Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout20081615 Ver 2_USACE Correspondence_20101217DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS 69 DARLINGTON AVENUE WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403-1343 ATTENCOION OF: December 10, 2010 Regulatory Division Action ID SAW -2006-40848 and State Permit No. 22-09 Mr. Tim Holloman, Town Manager Town of Topsail Beach 820 South Anderson Boulevard Topsail Beach, North Carolina 28445 Dear Mr. Holloman: D9 - I Lc Is U 9L DFS Y 7 20,0 MANrAhosi�� This correspondence is in response to your letter dated June 15, 2010, requesting modification of the Department of the Army (DA) Permit issued to the Town of Topsail Beach on June 15, 2009, to place approximately 1,000,000 cubic yards of beach quality sand along the 24,700 linear feet of Topsail Beach shoreline from an ocean borrow area, designated as "Borrow Area X", located immediately southeast of New Topsail Inlet. In your June 15, 2009 letter you request to modify this authorization to eliminate the ocean borrow area (Borrow Area "X") as a sand source and include inshore borrow areas within the existing federal navigation channels of (Topsail Creek, Topsail Creek Crossing, and Banks Channel) and two Corps maintained dredge material placement sites (DA -189 & DA -203) located in Topsail Sound located inland of the Town of Topsail Beach. Your request has been fully coordinated with all appropriate State agencies, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The required consultations, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act and (50 CFR Section 600.920) and the Magnuson -Act (Section 305(b)(4)(B)) have been completed. Your request to eliminate Borrow Area "X" and include inshore borrow areas within the existing federal navigation channels of (Topsail Creek, Topsail Creek Crossing, and Banks Channel) and Corps maintained dredge material placement sites (DA -189 & DA -203) is hereby approved provided you adhere to the special conditions attached here. Please note that special conditions # 13, # 16, and #3 5 have been modified from the original authorization and special condition #36 has been removed. The expiration date of your permit shall remain at December 31, 2014. -2 - Should you have any questions, please contact Mr. Dave Timpy, Wilmington Field Office, Regulatory Division at (910) 251-4634. Copies Furnished (with enclosure): Ms. Cyndi Karoly vision of Environmental Management C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources 2321 Crabtree Boulevard, Suite 250 Raleigh, North Carolina 27604-2260 Mr. Doug Huggett Division of Coastal Management N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources 400 Commerce Avenue Morehead City, North Carolina 28557 Mr. Steve Everhart Division of Coastal Management N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources 127 Cardinal Drive Extension Wilmington, North Carolina 28405 Ms. Molly Ellwood Southeastern Permit Coordinator N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Habitat Conservation Program 127 Cardinal Drive Extension Wilmington, North Carolina 28405 Dr. Matt Godfrey N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission 217 Sleep Point Road Gloucester, North Carolina 28528 Sincerely, S. Kenneth Jolly Chief, Regulatory Division Mr. Pete Benjamin U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Post Office Box 33726 Raleigh, North Carolina 27636-3726 Mr. Howard Hall U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Post Office Box 33726 Raleigh, North Carolina 27636-3726 Mr. Ron Sechler National Marine Fisheries Service Pivers Island Beaufort, North Carolina 28516 Mr. Pace Wilber Supervisor, Atlantic Branch Habitat Conservation Division Post Office Box 12559 Charleston, South Carolina 28422-2559 Ms. Georgia Cranmore Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected Species Southeast Regional Office 9721 Executive Center Drive North St. Petersburgh, Florida 33702 -3 - Ms. Becky Fox Wetlands Regulatory Section - Region IV U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1307 Firefly Road Whittier, North Carolina 28789 Commanding Officer United States Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Wilmington 1502 North 23rd Street Wilmington, North Carolina 28405 Chris Gibson, PE Gahagan and Bryant Associates of NC 295-A North Green Meadows Drive Wilmington, North Carolina 28405 Chief, Source Data Unit NOAA/National Ocean Service ATTN: Sharon Tear N/CS261 1315 East -west Hwy., Rm. 7316 Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282 Ms. Jennifer Derby, Chief Wetlands Protection Section - Region IV Water Management Division U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 61 Forsyth Street Atlanta, Georgia 30303 SPECIAL CONDITIONS Topsail Beach Interim Beach Fill Project Action ID SAW -2006-40848 December 10, 2010 In accordance with 33 U.S.C. 1341(d), all conditions of the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management consistency determination and the North Carolina Division of Water Quality 401 Water Quality Certification number 3777 dated November 17, 2010 are incorporated as part of the Department of the Army permit. Therefore they are not listed as special conditions. 1. All work authorized by this permit must be performed in strict compliance with the attached plans, which are a part of this permit. Any modification to these plans must be approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) prior to implementation. 2. Dredging activities authorized by this permit shall not in any way interfere with those operations of the Corps civil works dredging and navigation projects. Specifically, there shall not be any interference with the Corps maintenance dredging of New Topsail Inlet or federal channels in the vicinity of New Topsail Inlet. The permittee shall require its contractors and/or agents to comply with the terms and conditions of this permit in the construction and maintenance of this project, and shall provide each of its contractors and/or agents associated with the construction or maintenance of this project with a copy of this permit. A copy of this permit, including all conditions, shall be available at the project site during construction and maintenance of this project. 4. Except as authorized by this permit or any USACE approved modification to this permit, no excavation, fill or mechanized land -clearing activities shall take place at any time in the construction or maintenance of this project, within waters or wetlands. This permit does not authorize temporary placement or double handling of excavated or fill material within waters or wetlands outside the permitted area. This prohibition applies to all borrow and fill activities connected with this project. 