NCDOT 7-98 Department of The Army 5/17/1999

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/ ����%� DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
41! _.} r e_,- WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
, ° P.O.BOX 1890
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WILMINGTON,NORTH CAROLINA 28402-1890
May 17, 1999
IN REPLY REFER TO J
Regulatory Division
Action ID: 199502334
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Mr. E. Norris Tolson
ED
Secretary of Transportation MAY 2 51999
State of North Carolina
Post Office Box 25201 COASTAL MANAGEMENTRaleigh, North Carolina 27611-5201
Dear Secretary Tolson:
This correspondence confirms that on May 12, 1999, Messrs. David Lekson and Tom Walker
of my Regulatory Division staff conducted an inspection of a borrow and waste site associated
with the North Carolina Department of Transportation's (NCDOT) Manteo Bypass project, TIP
R-2551, in Dare County, North Carolina. This project was authorized by Department of the
Army (DA) permit No. 199502334 on March 5, 1998. Also in attendance was Mr. Pablo
Hernandez of your staff. The subject borrow and waste site belongs to Mr. Rex Tillet, Coastal
Contractors, and is located approximately 3 miles south of the intersection of N.C. 345 and U.S.
64/264, adjacent to the Croatan Sound, north of Wanchese, in Dare County, North Carolina.
Condition (b.) of your DA permit states, "The permittee and its contractors and/or agents shall
not excavate, fill, or perform landclearing at any time in the construction or maintenance of this
project within waters and/or wetlands, except as authorized by this permit or any modification to
this permit. There shall be no excavation from or waste disposal into jurisdictional wetlands or
waters associated with this permit without appropriate modification of the permit." My staff's
inspection revealed that unauthorized spoil material generated from NCDOT's construction work
associated with the Manteo Bypass project was actively being placed within wetlands at the
Tillet Borrow and Waste Site.
Therefore, the North Carolina Department of Transportation is now in non-compliance with
its Department of the Army permit and, consequently, in violation of Section 404 of the Clean
Water Act (33 USC 1344). The contractor has been ordered to immediately restore pre-project
wetland elevations and contours to the effected areas. Since the contractor's actions have placed
NCDOT in non-compliance with its DA permit and may jeopardize the timely continuation of
the Manteo Bypass project, I encourage you to do everything within your power to facilitate the
restoration of this site.

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I am very concerned that this violation occurred after my staff, on several occasions, met
onsite with your staff and the contractors and informed them of our concerns and cautioned them
to avoid impacting these very wetland areas. I encourage you to institute all appropriate and
necessary measures to prevent violations such as this from occurring in the future. I trust that
your efforts to resolve this matter and prevent future such actions from occurring will preclude
the need for me to pursue other courses of action.
My staff is available to assist you in identifying the appropriate restoration requirements for
this site. Any questions regarding this matter may be addressed to Mr. David Franklin in my
Regulatory Division, telephone [phone].
Sincerely,
Terry R. Youngbluth
Colonel, U.S. Army
District Engineer
Copies Furnished:
Mr. William D. Gilmore, P.E., Manager Mr. William L. Cox, Chief
Planning and Environmental Branch Wetlands Section -Region IV
N.C. Department of Transportation Water Management Division
Post Office Box 25201 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611-5201 61 Forsyth Street, SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
United States Attorney
Eastern District of North Carolina Mr. Larry Hardy
310 New Bern Avenue National Marine Fisheries, NOAA
Suite 800, Federal Building Habitat Conservation Division
Raleigh, North Carolina 27601 Pivers Island
Beaufort, North Carolina 28516
Mr. John Hefner
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director
Fish and Wildlife Enhancement National Marine Fisheries Services,NOAA
Post Office Box 33726 Southeast Regional Office
Raleigh, North Carolina 27636-3726 9721 Executive Center Drive NORTH
Saint Petersburg, Florida 33702

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Mr. Doug Huggett Mr. John Dorney
Division of Coastal Management Division of Water Quality
N.C. Department of Environment, N.C. Department of Environment
And Natural Resources and Natural Resources
\Post Office Box 27687 Wetlands and Aquatic Plants
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611-7687 4401 Reedy Creek Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
District Manager
Division of Coastal Management
N.C. Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
1367 U.S. 17 South
Elizabeth City, North Carolina 27909
Mr. Floyd Williams
Division of Land Quality
N.C. Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
943 Washington Square Mall
Washington,North Carolina 27889