20110454 Ver 1_Approval Letter_20110516

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NCDENR
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Division of Water Quality
Beverly Eaves Perdue Coleen H. Sullins Dee Freeman
Governor Director Secretary
May 16, 2011
Burke County
DWQ Project 20110454
NCSR 1919 (Rich Mountain Road)
Approval of 401 Water Quality Certification with Additional Conditions
Mr. J. J. Swain, Jr., P.E.
Division 13 Engineer
North Carolina Department of Transportation
Post Office Box 3279
Asheville, North Carolina, 28802
Dear Mr. Swain:
You have our approval, in accordance with the conditions listed below, for the following impacts in an unnamed tributary
to Henry Fork and three (3) unnamed tributaries to Ivy Creek for the purpose of making improvements to NCSR 1919
(Rich Mountain Road) in Burke County:
Stream Impacts in the Catawba River Basin
Site Permanent Fill Temporary Permanent Temporary Total Stream
in Intermittent Impacts in Fill in Impacts in Stream Impacts
Stream (linear Intermittent Perennial Perennial Impact Requiring
ft) Stream Stream Stream (linear ft) Mitigation
linear ft linear ft linear ft linear ft
Site 1 0 0 26 50 76 0
Site 2 0 0 20 50 70 0
Site 3 0 0 20 50 70 0
Site 4 0 0 24 50 74 0
Total 0 0 90 200 290 0
Total Permanent Stream Impacts for Project: 90 fn. ft. Total Temporary Stream Impacts for Project: 200 linear ft.
The project should be constructed in accordance with your application dated May 10, 2011 (received May 12, 2011),
including the environmental commitments made in the application letter. After reviewing your application, we have
decided that these impacts are covered by General Water Quality Certification No. 3820, corresponding to the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit Number 14. In addition, you should acquire any other federal, state or local
permits before you proceed with your project including (but not limited to) Sediment and Erosion Control, Non-Discharge
and Water Supply Watershed regulations.
SURFACE WATER PROTECTION SECTION -ASHEVILLE REGIONAL OFFICE One
Location: 2090 U.S. Highway 70, Swannanoa, North Carolina 28778 NorthCarolina
Phone: [phone] FAX: [phone] Customer Service, 1-877-623-6748 Naturally
Internet: w .nmaterquality.org An Equal Opportunity 1 Affirmative Action Employer
Mr. J. J. Swain, Jr., P.E.
May 16, 2011
Page Two
This approval is valid solely for the purpose and design described in your application (unless modified below). Should
your project change, you must notify the DWQ and submit a new application. If the property is sold, the new owner must
be given a copy of this Certification and approval letter, and is thereby responsible for complying with all conditions. If
total wetland fills for this project (now or in the future) exceed one acre, or if total impacts to streams (now
or in the future) exceed 150 linear feet, compensatory mitigation may be required as described in 15A NCAC 2H .0506
(h) (6) and (7). For this approval to be valid, you must follow the conditions listed in the attached certification and any
additional conditions listed below.
Condition(s) of Certification:
1. There shall be no excavation from, or waste disposal into, jurisdictional wetlands or waters associated with this permit
without appropriate modification. Should waste or borrow sites, or access roads to waste or borrow sites, be. located
in wetlands or streams, compensatory mitigation will be required since that is a direct impact from road construction
activities.
2. Sediment and erosion control measures shall not be placed in wetlands or waters unless otherwise approved by this
Certification. If placement of sediment and erosion control devices in wetlands and waters is unavoidable, they shall
be removed and the natural grade restored upon completion of the project.
3. Erosion and sediment control practices must be in full compliance with all specifications governing the proper design,
installation and operation and maintenance of such Best Management Practices in order to protect surface waters
standards:
a. The erosion and sediment control measures for the project must be designed, installed, operated, and
maintained in accordance with the most recent version of the North Carolina Sediment and Erosion Control
Planning and Design Manual.
b. The design, installation, operation, and maintenance of the sediment and erosion control measures must be
such that they equal, or exceed, the requirements specified in the most recent version of the North Carolina
Sediment and Erosion Control Manual. The devices shall be maintained on all construction sites, borrow
sites, and waste pile (spoil) projects, including contractor-owned or leased borrow pits associated with the
project.
c. For borrow pit sites, the erosion and sediment control measures must be designed, installed, operated, and
maintained in accordance with the most recent version of the North Carolina Surface Mining Manual.
d. The reclamation measures and implementation must comply with the reclamation in accordance with the
requirements of the Sedimentation Pollution Control Act.