5. Except as specified in the plans attached to this permit, no excavation, fill or mechanized land -clearing activities shall take place at any time in the construction or maintenance of this project, in such a manner as to impair normal flows and circulation patterns within waters or wetlands or to reduce the reach of waters or wetlands. 6. All mechanized equipment will be regularly inspected and maintained to prevent contamination of waters and wetlands from fuels, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, or other toxic materials. In the event of a spill of petroleum products or any other hazardous waste, the permittee shall immediately report it to the N.C. Division of Water Quality at (919) 733- 5083, Ext. 526 or (800) 662-7956 and provisions of the North Carolina Oil Pollution and Hazardous Substances Control Act will be followed. 7. This permit authorizes beach fill activities to be carried out one time along the entire project area. Any request to carry out additional maintenance beach fill activities within the project area where nourishment activities have been completed under this permit will require written authorization from the Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Division. 8. The permittee shall advise the Wilmington District, Regulatory Division in writing prior to beginning the work authorized by this permit. The contractors name, phone number, and address, including any inspectors contact name and phone number must be provided to the Wilmington District prior to any work. 9. A pre -construction meeting must be held with Wilmington District, Regulatory Division prior to conducting the work to ensure the contractor fully understands the conditions of this permit. Meeting participants may include, but are not limited to, representatives from N.C. Division of Coastal Management, N.C. Division of Water Quality, N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission, and U.S. Coast Guard. 10. The permittee shall employ all sedimentation and erosion control measures necessary to prevent an increase in sedimentation or turbidity within waters and wetlands outside the permit area. Additionally, the project must remain in full compliance with all aspects of the Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973 (North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 113A Article 4). 11. Violations of these conditions or violations of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act must be reported in writing to the Wilmington Regulatory Field Office, Attn: Mr. Dave Timpy, Wilmington District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers within 24 hours of the permittee's discovery of the violation. 12. The permittee, upon receipt of a notice of revocation of this permit or upon its expiration before completion of the work will, without expense to the United States and in such time and manner as the Secretary of the Army or his authorized representative may direct, restore the water or wetland to its pre -project condition. 13. The permittee shall coordinate the placement of all dredge pipeline along the beach with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. 14. All dredging and beach fill work will be restricted to November 16th to March 31 St' Upon completion of work, including mobilization and demobilization efforts and beach tilling, all equipment, including pipelines, must be removed from the project area by March 31St 15. No dredged material will be placed at any time in waters outside the permitted beach nourishment disposal area. Material will be placed on the beach via pipeline. 16. The permittee shall execute a consent agreement authorizing use of DA -189 and DA -203 with the Corps of Engineers, Navigation Branch prior to construction. 17. All material used for the beach nourishment must be beach compatible, clean, free of debris and clay, and free of any pollutants except in trace quantities. The permittee shall ensure that an inspector is present during all beach disposal activities and immediately reports to the Corps should any potentially incompatible material be placed on the beach. During dredging operations, material placed on the beach shall be inspected daily to ensure compatibility. During dredging operations, a sediment analysis of the material placed on the beach, including shell content (calcium carbonate) percentage shall be submitted to the Wilmington 2 District, Regulatory Division, Wilmington Regulatory Field Office, Attn: Mr. Dave Timpy, on a WEEKLY basis until completion of the project. If during the sampling process non - beach compatible material is or has been placed on the beach all work shall stop immediately and the Corps be notified by the permittee and/or its contractors to determine the appropriate plan of action. 18. Immediately after completion of the sediment disposal project and prior to the next three sea turtle nesting seasons, beach compaction shall be monitored by the permittee and coordinated with the Corps and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Beach tilling of the compacted beach fill area shall be conducted as required to reduce the likelihood of impacting sea turtle nesting and hatching activities. The permittee shall not conduct any beach tilling without prior compaction sampling of the beach and shall provide an annual summary of compaction surveys to the USFWS. 19. Visual surveys of escarpments shall be made along the beach fill area immediately after completion of construction and for the three years following completion of construction. Between April 1St and December 1 st, all escarpments in the newly placed beach fill that exceed 18 inches shall be graded to match adjacent grades on the beach. Removal of any escarpments during the sea turtle hatching season (May 1 through November 15) shall be coordinated with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. 20. A representative of the Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Division will periodically and randomly inspect the work for compliance with these conditions. Deviations from these procedures may result in cessation of work until the problem is resolved to the satisfaction of the Corps. No claim, legal action in equity or for damages, adjustment, or other entitlement shall be asserted against the United States on account of any such required cessation or related action, by the permittee, its agents, contractors, or other representatives. 