HighlandsFallsCountryClubDam_CullasajaR_Macon_NCWRCComments

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 4, 2024

Ms. Shannon Healy
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006

SUBJECT: Concrete Repair and Gate Replacement at Highlands Falls Country Club Dam
Cullasaja River, Macon County

Dear Ms. Healy:

Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to repair a dam on the Cullasaja River, impacting 0.04 acre of open water in Macon
County. Our comments on this application are offered for your consideration under provisions of
the Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. 466 et. seq.) and Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48
Stat. 401, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 661-667d).

Wild trout reproduction would not be impacted by project activities, and a trout moratorium
would not apply to the project.

The application proposes to repair a dam and install a new bottom gate on Ravenel Lake. Water
in the lake would be lowered via siphon, but not to a level at which lake sediments will be
exposed. An area near the dam will be further dewatered within a coffer dam via siphon and
pumps. Water that is pumped out would be sent to a sediment bag and then a sediment trap
before being returned to the stream below the dam. Turbidity will be monitored.

We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to the aquatic community:
1. Vigilance should be used in sediment and erosion control during site preparation,
construction, and clean up. Disturbed areas should be seeded, mulched and/or matted as
soon as possible.
2. Any erosion control matting used should be free of plastic or nylon mesh, as this type of
mesh frequently entangles wildlife and is slow to degrade, resulting in a hazard that may last
for years.
3. Flows must be maintained downstream at all times, including during pond refill. We
recommend maintaining at least 50% of incoming flows in the downstream channel
Highlands Falls CC Dam Repair Page 2 April 4, 2024
Cullasaja R, Macon Co
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project. Please contact me at
[phone] if you have any questions about these comments.

Sincerely,

Andrea Leslie
Mountain Region Coordinator, Habitat Conservation Program

ec: Terri Allen, T.E. Allen Engineering
Joey Winston, NC Division of Water Resources