20210813_NCDMF_Comment

ROY COOPER
Governor
JOHN NICHOLSON
Interim Secretary
KATHY B. RAWLS
Director
MEMORANDUM:
TO: Adam Parr, Assistant State Mining Engineer
FROM: James Harrison, NCDMF Fisheries Resource Specialist
SUBJECT: Carteret Dirt Pit, Carteret County
DATE: 13 August 2021
A North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) Fisheries Resource Specialist has
reviewed the CAMA Permit application for proposed actions that may impact fish and fish
habitats. The proposed work is located off of Highway 24, just east of Goose Creek Marine.
The applicant, Sunland Sand and Gravel, Inc., is proposing to excavate a simple sand pit,
consisting of a mining area with no stockpiles, processing area, or waste piles. A portion of
the property was previously mined by an unknown previous owner. The previously mined
area now consists of two ponds, and these will be utilized as a settling basin for discharges
from the newly disturbed area. All stormwater will be held within the pit and pumped as
needed. As mining develops, it may be necessary to pump groundwater and stormwater,
which will be pumped into the existing pond and discharged as overflow into an existing
"unnamed" creek.
The creek mentioned in the application documents appears to be Goose Creek. Goose
Creek is designated as Primary Nursery Area (PNA), although this designation is limited to
the portions of Goose Creek on the other side of Highway 24. The proposed mining
operation may also result in discharges to the nearby Sanders Creek, which is also
designated as PNA. Areas designated as PNA are critical habitats for various recreationally,
economically, and environmentally important aquatic species. These areas provide their
inhabitants with the necessary refuge, foraging, and water quality needed for post -larval
development. For projects that involve discharge into PNA, the Division of Water Quality
often requires additional protective limitations.
Because this project involves discharge into a creek that drains to designated PNA, DMF
requests that appropriate limitations be applied to any discharge into PNA in order to
protect juvenile fishes from rapid fluctuations in salinity and temperature and protect their
habitat from impacts that may result from increased sedimentation, erosion, and
contamination. In order to ensure that the proposed mine is not causing significant
impacts to habitat areas that have been designated as PNA, any issued permit should
State of North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
3441 Arendell Street I P.O. Box 769 Morehead City, North Carolina 28557
252-726-7021

include monitoring and reporting requirements as detailed in applicable sections of the
Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources' (DEMLR) General Permit No. NCG020000,
and be held to the limitations found within the above permit.
Thank you for consideration of our comments. Please contact Jimmy Harrison at (252)
948-3835 (office) or [phone] (mobile), or at [e-mail] 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