20200349 Ver 1_00_BlueRidge_PCN Cover Letter_20200306

Kimley»)Horn
March 6, 2020
Mr. Lyle Phillips
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Raleigh Regulatory Field Office
3331 Heritage Trade Drive, Suite 105
Wake Forest, NC 27587
Mr. Paul Wojoski
NC Division of Water Resources
401 & Buffer Permitting Unit
512 North Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC 27604
RE: Nationwide Permit 14 Application — Blue Ridge Road (SR 1670) Widening
City of Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina
Dear Mr. Phillips and Mr. Wojoski:
On behalf of our client, the City of Raleigh, Kimley-Horn is submitting the attached application for
authorization under Nationwide Permit (NWP) 14 for the above referenced project in Wake County.
The project proposes to widen Blue Ridge Road (SR 1670) from Duraleigh Road to Glenwood
Avenue and construct a grade separated greenway crossing below Blue Ridge Road to improve
pedestrian and vehicle safety.
Kimley-Horn staff delineated the project study area on February 1, 2018 and identified two perennial
streams (Crabtree Creek and House Creek). Andy Neal of the NC Division of Water Resources
(NCDWR) issued a Buffer Determination Letter (RRO #18-077) on March 15, 2018. A Preliminary
Jurisdictional Determination request was submitted to Tasha Alexander of the US Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE) and confirmed by email (AID# SAW 2018-00496) on April 17, 2018.
Permanent impacts to House Creek will result from the replacement of an existing culvert, rip rap
outlet protection, and bank stabilization to support the proposed road widening. Impacts to
jurisdictional features have been avoided and minimized to the extent practical by intentionally
aligning the roadway along existing right-of-way as often as possible and tightening the fill slopes
within jurisdictional features to reduce the limits of disturbance. Temporary impacts to House Creek
will occur to allow for construction access as part of the culvert replacement and streambank
stabilization. Temporary impacts will be restored to pre -construction conditions upon completion of
the proposed project.
Additionally, unavoidable permanent impacts to the buffer associated with House Creek will result
from the proposed roadway widening, greenway realignment, and modifications to existing utilities.
Buffer impacts resulting from streambank stabilization, greenway realignment, and realignment of a

Kim ey>>> Horn Page 2
water utility line in Buffer Zone 2 are "Allowable" under the Neuse River Basin Buffer Rules Table of
Uses. Buffer impacts resulting from the road crossing, parallel roadway, and perpendicular
realignment (> 40 LF and <150 LF) of a water utility line are "Allowable with Mitigation" under the
Neuse River Basin Buffer Rules Table of Uses.
Compensatory mitigation has been proposed for unavoidable impacts to streams within the project
study area at a 1:1 ratio. To offset these losses, warm stream credits have been reserved through the
NC DEQ Division of Mitigation Services (DMS). The acceptance letter from DMS has been included
as part of this application. In addition, compensatory mitigation has been proposed for unavoidable
impacts to Buffer Zone 1 at a 3:1 ratio and Buffer Zone 2 at a 1.5:1 ratio. To offset these losses,
riparian buffer credits have been reserved through Resource Environmental Solutions (RES), LLC.
The Statement of Availability from the mitigation bank has been included as part of this application.
To assist with the processing of this application, the following information is included:
• PCN Application Form
• Signed Agent Authorization Form
• Figures
• Stream Data Forms
• NC Stream Assessment Method Form
• Mitigation Bank Statement of Availability and DMS Acceptance Letter
• Preliminary Jurisdictional Determination Email Concurrence and Request
• Signed Buffer Determination Letter
• Permit Impact Drawings
• Plan Sheets
If there is any additional information you need to assist in the processing of this NWP application,
please do not hesitate to contact me at [phone] or [e-mail].
Sincerely,
Mackenzie Richards
Environmental Analyst