4. In-stream work and land disturbance within the 25-foot buffer zone are prohibited during the trout-spawning
season of October 15 through April 15 to protect the egg and fry stages of trout.
5. The permittee shall use /Design Standards in Sensitive Watersheds/ [15A NCAC 413.0124 (a)-(e)] in areas draining to
trout waters. However, due to the size of the project, NCDOT shall not be required to meet 15A NCAC 413.0124 (a)
regarding the maximum amount of uncovered acres. Temporary cover (wheat, millet, or similar annual grain) or
permanent herbaceous cover should be planted on all bare soil within 15 business days of ground disturbing activities,
to provide erosion control.
Tall fescue shall not be used in the establishment of temporary or permanent groundcover within riparian areas. For
the establishment of permanent herbaceous cover, erosion control matting shall be used in conjunction with
appropriate seeding on disturbed soils within the riparian area and on disturbed steep slopes with the following
exception. Erosion control matting is not necessary if the area is contained by perimeter erosion control devices such
as silt fence, temporary sediment ditches, basins, etc. Matting should be secured in place with staples or stakes, or
wherever possible, live stakes of native trees. Erosion control matting placed in riparian areas shall not contain a
nylon mesh grid, which can impinge and entrap small animals. For the establishment of temporary groundcover
within riparian areas, hydro seeding along with wood or cellulose based hydro mulch applied from a fertilizer- and
limestone- free tank is allowable at the appropriate rate in conjunction with the erosion control measures. Discharging
hydroseed mixtures and wood or cellulose mulch into surface waters is prohibited. Riparian areas are defined as a
distance of 25-feet landward from the top of stream bank.
Mr. J. J. Swain, Jr., P.E.
May 16, 201 1
Page Three
6. For projects impacting waters classified by the NC Environmental Management Commission as Trout Jr),
High Quality Waters (HQW), or Water Supply 1 or If (WSI, WSII) stormwater shall be directed to vegetated
buffer areas, grass-lined ditches or other means appropriate to the site for the purpose of pretreating storm
water runoff prior to discharging directly into streams. Mowing of existing vegetated buffers is strongly
discouraged.
7. Unless otherwise approved in this certification, placement of culverts and other structures in open waters and streams
shall be placed below the elevation of the streambed by one foot for all culverts with a diameter greater than 48
inches, and 20 percent of the culvert diameter for culverts having a diameter less than 48 inches, to allow low flow
passage of water and aquatic life. Design and placement of culverts and other structures including temporary erosion
control measures shall not be conducted in a manner that may result in dis-equilibrium of wetlands or streambeds or
banks, adjacent to or upstream and down stream of the above structures. The applicant is required to provide
evidence that the equilibrium is being maintained if requested in writing by NCDWQ. If this condition is unable to be
met due to bedrock or other limiting features encountered during construction, please contact NCDWQ for guidance
on how to proceed and to determine whether or not a permit modification will be required.
8. If multiple pipes or barrels are required, they shall be designed to mimic natural stream cross section as closely as
possible including pipes or barrels at flood plain elevation and/or sills where appropriate. Widening the stream
channel should be avoided. Stream channel widening at the inlet or outlet end of structures typically decreases water
velocity causing sediment deposition that requires increased maintenance and disrupts aquatic life passage.
9. All work in or adjacent to stream waters shall be conducted in a dry work area. Approved BMP measures from the
most current version of NCDOT Construction and Maintenance Activities manual such as sandbags, rock berms,
cofferdams and other diversion structures shall be used to prevent excavation in flowing water.
10. The stream channel shall be excavated no deeper than the natural bed material of the stream, to the maximum extent
practicable. Efforts must be made to minimize impacts to the stream banks, as well as to vegetation responsible for
maintaining stream bank stability. Any applicable riparian buffer impact for access to stream channel shall be
temporary and be revegetated with native riparian species.
11. The dimension, pattern and profile of the stream, above and below the crossing, shall not be modified. Disturbed
floodplains and streams shall be restored to natural geomorphic conditions.
12. Native riparian vegetation (e.g. rhododendron, dog hobble, willows, alders, sycamores, dogwoods, black walnut and
red maple) must be reestablished within the construction limits of the project by the end of the growing season
following completion of construction.
