the characteristics of the existing Radio Island shoreline. A sediment toxicity study of the East Taylors Creek dredge material was also conducted in 2018 and included as a part of the original permit application package for the East Taylors Creek Dredging Project. This study is included in Attachment 5. E. SCOPING MEETING AND AGENCY COORDINATION An agency scoping meeting was held on June 22, 2021. The main issue raised during this meeting was the proposal at that time to place material directly from hydraulic dredge onto the beach, which the N.C. Division of Coastal Management indicated would be inconsistent with the rules of the Coastal Resources Commission. Other issues raised during the scoping meeting included sand compatibility, adherence to moratoria, concerns over potential impacts to the adjacent federal channel, and the need for a temporary closure of the recreational beach should the project proceed past March 31st. A copy of the minutes from the scoping meeting are included as Attachment 6. In addition to the scoping meeting, additional coordination was initiated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Navigation Branch concerning the proximity of the project to the adjacent federal channel. Navigation Branch staff indicated that while they would need to review the final placement design, they could not identify any concerns at that time. F. ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENTS The County proposes to adhere to the following environmental commitments during all phases of project construction: - All conditions and requirements of all original permits and approvals will be fully complied with, with the exception of any conditions or requirements that may be altered as a result of this permit modification request. - The proposed project modification will adhere to all required construction moratoria. 9 - The proposed project will follow the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommended manatee protection guidelines (Attachment 7). - The County acknowledges that if any portion of the project is constructed after March 31st, the County will coordinate with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries – Shellfish Sanitation and Recreational Water Quality Section, so that a temporary notification of beach closure can be implemented. G. N.C. DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES (NCDWR) PRE-FILING NOTIFICATION In accordance with the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), a pre-filing notification was filed on June 25, 2021. A copy of the returned email resulting from that submission is also included as a part of this CAMA permit application (Attachment 8). The project proponent hereby certifies that all information contained herein is true, accurate, and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. The project proponent hereby requests that the certifying authority review and take action on this CWA 401 certification request within the applicable reasonable period of time. H. STATE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (SEPA) COMPLIANCE § 113A-12(6) states that the preparation of an environmental document shall not be required for projects that require a Coastal Area Management Act major permit. Therefore, no SEPA document will be prepared for the proposed project modification. I. APPLICATION FEE A permit application processing fee of $475 will be provided separately. J. LEASES AND PERMISSIONS A copy of the Lease Agreement between the N.C. State Ports Authority and Carteret County granting the County the right to utilize the beach access area and estuarine beach that are the subject of this Major Modification are attached in Attachment 9. A statement of NCSPA support for the proposed project is also included in this attachment. A Letter of Permission from the N.C. State Ports Authority to utilize a portion of Radio Island for the upland disposal area is included as Attachment 10. A letter of Permission from the U.S. Marine Corps to allow for the crossing of Marine Road is included as Attachment 11. 10 K. ADJACENT RIPARIAN PROPERTY OWNER NOTIFICATIONS Adjacent riparian property owner notifications were mailed (certified mail, return receipt requested) to the two adjacent riparian property owners. A copy of the letter submitted, as well as the certified mail receipts are included in Attachment 12. Signed return receipts (green cards) will be provided once obtained. L. AUTHORIZED AGENT FORM A signed Authorized Agent Form is included in Attachment 13. 11 Attachments Attachment 1 Past Permits Attachment 2 Permit Application Forms Attachment 3 Permit Drawings Attachment 4 Radio Island Beach Fill Survey Attachment 5 East Taylor Creek Chemical Data Summary Attachment 6 Scoping Meeting Minutes Attachment 7 Manatee Avoidance Guidelines Attachment 8 NCDWR Pre-filing Notification Attachment 9 Lease Agreement Between NCSPA and Carteret County Attachment 10 Letter of Permission from NCSPA Allowing Construction of Upland Disposal Area on Radio Island Attachment 11 Letter of Permission from U.S. Marine Corps Allowing Travel Over Marine Road During Project Construction Attachment 12 Adjacent Property Owner Notifications Attachment 13 Agent Authorization