20191748 Ver 2_USACE Permit_20200520

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
WILMINGTON DISTRICT
Action ID. SAW-2020-00590 County: Watauga
GENERAL PERMIT (REGIONAL AND NATIONWIDE) VERIFICATION
Permittee: Twin Rivers Property Owner's Association / Attn: John Welfare
Address: P.O. Box 1598
Boone, NC 28607
Telephone Number: 828-963-7020
Location description: The site is located along the Watauga River in the Twin Rivers residential development, off NC
Hwy 105, near Foscoe, NC. Coordinates are: 36.165665-81.755523
Description of projects area and activity: This permit authorizes excavation, installtion of in -stream structures and
bank stabilization activities for the Watauga River Streambank Stabilization proiect. Impacts authorized by this
permit total 0.190 acre of wetland impacts (0.177 acre temporary and 0.013 acre permanent), impacts to
approximately 0.39 acres of open water along with 3,101 linear feet of the Watauga River. Attached are
recommendations from the North Carolina Wildlife Commission for your consideration.
Applicable Law: ® Section 404 (Clean Water Act, 33 USC 1344)
❑ Section 10 (Rivers and Harbors Act, 33 USC 403)
Authorization: Regional General Permit Number or Nationwide Permit Number: 27
SEE ATTACHED RGP or NWP GENERAL, REGIONAL AND SPECIAL CONDITIONS
Your work is authorized by the above referenced permit provided it is accomplished in strict accordance with the
attached conditions, above noted special conditions, and your submitted application and attached information dated
March 31, 2020 and revised May 14, 2020. Any violation of the attached conditions or deviation from your submitted
plans may subject the permittee to a stop work order, a restoration order, a Class I administrative penalty, and/or
appropriate legal action.
This verification will remain valid until the expiration date identified below unless the nationwide/regional authorization is
modified, suspended or revoked. If, prior to the expiration date identified below, the nationwide/regional permit authorization
is reissued and/or modified, this verification will remain valid until the expiration date identified below, provided it complies
with all requirements of the modified nationwide/regional permit. If the nationwide/regional permit authorization expires or is
suspended, revoked, or is modified, such that the activity would no longer comply with the terms and conditions of the
nationwide/regional permit, activities which have commenced (i.e., are under construction) or are under contract to commence
in reliance upon the nationwide/regional permit, will remain authorized provided the activity is completed within twelve months
of the date of the nationwide/regional permit's expiration, modification or revocation, unless discretionary authority has been
exercised on a case -by -case basis to modify, suspend or revoke the authorization.
Activities subject to Section 404 (as indicated above) may also require an individual Section 401 Water Quality Certification.
You should contact the NC Division of Water Resources (telephone [phone]) to determine Section 401 requirements.
For activities occurring within the twenty coastal counties subject to regulation under the Coastal Area Management Act
(CAMA), prior to beginning work you must contact the N.C. Division of Coastal Management.
This Department of the Army verification does not relieve the permittee of the responsibility to obtain any other required
Federal, State or local approvals/permits.
If there are any questions regarding this verification, any of the conditions of the Permit, or the Corps of Engineers regulatory
program, please contact Amanda Jones at 828-271-7980, ext. 4225 or [e-mail].
FUEMMELER.AMAN Digitally signed by
DA.JONE5.12428350 FUEMMELER.AMANDAJONE5.124
2835090
Corps Regulatory Official:90 Date: 2020.05.2013:46:31-04'00' Date: May 20, 2020
Amanda Jones
Expiration Date of Verification: March 18, 2022
CF: BFEC, Attn: Adam Williams (via email)

