20061901 Ver 3_WRC Comments_20091110

S North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 9
November 10, 2009
Ms. Loretta Beckwith
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
Ms. Cyndi Karoly
NCDENR, Division of Water Quality, 401 Unit
1628 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1628
SUBJECT: Versant Properties, LLC Nationwide Permit Application - After-the-Fact
Versant, Buncombe County
DWQ No. 06-1901 V3
Dear Ms. Beckwith and Ms. Karoly:
Versant Properties, LLC requested a 404 Permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a 401 Water
Quality Certification from NCDENR, Division of Water Quality. North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission (Commission) staff visited the project site several times. Comments from the Commission are
provided 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).
The applicant originally proposed filling and flooding 1,253 feet of streams and 0.406 acres of wetlands in the
Reaverdam Creek watershed for three ponds and culverts in the 397-acre Versant residential development. Several
culverts were installed and the wetland near the guardhouse was cleared and graded before permits were received.
The application for those impacts was withdrawn and the applicant requested and received a Nationwide Permit to
fill 0.145 acres of wetlands and 273 feet of streams for roads and one pond. Now, the project has been revised
further and authorization for 144 feet of stream impacts has been requested for roads. The applicant does not
anticipate future impacts for later phases of the development.
The project should not harm trout. Habitat is unsuitable for trout in the project area.
Mailing Address: Division of Inland Fisheries - 1721 Mail Service Center - Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] - Fax: [phone]
Versant Page 2 November 10, 2009
Buncombe
We have no major concerns with this project provided it complies as needed after-the-fact with the Nationwide
and Certification requirements. However, it is unnecessary to avoid construction, if applicable, in streams
during the trout moratorium (Final Regional Condition 1.2).
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project. Please contact me at [phone]
extension 24 if there are any questions about these comments.
Sincerely,
Dave McHenry
Mountain Region Coordinator,
Habitat Conservation Program