HomeMy WebLinkAbout20061137 Ver 2_USACE More Info Request_20210527DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
69 DARLINGTON AVENUE
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403-1343
May 27, 2021
Regulatory Division
Action ID: SAW-2018-00217
Mr. Robby Stone
City of High Point
Post Office Box 230
High Point, North Carolina 27261
Dear Mr. Stone:
Please reference your Individual Permit application for Department of the Army (DA)
authorization to permanently discharge dredged or fill material into 0.006 acre (82 linear
feet) of stream channel and 0.01 acre of wetlands, and the temporary discharge of fill
material into 0.002 acre (17 linear feet) of stream channel and 0.01 acre of riparian non-
riverine wetlands, associated with relocating Kersey Valley Road (SR 1154) to allow for
the expansion of the Kersey Valley Landfill in High Point, in Guilford County, North
Carolina.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District (Corps) advertised your
proposal by public notice dated April 12, 2021. Comments in response to the notice
were received from agencies including the North Carolina Division of Water Resources
(NCDWR), North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR),
United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), United States Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS), and United States National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS). The comments received are enclosed for your information and to provide you
with the opportunity to address any stated concerns.
Please note that the NCDNCR, in a letter dated May 26, 2021, stated that they are
aware of no historic resources which would be affected by the project, and therefore
have no comment on the project as proposed. The USEPA, in an email dated April 28,
2021, stated that they had no site -specific comments or concerns with the project as
presented in the Public Notice. The USFWS, in a letter dated May 5, 2021, stated that
the action is not likely to adversely affect federally listed species or their critical habitat.
Furthermore, the NMFS, in an email dated April 17, 2021, stated that the proposed
project would not occur in the vicinity of essential fish habitat (EFH) designated by the
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Mid -Atlantic Fishery Management Council,
or the NMFS, and that they are neither supportive of nor in opposition to authorization of
the proposed work.
Further, on February 6, 1990, the Department of the Army (DA) and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA)
establishing procedures to determine the type and level of mitigation necessary to
comply with Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines. This MOA provides
for first, avoiding impacts to waters and wetlands through the selection of the least
damaging, practical alternative; second, taking appropriate and practical steps to reduce
impacts on waters and wetlands; and finally, compensation for remaining unavoidable
impacts to the extent appropriate and practical. To enable us to process your
application, in compliance with the MOA, we request that you provide the following
additional information:
A. Permits for work within wetlands or other special aquatic sites are available
only if the proposed work is the least environmentally damaging, practicable
alternative. Please furnish information regarding any other alternatives,
including upland alternatives, to the work for which you have applied and
provide justification that your selected plan is the least damaging to water or
wetland areas.
i. Your permit application includes alternatives information and is
generally sufficient for continued evaluation.
B. It is necessary for you to have taken all appropriate and practicable steps to
minimize losses of Waters of the U.S., including wetlands. Please indicate all
that you have done, especially regarding development and modification of
plans and proposed construction techniques, to minimize adverse impacts.
i. Your permit application includes avoidance and minimization
information and is generally sufficient for continued evaluation.
C. The MOA requires that appropriate and practicable mitigation will be required
for all unavoidable adverse impacts remaining after the applicant has
employed all appropriate and practicable minimization. Please indicate your
plan to mitigate for the projected, unavoidable loss of waters or wetlands or
provide information as to the absence of any such appropriate and practicable
measures.
i. Your permit application includes mitigation information and is generally
sufficient for continued evaluation
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Additionally, the following items must be resolved prior to continuing to process your
permit request:
1) Permit Drawing Sheet 8 (of 17) appears to show rip rap stabilization on the banks
of the stream, within the proposed temporary impact footprint. Further, Detail G
on this Sheet appears to show keyed -in rip rap on the stream banks and channel
bed. Rip rap bank stabilization (keyed in) would be considered a permanent
impact (not a loss of waters) by the Corps. If rip rap is proposed below the
ordinary high-water mark of the stream, please update the appropriate page of
the PCN and corresponding plan sheets (including Sheet 17);
2) Please include a profile view of the proposed 24" pipe at its outlet into the
stream. The primary purpose of this profile view would be to clearly show the
slope of the pipe at its outlet in relation to the slope of the stream channel at this
location.
The above requested information is essential to the expeditious processing of your
application; please forward this information to us within 30 days of your receipt of this
letter. If you have any questions regarding these matters, please contact me at (919)
554-4884 extension 30 or David.E.Bailey2@usace.army.mil.
Enclosures
Copies Furnished:
Mr. Troy Beasley
WithersRavenel, Inc.
219 Station Road, Suite 101
Wilmington, North Carolina 28405
Sincerely,
Date:2021.05.27
16:11:18 -04'00'
David E. Bailey, Regulatory Project Manager
Raleigh Regulatory Field Office
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Mr. Todd Bowers
Permit Review Specialist
Wetlands Regulatory Section
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region IV
Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center
61 Forsyth Street, SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Ms. Sue Homewood
Division of Water Resources
North Carolina Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
450 W. Hanes Mill Rd, Suite 300
Winston Salem, North Carolina 27105
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