53-16 Town of Topsail Beach Progress

1
Coats, Heather
From: Coats, Heather
Sent: Friday, March 29; 2019 4:33 PM
To: Chris Gibson; Weychert, Curtis R
Cc: 'Hair, Sarah E SAW'; 'Jamie Pratt'; [e-mail]; Dunn, Maria T.; Dail, Jason
Subject: RE: [External] Topsail Progress Maps and Estimated Schedule
Attachments: RE: [External] Topsail Progress Maps and Estimated Schedule
Hi Chris,
After coordinating with the ACE, WRC & DMF, we are able to approve an extension of this project to April 30, provided
no activities occur on the Spit area at the inlet (including, but not limited to, vehicle traffic and equipment storage). I
don't anticipate this being a problem given the current location of the pipeline which if/when relocated, would be
moved away from the inlet, and since work has concluded at the southernmost portion of the project. Please let me
know if you have any questions about this or if this is not the case.
Please note all work, including demobilization, must be completed on or before April 30, Any work after that date would
require reconsultation with USFWS as the SPBO/federal permit doesn't cover any work past that date. Additionally,
NCWRC has indicated that any work past April 30 would not be supported due to potential impacts to bird nesting and
sea turtles (see attached email).
Please also remember you are required to contact the Division of Marine Fisheries- Shellfish Sanitation and Recreational
Water Quality Section for any work past March 31 if you haven't done so already (in accordance with Condition 7 of
Permit No 53-16). And finally, please remember all work must continue to be conducted within the confines of the SDI
permit (#53-16) and General Permit (#71735).
Let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of further assistance and again, I hope you're feeling better and
making a strong recovery.
Heather
Heather Coats
Beach & Inlet Management Project Coordinator
Division of Coastal Management
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
910 796 7302 office
heather. coatsna ncdenr.gov
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, NC 28405
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Chris Gibson [mailto:[e-mail])
Sent: Friday, March 29, 2019 8:42 AM
To: Weychert, Curtis R <[e-mail]>
Cc: Coats, Heather <[e-mail]>;'Hair, Sarah E SAW' <[e-mail]>;'Jamie Pratt'

<[e-mail]>,.robb [e-mail]; Dunn, Maria T. <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [External]Topsail Progress Maps and Estimated Schedule
Curtis,
We have asked fora May 151h extension, to insure we have enough time to complete the project and demobilize. We
would prefer not to bother the agencies with additional requests.
Your concerns regarding the timing of the extension request are very valid and I certainly understand the feeling of
being put on the spot. First let me apologize for that and agree t with you that these types of projects tend to push the
moratorium envelop. Please understand that this is a hurricane recovery project. The need was not there prior to
September15, 2018. Negotiations with FEMA, permitting, and contracting, as usual, took several months and pushed us
up against the wall. Over the years I have probably had a dozen projects in this situation.
As far as the last minute request, there were several factors.
First over the past 20 years, I have been consistently.told by DCM representatives not to ask for an extension until within
2 weeks of the moratorium date on the permit and to be a certain as possible about the number of days needed. We do
track progress very closely, I have seen an extension need as early as January, but when trying to coordinate with the
agencies have been instructed to take a "wait and see" approach. We waited until we had good production, numbers and
for the 151h of March.
Secondly, this particular project has several "layers" of'permits. We utilized the SDI-5-dredging permit as it was.in place
and the most expedient method to obtain high quality sand for the beach/dune restoration. It also re -opened the
navigation channel which the USCG had closed: We were recently issued a modification to the Town's Beach Inlet and
Sound (BIS) Project by NCDCM which covers this dredge and beach placement area within a much larger area. This
permit.sets the moratorium date at April 30'h. We anticipated that we would be covered by this permit. At a field
meeting on March.21; Heather Coats informed us that if we utilized any part of the BIS permit modification this season,
we would have to re -permit the beach placement portion. For this reason in particular we asked for the extension.
And lastly, while I hate to even throw this out there, part of the delay for getting this coordinated and resolved earlier in
the week of 3/18 is that on Monday morning I had a heart attack and was hospitalized for three days. Immediately after
getting out, Jamie and I met with Heather and the contractor on the morning of 3/21 to discuss contract methodologies
and the moratorium date. Unfortunately, I collapsed at that meeting and had to be re -hospitalized. This threw a bit of a
wrench into how organized we were. Jamie really had to pick up my slack. In, this is also part of the reason for the
permit issues. At my site visit on 3/14 the discharge was not up on the dune face. Heather's call to inform me of this was
the first I knew of this. Had I made it to the beach on 3/18 we probably would not have had this issue.
Again, thank you to you and everyone else for their understanding and hard work. Just like us, Hurricane Florence has
certainly put a strain on you guys and your efforts are appreciated.
Sincerely,
Chris Gibson, PE
TI Coastal, PLLC