Action ID Number: SAW-2020-00590 County: Watauga
Permittee: Twin Rivers Property Owner's Association / Attn: John Welfare
Project Name: Watauga River Streambank Stabilization / NWP 27
Date Verification Issued: May 20, 2020
Project Manager: Amanda Jones
Upon completion of the activity authorized by this permit and any mitigation required by the permit,
sign this certification and return it to the following address:
US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
WILMINGTON DISTRICT
Attn.: Amanda Jones
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
Please note that your permitted activity is subject to a compliance inspection by a U. S. Army Corps of
Engineers representative. Failure to comply with any terms or conditions of this authorization may
result in the Corps suspending, modifying or revoking the authorization and/or issuing a Class I
administrative penalty, or initiating other appropriate legal action.
I hereby certify that the work authorized by the above referenced permit has been completed in
accordance with the terms and condition of the said permit, and required mitigation was completed in
accordance with the permit conditions.
Signature of Permittee
Date

ltl North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 0
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
May 15, 2020
Ms. Amanda Fuemmeler
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: Twin Rivers POA Watauga River Streambank Stabilization
Watauga River, Watauga County
Dear Ms. Fuemmeler:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to stabilize 3,101 ft of the Watauga River, permanently fill 291 ft of stream and 0.013
acre of wetland, and temporarily impact 0.177 acre of wetland in Watauga County. NCWRC
staff attended a site visit meeting with applicant and design firm on April 28, 2020. 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).
Project activities should not be detrimental to wild trout reproduction and do not need to be
avoided during the trout moratorium. However, the Watauga River is recognized by the NC
Natural Heritage Program as the Watauga River Aquatic Habitat, rated High for the richness of
rare species it contains. This part of the Watauga River supports the Eastern Hellbender
(Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, US Federal Species of Concern, NC Special Concern). There is
a reproducing population of these animals in the vicinity of the project, and we request that
project construction activities be avoided from August 15 to November 30 to avoid impacts to
Eastern Hellbender breeding, nesting, and hatchling development.
The application proposes to stabilize a reach of the Watauga River with bank sloping, planting,
and a series of in -stream structures, including j-hooks, cross vanes, rock vanes, single wing
deflectors, and root wads. The project is phased, with Phase 1 involving work on approximately
1,000 ft in order to divert flows from a side channel, and Phase 2 consisting of a longer reach of
the river. Phase 1 would involve filling in the side channel and installing a series of rock sills to
maintain grade. A temporary pool would be excavated within the old side channel. Work will be
done from the bank as much as possible, but in -stream access will be necessary. According to
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

Twin Rivers POA Stabilization Page 2 May 19, 2020
Watauga River, Watauga County
Josselyn Lucas of Brushy Fork Environmental, heavy equipment will not be walked through the
channel between structures. Flows should be diverted around work areas.
We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to fish and wildlife resources:
1. Be vigilant with sediment and erosion control during site staging, construction, and cleanup.
The project description notes that disturbed areas will be stabilized each day; this is
important at this site.
2. Work should be done at low flows, and flows diverted around in -stream work areas to
minimize fine sediment loss to the stream.
3. Any erosion control matting used should be free of nylon or plastic mesh, as this type of
mesh netting frequently entangles wildlife and is slow to degrade, resulting in a hazard that
may last for years.
4. A moratorium of August 15 to November 30 should be applied to the in -stream work on this
project in order to protect hellbender reproduction.
5. The site should be surveyed for the Eastern Hellbender just before the project begins; animals
should be relocated well outside of the project area. The project manager should reach out to
Lori Williams (lori.williams&ncwildlife.org ) and Andrea Leslie
(andrea.leslie(abncwildlife.ori) at least three weeks before construction begins.
6. Shelter rocks potentially used by hellbenders should be left undisturbed during construction
activities. Shelter rocks are typically large flat rocks at least a foot in diameter.
7. Project staff should be on site during in -stream activities to watch for hellbenders. If animals
are disturbed during construction, they should be captured in a bucket and moved away from
the area of disturbance into Boone Fork, just above the confluence with the Watauga River.
Please notify Lori Williams if hellbenders are found.
8. The design firm should be on site frequently to oversee project work, especially work
involving structure installation.
9. We strongly recommend using a contractor with stream restoration experience.
10. We recommend that a woody buffer as wide as possible (we recommend at least 30 feet) be
planted on the stream as infrastructure allows in order to ensure project success. A wide
forested buffer can ensure greater bank stability, filter overland pollutants, and provide
habitat for birds and other wildlife.
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: Josselyn Lucas and Adam Williams, Brushy Fork Environmental
Sue Homewood, NC Division of Water Resources
Byron Hamstead, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Kin Hodges and Lori Williams, NCWRC