20200187 Ver 1_ Linville River _Ruffin St bridge project_20201028

Wanucha, Dave
From:Harry Erno <[e-mail]>
Sent:Wednesday, October 28, 2020 4:32 PM
To:Wanucha, Dave
Subject:Re: \[External\] Linville River /Ruffin St bridge project
CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as an attachment to
[e-mail]

Thanks so much for the update.

On Wed, Oct 28, 2020, 4:08 PM Wanucha, Dave <[e-mail]> wrote:
Mr. Erno,
I communicated with DOT Division 11 Environmental Officer Kevin Hining this morning about your
concern. He informed me that crews are currently dewatering the middle bent of the old bridge so that it
can be removed. Once the project is complete, Kevin assured me that the project will, in no way, alter flow
capacity or flood potential per Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requirements. My colleague
Mr. Mitchell was accurate in his summation below.

Also, the NC Wildlife Resource Commission (WRC) has given DOT permission for in-stream work to occur in
the Linville River during the trout moratorium (Oct 15 – Apr 15).

Let me know if you have any further concerns or questions. Have a great day.

Thanks.

Dave Wanucha

Division of Water Resources
401 & Buffer Transportation Permitting
NC Department of Envirionmental Quality

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336-776-9703 office
336-403-5655 mobile
[e-mail]

NC DEQ Winston Salem Regional Office
450 West Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300
Winston Salem, NC 27106

Based on the current guidance to minimize the spread of COVID-19, the Department of Environmental Quality has
adjusted operations to protect the health and safety of the staff and public. Many employees are working remotely or
are on staggered shifts. To accommodate these staffing changes, all DEQ office locations are limiting public access to
appointments only. Please check with the appropriate staff before visiting our offices, as we may be able to handle
your requests by phone or email. We appreciate your patience as we continue to serve the public during this
challenging time.

From: Mitchell, Robert K <[e-mail]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2020 9:12 AM
To: Wanucha, Dave <[e-mail]>
Subject: Fwd: \[External\] Linville River /Ruffin St bridge project

Dave - do you mind responding to this?
Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:
From: Harry Erno <[e-mail]>
Date: October 28, 2020 at 9:07:34 AM EDT
To: "Mitchell, Robert K" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: \[External\] Linville River /Ruffin St bridge project

CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as an
attachment to [e-mail]

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Hello Mr. Mitchell . The Ruffin Street Bridge work crew appears to be finishing up their project and I
just wanted to make sure that they are going to remove all of the boulder's / rocks that they placed in
the river at the beginning of the project. We are very concerned about possible flooding if the
waterway is left in its narrowed/diverted streampath. I wanted to give you a heads up on this while you
still have equipment in the area and can fix it while they're still here. Please let me know if I need to be
contacting someone else. Thank you. Have a blessed day.

On Fri, Jun 26, 2020, 7:25 AM Mitchell, Robert K <[e-mail]> wrote:
Morning Mr. Erno.

This project was permitted out of our Winston Salem Office. Dave Wanucha is the contact. I have
copied him on the email if he wants to add anything or if you have additional questions. I’m not
familiar with this particular design, but I can say that one of our requirements when doing work in a
stream is that the water be diverted around the work area in order to minimize impacts to
downstream resources. This is important in reducing turbidity and sedimentation especially if there
are trout in the stream. On larger bodies of water such as the Linville River we also permit temporary
causeways into the water to provide a platform to do the work. Not sure if this is the case on this
project, but that might be what you are seeing (Dave can confirm this). DOT runs hydraulic models to
make sure there is no flooding impact upstream or downstream. These temporary causeways are
removed when the work is complete and the stream is restored to its original contours. Hope this
helps.

Kevin Mitchell
Environmental Specialist II
Division of Water Resources
401 & Buffer Transportation Permitting
NC Department of Environmental Quality

828-296-4650 Office
828-231-1580 Mobile
Email [e-mail]

NC DEQ Asheville Regional Office
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2090 U.S. Hwy. 70
Swannanoa, N.C. 28778

Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
Based on the current guidance to minimize the spread of COVID-19, the Department of Environmental
Quality has adjusted operations to protect the health and safety of the staff and public. Many
employees are working remotely or are on staggered shifts. To accommodate these staffing changes,
all DEQ office locations are limiting public access to appointments only. Please check with the
appropriate staff before visiting our offices, as we may be able to handle your requests by phone or
email. We appreciate your patience as we continue to serve the public during this challenging time.

From: Harry Erno \[mailto:[e-mail]\]
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2020 5:39 PM
To: Mitchell, Robert K <[e-mail]>
Subject: \[External\] Linville River /Ruffin St bridge project

CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as
an attachment to [e-mail]

Hello Kevin, I received your contact information from Dan Boss. I contacted him because of my
concern about the way the construction company that is working on the Ruffin Street bridge project in
Linville is diverting the water in the river. It appears that they are narrowing the flow of the river
(which I am pretty sure is not allowed without the Army Corp of Engineers permission). My concern
with the narrowing of the water flow is that this neighborhood is prone to flooding as it is and if they
are in fact narrowing the flow, it will only exacerbate the problem. I am hoping that the boulders, etc
that they are filling the river with now is simply a platform for them to work on while they build the
bridge and that the Fill will be removed once the project is complete. Do you know whether this is the
case or not? I appreciate your response.
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