Frorti: Jamie Pratt [mailto:[e-mail]
Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2019 4:45 PM'
To: 'Chris Gibson' <[e-mail]>
Subject: FW: [External] Topsail Progress'Maps and Estimated Schedule
FYI
Spoke with Heather on the phone and she said we would still be fine with the extension through April 30, but we need
to respond to Curt's comments below by tomorrow morning so she can process the extension. Any thoughts on how to
wordsmith an.appropriate response?
From: Coats, Heather[mailto:heather.coats0ncdenr.ci
Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2019 4:33 PM
To: Jamie Pratt
Subject: FW: [External] Topsail Progress Maps and Estimated Schedule
Hey Jamie,
Can you please send a response to the questions below?
Heather Coats
Beach & Inlet Management Project Coordinator
Division of Coastal Management
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
910 796 7302 office
heather. coats(a.ncdenr. a ov
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, NC 28405
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Weychert, Curtis R
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2019 7:38 AM
To: Coats, Heather <[e-mail]>; Hair, Sarah E CIV CESAW CESAD (US) <[e-mail]>;
Mairs, Robb L <[e-mail]>; Dunn, Maria T. <[e-mail]>
Cc: Deaton, Anne <anne.deaton(@ncdenr.gov>
Subject: RE: [External] Topsail Progress Maps and Estimated Schedule
Heather, I just have a few questions for Chris.
1. When the connecting pipeline didn't arrive until the 0 of March and the dredging began on the 9e, did TI
Coastal or the dredging company believe they could still complete the work by the April 1 deadline?
If the answer to that question was no, why didn't the permit holder or the contractor reach out to DCM at that
point to discuss the very likely possibility that they would need moratorium relief?
2. If the dredging operations were only stopped for 2 days by DCM, why are they asking for 6 additional weeks?
3. What part of the 6 week extension will only include dredging and beach placement. I'm not concerned with the
demobilization for -fisheries impacts.

r
My concern is that the applicant knew in mid -February that there were delays on the project due to lack of equipment;
why were we not discussing relief at that point? When they began work 3 weeks prior to the beginning of their
moratorium date, did they actually think they would be able to finish? Starting work on a project that is likely to not be
completed within the window and then seeking relief 5 days before the window closes puts the resource agencies in a
very difficult position. Both NC Wildlife and NC Fisheries recommended moratorium periods which are reflected in #2 of
the permitted conditions. In a project which has already had problems with work occurring within the permitted
conditions, granting 6 weeks of additional work is a big concern at this time.
Respectfully,
Curt Weychert
From: Coats, Heather
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2019 1:18 PM
To: Hair, Sarah E CIV CESAW CESAD (US) <[e-mail]>; Mairs, Robb L <[e-mail]>;
Dunn, Maria T. <[e-mail]>; Weychert, Curtis R <[e-mail]>
Cc: Dail, Jason <)[e-mail]>; Wilson, Debra <[e-mail]>
Subject: FW: [External] Topsail Progress Maps and Estimated Schedule
Hello all,
As most of you already know, we have had some issues with the Topsail Beach project- in which TI Coastal apparently
directed the contractor to construct a dune with dredged material, despite the fact they were working under the
CAMA/Dredge & Fill Permit 22-09 which we issued on 5/6/16 (COE AID #SAW-2013-00404/ DWR Project #2008-1615v5).
Under that permit (also known as one of the SDI-5 permits), fill was only authorized to +6' NGVD 29 as a berm only with
no dune construction. They were also authorized to beach bulldoze from MLW for dune repair through a general permit,
which was to take place, then beach fill/berm construction was to follow as permitted under the major. I stopped work
last Wednesday, met with Chris Gibson & Jamie Pratt with TI Coastal and the contractor (Cottrell) on Thursday morning
and then allowed them to resume dredging and beach fill as authorized to a maximum fill elevation of+6' NGVD 29.
They have said they are opting to no longer beach bulldoze to repair the dune, with the exception of one section where
the dune was breached in the area between Station 32+25 and 43+00 (approximate location), as shown on the attached
updated plans. In this area, they will bulldoze the beach from MLW up to the dune, as indicated in the last email
attachment. However, at this time, they are requesting an extension beyond April 1 to allow them to work through May
15, 2019. Jamie has submitted the plans along with projected schedule/work dates. I am also attaching the email with
additional conditions referenced in the general permit issued that allowed beach bulldozing/truck haul to continue
through the season (during daylight hours only).
Please review the attached information and letter of extension request and send me any comments, concerns or
approval as soon as possible and/or feel free to call me if you have any questions or want to discuss.
Thanks,
Heather
Heather Coats
Beach & Inlet Management Project Coordinator
Division of Coastal Management
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
910 796 7302 office

. n
heather.coats(ftcdenr.aov
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, NC.28405
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Jamie Pratt [mailto:[e-mail]
Sent: Sunday, March 24, 201910:52 AM
To: Coats, Heather <[e-mail]>
Cc: 'Chris Gibson' <[e-mail]>
Subject: [External] Topsail Progress Maps and Estimated Schedule
Good Morning Heather -
Please see attached progress maps for the Topsail Project. Areas shaded in green are complete through yesterday.
Approximately 34,000 cubic yards of the 226,000 cubic yards in the channel templates has been dredged to date, leaving
approximately 192,000 cubic yards to be dredged. The dates provided on the map are my best estimate based upon
dredge capability of moving about 4,000 CY of sand per 24 hour period. It does not account for mechanical breakdowns
or other issues that may arise.
The only marginally intertidal areas are located in close proximity to the where the dredge is working right now. While
we anticipate the project taking approximately another 6 weeks to complete, the impact to intertidal areas are being
impacted now and the dredge should be away from these areas within the first 10 days of April. Outside of the area
around Station 0+00 in Topsail Inlet, the areas that are exposed at low tide are very small in nature and isolated. The
soundings shown in the attached maps are in Mean Low Water and are from our before dredge surveys collected on
February 14 (Topsail Creek), March 19 (Topsail Inlet), and March 22 (Banks Connector Channel and Banks Channel).
The pipeline routes are through the established road crossings and all activity is progressing away from Serenity Point at
the southern end of Topsail. Given the timing of our dredging within the intertidal areas and the subtidal nature of the
majority of the remaining channel areas, I believe we have limited our impacts as much as possible. Please let me know
if you have any questions or need any other information. The PDF drawings do not have the aerial photo in the
background to reduce file size for email, but if you would like copies with the aerial let me know and I will post them to
our FTP site for you to download.
Jamie