21. The permittee shall provide written notification of project completion immediately upon completion of the work authorized by this permit. 22. The permittee will provide two copies of the as -built surveys of the borrow areas and beach fill areas within 30 days of project completion to the Wilmington Regulatory Field office, Attn: Mr. Dave Timpy. 23. If submerged cultural resources are encountered during the operation, the District Engineer will be immediately notified so that coordination can be initiated with the Underwater Archeology Unit (UAU) of the Department of Cultural Resources. In emergency situations, the permittee should immediately contact Mr. Chris Southerly at (910/458-9042), Fort Fisher, so that a full assessment of the artifacts can be made. 24. This Department of the Army permit does not obviate the need to obtain other Federal, State or local authorizations required by law. 25. The permittee understands and agrees that, if future operations by the United States require the removal, relocation, or other alteration, of the structure or work herein authorized, or if, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Army or his authorized representative, said structure or in the opinion of the Secretary of the Army or his authorized representative, said structure or work shall cause unreasonable obstruction to the free navigation of the navigable waters, the permittee will be required, upon due notice from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to remove, relocate, or alter the structural work or obstructions caused thereby, without expense to the United States. No claim shall be made against the United States on account of any such removal, relocation, or alteration. 26. The permittee shall notify NOAA/NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE Chief Source Data Unit N CS261, 1315 E West HWY- RM 7316, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282 at least two weeks prior to beginning work and upon completion of work. 27. The authorized project must not interfere with the public's right to free navigation on all navigable waters of the United States. No attempt will be made by the permittee to prevent the full and free use by the public of all navigable waters at or adjacent to the authorized work for reason other than safety. 28. The permittee will comply with all U.S. Coast Guard regulations for dredging operations. The permittee will contact Mr. Tom Flynn, U.S. Coast Guard, District 5 Waterways at (757) 398-6229 at least 30 days prior to construction. Contact with the U.S. Coast Guard will initiate the Local Notice for Mariners procedures to ensure all safety precautions for aids to navigation are implemented. The permittee will notify our office when this coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard has been commenced and updates will be provided to our office. 29. The permittee must install and maintain, at his expense, any signal lights and signals prescribed by the U.S. Coast Guard, through regulations or otherwise, on authorized facilities. For further information, the permittee should contact the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office at (910) 772-2200. 30. In issuing this permit, the Federal Government does not assume any liability for: a. Damages to the permitted project or uses thereof as a result of other permitted or unpermitted activities or from natural causes. b. Damages to the permitted project or uses thereof as a result of current or future Federal activities initiated on behalf of the general public. c. Damages to other permitted or unpermitted activities or structures caused by the authorized activity. d. Design and construction deficiencies associated with the permitted work. e. Damage claims associated with any future modification, suspension, or revocation of this permit. 31. All necessary precautions and measures will be implemented so that any activity will not kill, injure, capture, pursue, harass, or otherwise harm any protected Federally listed species (sea turtles, whales, manatee, shortnose sturgeon, and piping plover). While accomplishing the authorized work, if the permittee discovers or observes a damaged or hurt listed endangered or threatened species, the District Engineer will be immediately notified so that required coordination can be initiated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and/or National Marine Fisheries Service. rd 32. Routine beach surveillance will be conducted during construction to prevent unintentional damage to sea turtles and their nesting areas. If a nest or a turtle crawl is identified in the project area, the permittee will immediately stop all beach disposal activities and contact the Wilmington District to determine appropriate action. 33. In the event an incidental sea turtle take occurs by a dredge, the permittee must stop all dredging operations and contact the Wilmington District for consultation to determine the appropriate action, including the immediate implementation of sea turtle conservation measures that must be taken. The permittee shall immediately notify Mr. Dave Timpy, Wilmington Regulatory Field Office, Corps Regulatory Division, by email David.L.Timpy@usace.army.mil or by telephone at (910) 251-4634 that an incidental take has occurred. 34. The permittee understands and agrees that, even where it is in full compliance with the terms and conditions of this permit and other required authorizations, incidental take of sea turtles or other endangered species by the permittee may require suspension of the permit by the Corps of Engineers. The amount of incidental take that will trigger suspension, and the need for any such suspension, shall be determined at the time in the sole discretion of the Corps of Engineers. The permittee understands and agrees on behalf of itself, its agents, contractors, and other representatives, that no claim, legal action in equity or for damages, adjustment, or other entitlement against the Corps of Engineers shall arise as a result of such suspension or related action. 35.The permittee shall implement the Sea Turtle and Bird Monitoring Plans described in Section 6.4.1 and 6.4.2 of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Topsail Beach Interim (Emergency) Beach Fill Project -Permit Request. yy y ^ }�yy v� �1 n A t mm r i e d T_ OF Ov O . 2 X " 0 N xt 0 On D D �r Zow oy Y S' D D m D; D r yy y ^ }�yy v� �1 n A t mm r i e d T_ OF #Q Yr w. tqf a Y m 0 l.