R-3167I

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
P.O. BOX 1890
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28402-1890
April 23, 1997
IN REPLY REFER TO
Regulatory Branch

ACTION ID. 199704923, NC Highway 5 from NC Highway 211 to SR 1209.
It6,JJ
Mr. F. E. Whitesell, P. E. \ le ( /e F W, Division Engineer C1?'V
\
p U o
North Carolina Department of Transportation Q
Post Office Box 1067 i
Aberdeen, North Carolina 28315
Please reference my February 19, 1997, meeting with Messrs. Charles
Bruton and Michael Wood of the North Carolina Department of Transportation
(NCDOT) and Dr. J. H. Carter of Carter and Associates, regarding your proposal
to extend NC Highway 5 from NC Highway 211 to SR 1209, near Pinehurst, Moore
County, North Carolina. The proposed project involves the construction of a
2-lane road, with grassed shoulders, on a new location.
You should be aware that on February 6, 1990, the Department of the Army
and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a memorandum of
agreement (MOA) establishing procedures to determine the type and level of
mitigation necessary to comply with the Clean Water Act Section 404(b)(1)
Guidelines. This MOA provides for first, avoiding impacts to waters and
wetlands through the selection of the least damaging, practical alternative;
second, taking appropriate and practical steps to reduce impacts on waters and
wetlands; and finally, compensating for any remaining unavoidable impacts to
the extent appropriate and practical.
As proposed, the road will result in the direct filling of approximately
3 acres of relatively undisturbed small stream swamp forest habitat. After a
preliminary review of this project, it appears that several other, less
damaging alternatives may satisfy the purpose and need for this project. For
example, can NC Highway 5 be extended to join with SR 1314 near Taylortown or
can the proposed road tie into SR 1314 prior to crossing the tributary to Joes
Creek? Finally, could the proposed crossing of the unnamed tributary be
constructed more perpendicular to the run of the creek? Notwithstanding these
preliminary comments and observations, we would anticipate requiring
individual DA authorization prior to commencing work in wetlands on this JC6J-(
project . 1 ` 1c ? 0 Yd d (pe A CA O eS n P? GJ ?1v 15 r ?l ?ct" /c If/
J ac f i?a?o-{Pq?
?
4] 1ssU?s G? e %? Sat v eon, ?d? ? ? ? b? tr\ -e
y (Cc 0a0C{ 11 1Ye3 5 e611 i-f- S?bh
sue1, set d ?s?s
'

-2-
Thank you for the opportunity to comment during this phase of planning
for this project. If you have any questions regarding this correspondence,
they should be addressed to me in the Wilmington Regulatory Field Office at
[phone].
Sincerely,
Scott McLendon
Regulatory Project Manager
Copies Furnished:
Mr. John Dorney
vision of Water Quality
vzl North Carolina Department of
Environment, Health, and Natural Resources
4401 Reedy Creek Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611
Mr. Frank Vick, Manager
Planning and Environmental Branch
North Carolina Department of Transportation
Post Office Box 25201
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611-5201