20210916_NCWRC

® North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 9
Cameron Ingram, Executive Director
MEMORANDUM
TO: Adam Parr, Assistant State Mining Engineer
NCDEQ, Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources, Land Quality Section
FROM: Andrea Leslie, Mountain Region Coordinator
Habitat Conservation Program
DATE: September 16, 2021
SUBJECT: New Mining Permit for Waycaster Stone Co., Inc
Mountain Mist Mine, McDowell County
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed the
application for a permit for the Mountain Mist Mine in McDowell County. Our comments on
this permit action are offered for your consideration under provisions of the Mining Act of 1971
(as amended, 1982; G.S. 74-46 through 74-68; 15 NCAC 5) and the North Carolina General
Statutes (G.S. 113-131 et. seq.).
A permit is requested for the Mountain Mist Mine, which has been in operation for years; this
permit would apply to several smaller mines on adjoining properties. The total disturbed acreage
would be 5.9 acres on 26.3 acres of land. The site is a granite mine, and mined materials are
harvested and loaded directly into trucks, which take the materials off site. Ditches and sediment
basins are planned to provide sediment and erosion control; to protect downstream tributaries to
Toms Creek, it is essential that sediment and erosion control measures are adequate.
The reclamation plan includes Tall Fescue, Bermuda Grass, and Sericea Lespedeza. NCWRC
discourages the use of these highly invasive plants and instead encourages the use of more
wildlife friendly species, such as Creeping Red Fescue, Switchgrass, Big Bluestem, and Black-
eyed Susan. Consider using seed mixtures that are beneficial to wildlife (e.g., native warm
season grasses and pollinator beneficial species) in the reclamation plan. An exact seeding
mixture would need to take into account soil types, moisture, pH, and degree of slope of areas to
be stabilized. We refer the applicant to reach out to Andrea Leslie at
andrea.leslie(ab,ncwildlife.org for additional information and ideas on reclamation for wildlife.
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

Mountain Mist Mine Page 2 September 16, 2021
McDowell Co.
Thank you for the opportunity to review this permit action. Please contact me at [phone]
if you have any questions about these comments.
ec: Shawna Riddle, NC Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources