NCDMF Comment Memo - Town of Southern Shores Beach Nourishment.pdf

ROY COOPER
Governor
JOHN NICHOLSON
Interim Secretary
KATHY B. RAWLS
Director
MEMORANDUM:
TO: Heather Coats, NCDCM Beach & Inlet Management Project Coordinator
FROM: James Harrison, NCDMF Fisheries Resource Specialist
SUBJECT: Town of Southern Shores Beach Nourishment, Dare County
DATE: 23 June 2021
A North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) Fisheries Resource Specialist has
reviewed the CAMA Major permit application for proposed actions that may impact fish
and fish habitats. The proposed work is located along the entire ocean front shoreline in
the Town of Southern Shores, Dare County, North Carolina, and includes two potential
1000' tapers into the towns of Duck and Kitty Hawk. The applicant is requesting
authorization of the proposed beach nourishment project consisting of approximately
21,625' of shoreline, as well as the possible 1000' tapers. This proposal would occur
concurrently with the other three Dare County beach nourishment projects. These
proposals include the request to have the ability to dredge year-round without
environmental window restrictions.
The main placement area of the proposed project begins at the southern town limit at the
Kitty Hawk/Southern Shores border. Placement would extend 19,608' northwards and
terminate at the Duck/Southern Shores border. Dunes that have undergone significant
scarping will be reshaped as needed along this section of shoreline. The total fill area
below mean high water (MHW) is 4,809,633 square feet (SF), and the total fill area above
MHW is 1,989,007 SF, for a total disturbed area of 6,798,640 SF.
Construction of the preferred design along with five years of advanced fill would require
1,216,208 cubic yards (CY) of fill material, which would be obtained from Borrow Area A.
The dredged volume would also require up to an additional 20% to account for losses
during dredging and an additional amount in the unlikely event that a storm eroded the
shoreline prior to the completion of the project. The total dredge volume could be
1,824,312 CY. Surveys of the borrow area indicate that there is a sufficient amount of
sediment available for all four proposed projects. Based on estimated production rates,
this project would likely require at least 2.5 months to complete in done independently of
the other Dare County projects. If all four projects are completed concurrently, it is
expected that the entire project would be completed within 5 months.
State of North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
3441 Arendell Street I P.O. Box 769 Morehead City, North Carolina 28557
252-726-7021

DMF has concerns with allowing the work to be completed year-round, especially taking
into consideration the cumulative area of disturbance for all four towns in one season.
Dredge and fill operations year-round, particularly during the warmer spring and summer
months, could negatively affect the species present in these areas. Potential impacts
include direct mortality through burial or entrance into dredge machinery, excessive
sediment particles in the water column which can clog gills, or areal avoidance due to noise
and/or turbidity associated with dredge and fill operations.
In order to protect the ecologically, recreationally, and economically important finfish and
shellfish species, along with the organisms on which they feed and the habitats they utilize,
DMF typically recommends a moratorium of April 1 through September 30 for dredge and
fill operations. This moratorium protects aquatic resources during periods shown to have
high benthic activity, as well as the time in which many species grow to maturity.
Furthermore, it is the time of year when finfish frequently utilize shallow waters for refuge
and/or forage. Observation of the dredging operations moratorium would help to
minimize the potential impacts to aquatic species in the area. However, since the proposed
project would be a continuation of projects taking place in neighboring towns, DMF is
amenable to allowing this one-time nourishment request to occur without a mandatory
moratorium requirement. DMF would recommend, though, that monitoring be included to
determine the effects this work will have on important nearshore fish and benthic species
and habitats. Additionally, DMF would recommend that the applicant make every effort
possible to conduct operations during the above environmental window in order to
minimize impacts, rather than plan on conducting operations during the window.
The monitoring should include, at a minimum:
1. Pre- and post -placement surveys of benthic species (biodiversity and abundance) in
order to determine the impact of dredging and placement on benthic species.
2. Turbidity plume monitoring, to ensure increases in turbidity are not causing
significant impacts on the surrounding environment. Ideally, this would include
monitoring to observe how widespread the turbidity plume occurs during dredging
and placement operations. This should also involve taking water quality samples
before, during, and after dredging and disposal operations. At a minimum, this
should be completed once per day, taking measurements before dredging and
placement at the dredging location and disposal site, and at least once during
dredging and once during placement. Specific parameters should include (at a
minimum) turbidity (i.e. secchi depth) and surface and bottom measurements of
dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity.
3. Habitat surveys at the disposal locations to ensure the projects are not causing
significant alterations in habitat type (i.e. SAV, wetlands, intertidal). In cases such as
the intertidal area, this would be to show that the placement of material isn't
causing a significant shift in habitat types that are based on water depths (removal
of shallow habitat and/or conversion of shallow habitat to deeper habitat,
conversion of intertidal to subtidal, etc.).
4. Monitoring for dead fish and crabs along placement - any deceased fish/crabs
observed in disposal areas (those in which the cause of death isn't obviously related
State of North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
3441 Arendell Street I P.O. Box 769 Morehead City, North Carolina 28557
252-726-7021

to recreational fishing) should be recorded and reported. This should also include
monitoring, recording, and reporting any fish/crabs that are caught and/or killed by
dredging equipment. Recordings should include, at a minimum, date/time/location
observed, species, and length (tail length - measured in centimeters from tip of the
mouth to the tail fork; for crabs, measurement should be the width of the carapace).
Pictures are also helpful with this to ensure correct identification and for
verification that mortality is related to dredging.
5. If possible, noise monitoring should be included. Ideally, this would occur at varying
distances from the dredge and disposal locations. Monitoring should include
recording noise levels before or after operations (to provide a baseline) and during
the dredging and disposal (to observe the increases that result from the dredging
and disposal).
Thank you for consideration of our comments. Please contact Jimmy Harrison at (252)
948-3835 (office) or [phone] (mobile - preferred), or at
james.harrisonOncdenr.gov with any further questions or concerns.
State of North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
3441 Arendell Street I P.O. Box 769 Morehead City, North Carolina 28557
252-726-7021