20071841 Ver 4_Other Agency Comments_20110722

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 9
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
July 22, 2011
Ms. Amanda Jones
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
Mr. Ian McMillan
NCDENR, Division of Water Quality, 401 Unit
1628 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1628
SUBJECT: Asheville Regional Airport Authority, Mr. Lew Bleiweis Individual Permit Application
Asheville Regional Airport Parallel Taxiway-Cargo Hold Expansion, Buncombe County
Action ID 2010-00036, OWQ No. 07-1841 V4
Dear Ms. Jones and Mr. McMillan:
Mr. Lew Bleiweis of the Asheville Regional Airport Authority requested an Individual Permit from the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) to fill 0.9 acre of wetlands and 2,076 feet of tributaries to the French
Broad River for another expansion of the Asheville Regional Airport. Comments from the Commission are
provided under provisions of the Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. 466 et. seq.) and the Fish and Wildlife
Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 661-667d).
The French Broad River near the airport supports cool-water fisheries for smallmouth bass, muskellunge, and
other gamefish species. Wetlands in this region are important to a variety of birds and other wildlife. Bog
turtles (NC Threatened) and mole and four-toed salamanders (NC Special Concern) have been found in
wetlands along the French Broad River within a few miles of the airport.
Wetlands and streams on the property are in poor condition due to stormwater run-off from the airport.
Extensive impervious cover from the proposed development has the potential to further degrade downstream
water quality. Therefore, effective storm water detention and treatment is important with the expansion and
any existing developed areas that can be addressed as well.
Mailing Address: Division of Inland Fisheries - 1721 Mail Service Center - Raleigh, NC 27699-1 72 1
Telephone: [phone] - Fax: [phone]
Asheville Airport Page 2 July 22, 2011
Buncombe
Mitigation for unavoidable impacts should account for effects that the airport development has had on quality.
The streams that will be impacted are in poor condition largely due stormwater from the airport. As
mentioned before, a prime example is the stream at the south end of the airport that is highly unstable and
eroding due to runoff from the runway and terminal areas. Therefore, we recommend that the project's
mitigation be supplemented with innovative stormwater management practices and restoration of stable
channel morphology in that area. This effort combined with the proposed credit purchase would provide
compensatory that is commensurate with the project's impacts.
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project. Please contact me at (828) 452-
2546 extension 24 if there are any questions about these comments.
Sincerely,
Dave McHenry
Mountain Region Coordinator
Habitat Conservation Program
cc: Mr. Chuck Cranford, NC Division of Water Quality
Mr. Bryan Tompkins, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Ms. Becky Fox, USEPA
Mr. Clement Riddle, Clearwater Environmental Consultants