13. The use of rip-rap above the Normal High Water Mark shall be minimized. Any rip-rap placed for stream
stabilization shall be placed in stream channels in such a manner that it does not impede aquatic life passage.
14. Rip-rap shall not be placed in the active thalweg channel or placed in the streambed in a manner that precludes aquatic
life passage. Bioengineering boulders or structures should be properly designed, sized and installed.
15. Heavy equipment shall be operated from the banks rather than in the stream channels in order to minimize
sedimentation and reduce the introduction of other pollutants into the stream.
16. All mechanized equipment operated near surface waters must be regularly inspected and maintained to prevent
contamination of stream waters from fuels, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, or other toxic materials.
17. The Permittee shall ensure that the final design drawings adhere to the permit and to the permit drawings submitted
for approval.
18. Discharging hydroseed mixtures and washing out hydroseeders and other equipment in or adjacent to surface waters is
prohibited.
19. If concrete is used during construction, a dry work area shall be maintained to prevent direct contact between curing
concrete and stream water. Water that inadvertently contacts uncured concrete shall not be discharged to surface
waters due to the potential for elevated pH and possible aquatic life and fish kills.
20. No rock, sand or other materials shall be dredged from the stream channel, except where authorized by this
certification.
21. A copy of this Water Quality Certification shall be maintained on the construction site at all times. In addition, the
Water Quality Certification and all subsequent modifications, if any, shall be maintained with the Division Engineer
and the on-site project manager.
Mr. J. J. Swain, Jr., P.E.
May 16, 2011
Page Four
22. All fill slopes located in jurisdictional wetlands shall be placed at slopes no flatter than 3:1, unless otherwise
authorized by this certification.
23. During the construction of the project, no staging of equipment of any kind is permitted in waters of the U.S., or
protected riparian buffers.
24. The outside buffer, wetland or water boundary located within the construction corridor approved by this authorization
shall be clearly marked by highly visible fencing prior to any land disturbing activities. Impacts to areas within the
fencing are prohibited unless otherwise authorized by this certification.
25. The permittee and its authorized agents shall conduct its activities in a manner consistent with State water quality
standards (including any requirements resulting from compliance with §303(d) of the Clean Water Act) and any other
appropriate requirements of State and Federal law. If NCDWQ determines that such standards or laws are not being
met (including the failure to sustain a designated or achieved use) or that State of Federal law is being violated, or that
further conditions are necessary to assure compliance, NCDWQ may reevaluate and modify this certification.
26. The issuance of this certification does not exempt the Permittee form complying with any and all statutes, rules,
regulations or ordinances that may be imposed by other government agencies (i.e. local, state, and federal) having
jurisdiction, including but not limited to applicable buffer rules, stormwater management rules, soil erosion and
sedimentation control requirements, etc.
27. The Permittee shall report any violations of this certification to the Division of Water Quality within 24-hours of
discovery.
28. Upon completion of the project (including any impacts at associated borrow or waste sites), the NCDOT Division
Engineer shall complete and return the enclosed "Certification of Completion Form" to notify NCDWQ when all
work included in the §401 Certification has been completed.
Violations of any condition herein set forth may result in revocation of this Certification and may result in criminal and/or
civil penalties. This Certification shall become null and void unless the above conditions are made conditions of the
Federal 404 and/or Coastal Area Management Act Permit. This Certification shall expire upon the expiration of the 404
or CAMA permit.
If this Certification is unacceptable to you have the right to an adjudicatory hearing upon written request within sixty (60)
days following receipt of this Certification. This request must be in the form of a written petition conforming to Chapter
150B of the North Carolina General Statutes and filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings, 6714 Mail Service
Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-6714. If modifications are made to an original Certification, you have the right to an
adjudicatory hearing on the modifications upon written request within sixty (60) days following receipt of the
Certification. Unless such demands are made, this Certification shall be final and binding.
This letter completes the review of the Division of Water Quality under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. If you have
any questions, please telephone Mr. Mike Parker of the Asheville Regional Office at 828.296.4500.
Sincerely,/_ , Q fJ - pzu-?
C-oleen H. Sullins, Director
Division of Water Quality
cc: Lori Beckwith, USACE, Asheville Field Office
Roger Bryan, Division 13, DEO
Ed Ingle, Roadside Environmental
Ron Linville, NCWRC
Transportation Permitting Unit
Asheville Regional Office
110454 (Swain) NCSR 1919 Rich Mountain Road