20200622 Ver 1_FINAL_Scoping Letter SCNTB EA (26May2020)_20200722

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
/ LVI y WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
69 DARLINGTON AVENUE
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403-1343
-- May 26, 2020
Environmental Resources Section
Dear Sir or Madam:
This scoping letter rescinds the previous scoping letter, dated March 25, 2020, for the Surf
City and North Topsail Beach (SCNTB) Coastal Storm Risk Management Project (CSRM) in
Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has
reevaluated the construction plan for the SCNTB CSRM project and now proposes year-round
construction for the SCNTB project in lieu of only expanding the window to November 16-April
30. Year-round construction will allow contractors more flexibility to get the work done within a
wider window, which will reduce risks associated with a shortage of hopper dredges, reduce
overall project costs, and should result in a more timely project completion. Year-round
dredging and placement will also reduce the number of disturbance events to the beaches and
aquatic resources. This year-round proposal is for initial construction only, not renourishment
events, which is estimated to take approximately 36 dredging months. The proposed window
for periodic nourishments for the 50-year project will be November 16-April 30.
In 2011, the Corps completed an Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision
(EIS/ROD) for the Surf City and North Topsail Beach, North Carolina Coastal Storm Damage
Reduction Feasibility Report. A Supplemental Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact (SEA/FONSI) was completed in 2014 to address refinement of borrow area
characterizations and to document implementation of Wilmington District's sediment
compatibility practice for the SCNTB project. The SCNTB CSRM project was authorized by the
Water Resources Development Act of 2014 and recently funded by Public Law 116-20, the
Additional Supplemental Appropriations Disaster Relief Act, 2019. The Corps is preparing an
Environmental Assessment (EA) to address the proposal for year-round construction and to
expand the periodic nourishment window to coincide with the beach placement window of
November 16-April 30.
The SCNTB project area is located on Topsail Island, which is a 22-mile-long and
0.5-mile-wide barrier island approximately 40 miles northeast of Wilmington, North Carolina
(Figure 1). This area is at risk from hurricanes and winter storms, which regularly erode the
shoreline, causing damage to structures and environmental resources. The CSRM project will
include the creation of a 7-foot high by 50-foot wide berm and a dune that is 15 feet high with a
crest width of 25 feet, along approximately ten miles of shoreline. Initial construction of the
project will require approximately 12 million cubic yards of borrow material. Several borrow
areas located off of Topsail Island (Figure 2) have been identified and are located typically
between one and six miles offshore with pre -dredge bottom depths between 35 and 50 feet.

-2-
Use of borrow sites, located three miles or more offshore (Outer Continental Shelf), requires
a lease from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). For this reason, the BOEM is
a cooperating agency on the Environmental Assessment and a lease from BOEM will be
obtained prior to use of OCS borrow areas.
The EA will evaluate the impacts of any changes that have occurred since completion of the
2014 EA/FONSI, and will address the impacts of year-round dredging and placement for initial
construction and window expansion from December 1- March 31 to November 16- April 30 for
renourishment cycles. It is estimated that initial project construction will take approximately four
years if the environmental (work) window remains limited to December 1-March 31; however, if
the work window is expanded, it will allow for potential project completion on a more efficient
timeline. The renourishment interval for the SCNT CSRM project is six years. An extended
environmental window will reduce risks associated with availability of dredges, reduce the
number of disturbance events to the beaches and aquatic resources, and support more efficient
renourishment completion timelines as well as reduce overall project costs.
We are now requesting comments from stakeholders and the interested public to identify
significant resources and issues of concern with regard to year-round dredging and beach
placement for initial construction and an expanded window for subsequent nourishment events.
Comments received as a result of this scoping letter will be considered during preparation of the
EA.
The EA is being prepared in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and will address the project's relationship to all applicable
Federal and State laws and Executive Orders. Resources known to occur in the study area
include: fisheries and benthic resources; threatened and endangered species; human resources
(including socioeconomic, recreational and aesthetic resources); and cultural resources.
Potential impacts to these resources, as well as water quality, air quality, and cumulative
effects, will be fully addressed in the EA. Should there be other issues which you believe
should be discussed in the EA, please take this opportunity to bring them to our attention.
In order to effectively address any concerns that are raised, please provide your input no
later than 30 days from the date of this letter. A scoping meeting (conference call, date/time to
be determined) will be held at least one week prior to the scoping comment deadline. Details
regarding the scoping meeting are forthcoming. All input may be directed to Ms. Keleigh Cox,
Environmental Resources Section, at [phone] or via email at
[e-mail].
Sincerely,
OWENS.JENNIFE Digitally signed by
OW ENSAN NIFER.L.1229795151
R.L.1229795151 Date: 2020.05.26 14:49:16 -04'00'
Jennifer L. Owens
Chief, Environmental Resources Section

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Sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, Intermap, increment P Corp., GEBCO, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN,
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Figure 2. Identified Borrow Areas