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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20210303 Ver 2_Macon County - B204 - NWP 14 Permit Cover Letter_20231025Roy COOPER GOVERNOR STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION October 25, 2023 Ms. Crystal Amschler - Project Manager U. S. Army Corps of Engineers 151 Patton Avenue, Room 208 Asheville, NC 28801-2714 Subject: Nationwide Permit 14 Replace Bridge No. 204 on SR 1533 (Walnut Creek Road) over Walnut Creek Macon County, North Carolina STIP: 17BP.14.R.159 Dear Ms. Amschler: JOEY HOPKINS SECRETARY The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is proposing to replace the subject bridge. The purpose of the project is to replace the functionally obsolete and structurally defficient, 20' W x 2 span @ 13' timber floor on steel I -Beams single span timber bridge on steel I -beams. The new structure will be a 104' L x 2 Barrel 12' W x 6' H Reinforced Concrete Box Culvert on a 30 degree skew. A culvert structure was selected due to a bridge structure would have restricted access to several residential homes and a bridge structure would have rasied the road grade substantially due to the needed hydralic opening. The culvert length is due to the skew of Walnut Crrek Road crossing Walnut Creek. Traffic will be detoured onsite using staged structure construction and the new permanent bridge will be constructed in the existing bridge location. The project will also include some minor approach work on the existing roadway. The project is state funded and is expected to let for construction on March 5t', 2024. I am enclosing a PCN renewal application, pre jurisdictional determination form, SHPO forms, plan sheets showing the proposed work, a marked vicinity map, a USGS quad map and site photographs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service iPac lists 9 species for Macon County that have federal status and that are known from either current or historical records. Spotfin chub (Erimonax monachus), Small Whorled Pogonia (Isotria medeoloides), Mountain Sweet Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia rubra ssp. jonesii), Swamp Pink (Helonias bullata), Rock Gnome Lichen (Gymnoderma lineare), Gray bat (Myotis grisescens), Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalist), Northern Long -Eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis, NLEB) and the Tri-Colored Bat (Perimyotis subflavus) are listed as either threatened, endangered or proposed endangered. Division 14 Office Telephone: (828) 631-1145 253 Webster Road, Sylva, North Carolina 28779 Fax: (828) 586-4043 Bridge No. 204 — Macon County Page 2 October 25, 2023 The Little Tennessee River approximately 15.37 miles downstream of the bridge, below Lake Emory, is a Natural Heritage Area that supports several federally listed aquatic species including the Spotfin Chub. The project is limited in scope to replace the existing bridge with a reinforced concrete box culvert unit in a temporarily dewatered stream channel (Walnut Creek). Therefore, adverse effects on aquatic habitat should be minor and temporary and only occur a short distance downstream. Riparian habitat at the project site is disturbed by mowed NCDOT right-of-way, mowed lawns and a nearby residential driveway. There are no wetlands nor mountain bogs present on site. Small whorled pagonia typically occurs in open, dry, deciduous woods with acidic soil, though habitats can include slopes along streams and mesic forest in association with white pine and rhododendron. Field surveys were completed on 9.30.2020, 5.26.2021, 6.8.2023 and were negative. Rock gnome lichen is typically found at high elevations on vertical rock surfaces that are often bathed in fog. However, it can occur at lower elevations on cliffs that occasionally receive seepage and on damp rock faces in river gorges where there is high humidity. The elevation at the project site is approximately 2,769.25 feet and the site is situated in an open valley. Also, there are no damp rock faces near the site. Field surveys were completed on 9.30.2020, 5.26.2021, 6.8.2023 and were negative. Gray bats usually roost in caves or in/on structures year-round while Indiana bats and NLEB only winter in caves. During warm seasons Indiana bats and NLEB usually roost on/in structures, under the shaggy bark of live trees such as white oaks, sycamores, and hickories, or in cavities or under the loose peeling bark of dead trees. This project will require tree removal and will not affect caves. The project area is not situated in a region (i.e. "red HUC") where there are known NLEB maternity roosts and/or hibernacula and the nearest records are over 1 mile away. The construction work will require the removal of approximately 25 trees (oak, maple, hemlock, locust, black walnut & poplar). There will likely be percussive activities with the project (hoe - ramming and/or jack hammering) to remove existing bridge and for the installation of guardrail, but this work should be intermittent and infrequent and probably be limited to a few hours a day in some weeks. There are no areas where bedrock blasting is anticipated. A few days of night work will be needed to set the bridge structure in place to avoid impacts to traffic. To protect Indiana bats, obstructing trees will be removed between October 16t' and March 31', (winter clearing) of any year. This tree clearing restriction will aid in the protection of other potentially roosting bats in the area from direct disturbance as well. On September 14, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal to list the Tricolored Bat (Perimyotis subflavus — PESU) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. USFWS has not provided the official effective listing date, however, it is expected during the second half of 2023. The following is the USFWS habitat description for the Tricolored Bat. During the spring, summer and fall - collectively referred to as the non -hibernating seasons, tricolored bats primarily roost among live and dead leaf clusters of live or recently dead deciduous hardwood trees. In the southern and northern portions of the range, tricolored bats will also roost in Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides) and Boney Beard Lichen (Usnea trichodea), Bridge No. 204 — Macon County Page 3 October 25, 2023 respectively. In addition, tricolored bats have been observed roosting during summer among pine needles, eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), within artificial roosts like barns, beneath porch roofs, bridges, concrete bunkers, and rarely within caves. Female tricolored bats exhibit high site fidelity, returning year after year to the same summer roosting locations. Female tricolored bats form maternity colonies and switch roost trees regularly. Males roost singly. During the winter, tricolored bats hibernate - which means that they reduce their metabolic rates, body temperatures and heart rate - in caves and mines; although, in the southern United States, where caves are sparse, tricolored bats often hibernate in road -associated culverts, as well as sometimes in tree cavities and abandoned water wells. Tricolored bats exhibit high site fidelity with many individuals returning year after year to the same hibernaculum. The bridge structure was inspected in 2020, 2021 and 2023 and were negative for bat presence/usage. With the inclusion of the following project commitments: winter clearing moratorium (October 16'h — March 31 "), no permanent lighting within action area, the inspection of the bridge structure 14 days prior to construction and erosion control measures designed for Sensitive Watersheds; the NCDOT recommends a "may affect, not likely to adversely affect" for Indiana Bat, NLEB, Tricolored Bats and a "may affect, not likely to adversely affect" for Spotfin Chub, due to the distance of project from occupied habitat and "no effect" determination for Mountain Sweet Pitcher Plant, Small Whorled Pogonia, Swamp Pink, Rock Gnome Lichen and Gray Bat, due to lack or absence of habitat and the negative field surveys. This project was reviewed by NCDOT's Human Environment Unit in 2016 for potential effects to historical architecture and archaeology. It was determined that no surveys were required for historical architecture and no surveys were required for archaeology as well (see attached forms). NCDOT best management practices will be used to minimize and control erosion and sedimentation on this project. The construction foreman will review all erosion control measures daily to ensure erosion and sedimentation are being controlled effectively. If the devices are not functioning as intended, they will be replaced immediately with better devices. Impacts to Waters of the United States Walnut Creek (DWQ Class: C, Tr.) is shown on the USGS topographic map as a perennial stream. The channel is well defined with a substrate of gravel, sand, and cobble and is approximately 12 feet in width. The stream has sufficient flow to support fish and other aquatic life. Walnut Creek flows approximately 15.37 miles to the Little Tennessee River, which meets the definition of a Traditional Navigable Water. For these reasons, we believe that Walnut Creek is a Relatively Permanent Water and is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In order to construct the project, it will be necessary to impact waters of the United States in the Little Tennessee River Basin (HUC 0601020202). Specifically, NCDOT is requesting to replace Bridge No. 204 with a reinforced concrete box culvert structure. Listed below is a summary of the proposed impacts. Project impacts are also detailed within the permit design plans: Bridge No. 204 — Macon County Page 4 October 25, 2023 Site No. Existing Condition Proposed Condition Net Station Impacts 104' L x 2 Barrel 12'W x 6'H Site I Walnut Creek Reinforced Concrete Box Culvert 104' Site IA Walnut Creek Impervious dikes and flow diversions 134' Site IB Walnut Creek Streambank Riprap for Bank Stabilization 69' Total Permanent Stream Impact for Culvert 104' Total Permanent Stream Impact for Streambank Stabilization 69' Total Temporary Impact Impervious Dike and Diversion 134' Permits Requested NCDOT is hereby requesting authorization under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act to proceed with the construction project outlined above. By copy of this letter, I am asking Mr. David McHenry, Western NCDOT Review Coordinator of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC), to comment directly to you concerning the 404 Nationwide Permit request. This application has been sent to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Division of Water Resources (DWR) for a written certification renewal. Please contact me at (828) 508 - 7397 if you have any questions about this application or need additional information. Your prompt review and consideration of this request will be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Patrick J. Breedlove Division 14 — PDEA Engineer Enclosures Bridge No. 204 — Macon County Page 5 October 25, 2023 cc: Ms. Holland Youngman, Biologist, US Fish &Wildlife Service, Asheville Mr. David McHenry, Western NCDOT Review Coordinator, NCWRC, Mr. Kevin Mitchell, Division of Water Resources — DEQ, Asheville