20190133 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20190222

1�1 North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 0
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
February 22, 2019
Ms. Amanda Fuemmeler
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: 605 Old US 70 Hwy E
UTs to Swannanoa River, Buncombe County
Dear Ms. Fuemmeler:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to install culverts on 129 ft of two unnamed tributaries (UTs) to the Swannanoa River
Buncombe County for a residential development. 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).
There are Rainbow Trout in the vicinity of the project, and we request that activities be avoided
from January 1 to April 15 to protect egg and fry stages of trout. In addition, the upper
Swannanoa River has a small population of Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis,
US Federal Species of Concern, NC Special Concern), a species sensitive to excess sediment.
We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to the aquatic community:
1. Work on the project should be avoided between January 1 and April 15 in order to avoid
impacts to Rainbow Trout spawning.
2. Due to the presence of Eastern Hellbender and Rainbow Trout in the vicinity of the project,
we ask that particular care be used to retain sediment on-site. Effective sediment and erosion
control measures must be used and maintained to stabilize the stream banks quickly after the
culverts are installed. Coir matting over seed and straw should be used on any exposed soils
near the stream.
3. Matting used for stabilization should be free of nylon mesh; nylon mesh netting frequently
entangles wildlife and is slow to degrade resulting in a hazard that may last for years.
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

605 Old US 70 Hwy E Page 2 February 22, 2019
UT Swannanoa R, Buncombe County
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 or need further assistance.
Sincerely,
Andrea Leslie
Mountain Region Coordinator, Habitat Conservation Program
ec: Greg Hoffman, Civil Design Concepts
Zan Price, NC Division of Water Resources