20220529 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20220426

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
Cameron Ingram, Executive Director

Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

April 26, 2022

Lori Beckwith
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Asheville Regulatory Field Office
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, NC 28801

Dave Wanucha
NCDEQ, DWR
450 Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300
Winston Salem, NC 27105

Dear Ms. Beckwith and Mr. Wanucha,

SUBJECT: Comments on GP/WQC Application for Old Schulls Mill Road Intersection Improvement
(SR 1568), Watauga County
48844, DWR 20220529 ver.1

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Division 11 applied for a General 404
Permit and 401 Certification for stream and wetland impacts to modify the intersection of Schulls Mill
Road and NC 105. This work is being pursued in advance of a larger TIP project (R-2566B) partly due to
more pressing safety and traffic concerns at the site. I visited the project site on April 21, 2022.
Comments on the application from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) are
offered in accordance with applicable provisions of the state and federal Environmental Policy Acts (G.S.
113A-1through 113-10; 1 NCAC 25 and 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(c), respectively), the Clean Water Act of
1977 (33 U.S.C. 466 et seq.), and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401, as amended; 16
U.S.C. 661-667d).

The project will impact three small streams and wetlands in ditches that drain to the Watauga River (B Tr
HQW). The river supports trout and rare aquatic species such as hellbenders (Cryptobranchus
alleganiensis alleganiensis). However, the streams have been sampled by NCWRC and NCDOT staffs
and found to not contain trout.
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Watauga County

There is a record of a recently active bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nest northeast of the project.
The proposed project should not affect this species based on the scope of construction and distance
between the project site and nest. However, confirmation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service relative
to the Bald Eagle Protection Act is recommended in part to update the NEPA administrative record for
the R-2566B project, as needed.

The NCWRC agrees with a waiver of the trout moratorium for the work, as currently proposed, in
accordance with the fish sampling results. Particular attention to erosion control practices is nonetheless
warranted here due to the HQW classification and sensitive resources in the river. And, while agreeable
to the waiver, the NCWRC would appreciate further coordination should the plans change to replace the
corrugated metal culvert (CMP) at Site 4. The pipe here is corroding and its replacement could have
effects on trout resources that may be found further downstream.

The NCWRC supports the detail to “key-in” the armored pipe outlet at Site 1. This measure may promote
the backwatering of the pipe and retention of bedload by preventing outlet scour that can occur from lose
replacement of unconsolidated material in temporarily excavated stream beds. The upsizing of the pipe
from 18” to 36” should also help with potential outlet scour; the stream is already severely scoured below
Shulls Mill Road. This “key-in: provision helps prevent stream flow burial as well, and therefore, the
NCWRC recommends also adding it to detail 2 for the channel that will be “day-lighted” by the CMP
removal at Site 1.

The NCWRC requests that the following specific comments and recommendations be incorporated into
the authorizations and construction work to further conserve fish and wildlife habitats:
1. Applicable measures from the current NCDOT Erosion and Sediment Control Design and
Construction Manual should be adhered to. Measures for sensitive-HQW areas are
recommended at this location. Tall fescue and straw mulch must not be used in riparian areas.
Matting used in riparian areas should not contain nylon mesh because it entangles and kills
wildlife. Coir matting should be used on disturbed stream banks that are steep or susceptible to
high water and securely anchored with wooden stakes according to NCDOT specifications.
2. Heavy equipment needs to be well-maintained and concrete pouring needs to be closely
monitored to avoid and quickly mitigate fuel, fluid, or wet concrete losses in or near streams.
3. Rip rap specified in plans should be embedded into (aka “keyed-in”) the soil of channel
relocations wherever possible to expedite/promote surface flow and aquatic organism passage.
This may require leaving out the geotextile underlayment during construction.
4. Removal of vegetation in riparian areas and wetlands should be minimized. Banks on stream
relocations and abandoned roadways should be reforested where there are not conflicts such as
permanent access and routine maintenance needs.
5. Sandbags, rock berms, cofferdams, or other diversion structures should be used where excavation
or other periods of extended stream disturbance has the potential for downstream sedimentation.
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Watauga County

6. The natural dimension, pattern, and profiles of streams and the grades of wetlands should be
restored where temporarily impacted.
7. Rip rap placed for bank stabilization should be limited to the banks below the high-water mark
and vegetation should be used for stabilization above the high-water elevation wherever
practicable.

Thank you for the opportunity to review and provide recommendations on this project. Please contact me
at [e-mail] or [phone] if you have any questions about these comments.

Cordially,

Dave McHenry, NCWRC Western DOT Coordinator

ec: Kevin Hining, NCDOT Division 11 DEO