20110424 Ver 1_Approval Letter_20110520

PKAJ
NCDENR
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Beverly Eaves Perdue
Governor
Division of Water Quality
Coleen H. Sullins
Director
Dee Freeman
Secretary
May 20, 2011
Clay County
TIP No. R-4416
D WQ Project 201 10424
US Highway 64 Climbing Lane
Approval of 401 Water Quality Certification with Additional Conditions
Mr. J. B. Setzer P.E.
Division 14 Engineer
North Carolina Department of Transportation
253 Webster Road
Sylva, North Carolina 28779
Dear Mr. Setzer.
You have our approval, in accordance with the conditions listed below, for the following impacts in an unnamed tributary
to Thompson Creek for the purpose of constructing a climbing lane on Chunky Gal Mountain on US Highway 64 in Clay
County:
Stream Impacts in the Hiwassee River Basin
Site Permanent Fill Stream Permanent Temporary Total Stream
in Intermittent Relocation in Fill in Impacts in Stream Impacts
Stream (linear Perennial Perennial Perennial Impact Requiring
ft) Stream Stream Stream (linear ft) Mitigation
linear ft) linear ft linear ft linear ft
Site 1 0 278 0 300 300 278
Total 0 278 0 300 300 278
Total Permanent Stream Impacts for Project: 278 linear ft. Total Temporary Stream Impacts for Project: 300 lin. ft.
The project should be constructed in accordance with your application dated May 3, 2011 (received May 5, 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.
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
SURFACE WATER PROTECTION SECTION - ASHEVILLE REGIONAL OFFICE
Location: 2090 U.S. Highway 70, S oa, North Carolina 28778 One
NorthCarollna
Phone: 828 FAX: [phone]-70431 Customer Service: 1-877-623.6748 ?tatmrally
Internet: www,ncvv ncwato terquality.org ??/ !-
An Equal Opportunity 1 Affirmative Action Employer
Mr. J. B. Setzer, P.E.
May 20, 2011
Page Two
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. NCDOT will need to adhere to all appropriate in-water work moratoria prescribed by the NC Wildlife
Resources Commission.
5. Compensatory mitigation for impacts 278 linear feet of streams at a replacement ratio of 1:1 is required.
Compensatory mitigation for impacts to jurisdictional streams shall be provided by onsite stream relocations
of 278 linear feet of an unnamed tributary of Thompson Creek. The onsite stream relocation shall be
constructed in accordance with the design submitted in your May 3, 2011 application. All on-site mitigation
sites shall be protected in perpetuity by a conservation easement or through NCDOT fee simple acquisition
and recorded in the NCDOT Natural Environment Unit mitigation geodatabase. Please be reminded that as-
builts for the completed streams shall be submitted to the North Carolina Division of Water Quality 401
Wetlands Unit with the as-builts for the rest of the project. If the parameters of this condition are not met,
then the permittee shall supply additional stream mitigation for the 278 linear feet of impacts. All channel
relocations will be constructed in a dry work area, will be completed and stabilized, and must be approved on
site by DWQ staff, prior to diverting water into the new channel. Whenever possible, channel relocations
shall be allowed to stabilize for an entire growing season. All stream relocations shall have a 50-foot wide
native wooded buffer planted on both sides of the stream unless otherwise authorized by this Certification. A
transitional phase incorporating rolled erosion control product (RECP) and appropriate temporary ground
cover is allowable.
6. Unless otherwise approved in this certification, placement of culverts and other structures in open waters, streams and
wetlands 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
Mr. J. B. Setzer, P.E.
May 20, 2011
Page Three
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.
7. 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.
8. Channel relocations shall be completed and stabilized, and approved on-site by DWQ staff, prior to diverting water
into the new channel. Stream banks shall be mated with coir-fiber matting. Vegetations used for bank stabilization
shall be limited to native riparian vegetation, and should include establishment of a vegetated buffer on both sides of
the relocated channel to the maximum extent practical. Also rip-rap may be allowed if necessary to maintain the
physical integrity of the stream, but the applicant must provide written justification and any calculations used to
determine the extent of rip-rap coverage requested. Once the stream has been turned into the new channel, it may be
necessary to relocate stranded fish to the new channel to prevent fish kills.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. The Permittee shall ensure that the final design drawings adhere to the permit and to the permit drawings submitted
for approval.
IS. Discharging hydroseed mixtures and washing out hydroseeders and other equipment in or adjacent to surface waters is
prohibited.
16. 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.
17. No rock, sand or other materials shall be dredged from the stream channel, except where authorized by this
certification.
18. 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.
19. All fill slopes located in jurisdictional wetlands shall be placed at slopes no flatter than 3:1, unless otherwise
authorized by this certification.
20. 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.
21. 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.
22. 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.
Mr. J. B. Setzer, P.E.
May 20, 2011
Page Four
23. 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. .
24. The Permittee shall report any violations of this certification to the Division of Water Quality within 24-hours of
discovery.
25. 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, / - n Q
<Jc% 1Z'
Coleco H. Sullins, Director
Division of Water Quality
cc: Lori Beckwith, USACE, Asheville Field Office
Mark Davis, Division 14, DEO
Ed Ingle, Roadside Environmental
Dave McHenry, NCWRC
Transportation Permitting Unit
Asheville Regional Office
11-0424 (Selzer) R-4416 US Highway 64 Climbing Lane