20071841 Ver 4_More Info Received_20110830

CLearWaLer
C1earWater Environmental Consultants, Inc.
August 26, 2011 www.cwenv.com
Mr. Ian McMillan
NC Division of Water Quality
1650 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699
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AUG
3 0 2011
RE: Request for More Information WETtgNDENR- WATER QUALITY
Asheville Airport
Buncombe County, North Carolina
Action ID SAW-2010-00036; DWQ Project # 07-1841 Ver. 4
Dear Mr. McMillan,
Please reference the letter dated August 5, 2011 (Attachment A) sent by the NC Division
of Water Quality (DWQ) in response to the permit application submitted by C1earWater
Environmental Consultants, Inc. (CEC), on behalf of Mr. Lew Bleiweis of the Asheville
Regional Airport Authority. The permit application requested written authorization for
the impacts associated with runway maintenance and construction of air cargo facilities in
a location that facilitates use of existing infrastructure. The comments provided by the
DWQ are listed and discussed below.
DWQ Comment #1: "'Impact #8' is proposed for construction of a stormwater pond.
The application indicates that City of Asheville (COA) requirements related to
construction in a floodway are forcing these impacts to occur. Please provide
documentation of any decision communicated by the COA that confirms this statement.
Additional option to address stormwater management needs must be considered that
avoid `Impact #8'."
As originally proposed, the stormwater detention basin west of Old Fanning
Bridge Road was partially in the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) designated floodway and 100-year floodplain. The initial comments
regarding the location of this stormwater basin were provided by Ms. Dana
Perkins of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during review of the Draft
Environmental Assessment (drafted by Ms. Laura Stevens of The LPA Group).
Ms. Perkins indicated that airport development actions must avoid the floodplain
if a practicable alternative exists (per Executive Order 11988 and US Department
of Transportation (DOT) Order 5650.2). If no practicable alternative exists,
actions in a floodplain must be designed to minimize adverse impact to the
floodplain's natural and beneficial values. Ms. Perkins would agree that the Draft
Environmental Assessment adequately addressed the Executive and DOT Orders
if the governing stormwater authority (the City of Asheville) provided
224 South Grove Street, Suite F
Hendersonville, NC 28792
828-698-9800 Tel
828-698-9003 Fax
Mr. Ian McMillan
08.26.11
Page 2 of 4
concurrence with the stormwater basin location. Ms. Stevens coordinated with
Mr. Chuck Watson, the City of Asheville Floodplain Administrator, regarding the
location of the stormwater basin. During a personal communication via phone on
March 29, 2011 between Ms. Stevens and Mr. Watson, Mr. Watson (citing City of
Asheville Regulations 7-12-1) indicated that if no practicable alternative exists
then encroachment onto the 100-year floodplain is permissible under the City of
Asheville Regulations as long as fill remains a minimum of 10 feet outside of the
floodway.
It was determined that a practicable alternative for removing the stormwater
detention basin out of the floodway did exist; however, there were no practicable
alternatives for removing the basins out of the 100-year floodplain. The
stormwater detention basin was redesigned to avoid encroachment into the
floodway, however, complete avoidance of impacts to the 100-year floodplain
were not practicable due to site limitations associated with the proposed cargo
area, as well as FAA design standards for the runway safety area (RSA)
associated both with the temporary runway/parallel taxiway and with the existing
runway. In explanation, the fill slope that encroaches into the floodplain is
associated with the minimum allowable RSA dimensions for the temporary
runway. Additionally, the shape and size limitations of the proposed cargo site
necessitate locating the stormwater detention basin on the opposite side of Old
Fanning Bridge Road. After the above mentioned coordination with Mr. Watson
at the City of Asheville, Ms. Perkins approved the Draft Environmental
Assessment with encroachments into the 100-year floodplain. The Findings of
No Significant Impact was issued on August 19, 2011.
Because the stormwater detention pond proposal is in accordance with the Region
4 Guideline for Reconciling Stormwater Management and Water Quality
Resource Protection Issues (EPA 2004) and no practicable alternative exists, the
AVL respectfully requests that the location of the stormwater detention basin be
reevaluated and approved as it is proposed.
DWQ Comment #2: "Stormwater Management Plan (SMP) - Project approval is not
possible without documentation that a SMP has been approved by the COA."
This statement is incorrect. The DWQ memorandum dated August 20, 2007
states that: "Any 401 Certification approved under this scenario shall be
conditioned so that the proposed activity shall not commence until such time that
the appropriate local approval has been granted." Therefore, project approval can
be granted without documentation of the approved Stormwater Management Plan
(SMP) by the City of Asheville. Ms. Rebekah Newton of CEC spoke with Mr.
Ian McMillan of the DWQ-Raleigh Office on August 12, 2011. Mr. McMillan
confirmed that "DWQ Comment #2" is incorrect and clarified the statement by
saying that the approval can be granted but that impacts can not occur until the
DWQ is provided with documentation that the SMP has been approved.
AVCON, the project Engineers, will be submitting a SMP to the City of
Mr. Ian McMillan
08.26.11
Page 3 of 4
Asheville. The DWQ, City of Asheville, and AVCON are working together to
provide appropriate documentation to the DWQ regarding approval of the SMP.
The DWQ will be provided a copy of the approval letter upon receipt.
DWQ Comment #3: "Potential Mitigation - The stream located at the south-west corner
of the Airport property (adjacent to NC HWY 280) is severely downcut and heavily
influenced by stormwater from the airport property. During the onsite meeting (March 9,
2010), NCDWQ and NCWRC both expressed that restoration/stabilization of this channel
should be part of the application package. No plans for this stream segment have been
submitted. A complete stream stabilization/restoration plan should be developed and
submitted for mitigation credit as part of this application."
Restoration of stream channels within existing airport boundaries is difficult and
proves complicated. On-site restoration and preservation has proven unsuccessful
at other airport expansions in North Carolina. For instance, vegetation height
restrictions limit vegetation that can be planted in the restored areas.
Additionally, undisturbed woody buffers have the potential to attract wildlife to
the area. Wildlife is a threat to airport safety if animals move onto the runway or
fly within plane flight patterns. Additionally, because of an airport's large
footprint and significant financial commitment, airport expansions need to be
adjacent to existing facilities, limiting space for on-site mitigation. It is common
for airports to continually expand due to demand for passenger or cargo services;
or change in aviation standards and runway needs. For these reasons, off-site
mitigation is more practicable; restoration or preservation of stream channels
within airport property is rarely proposed.
The US Army Corps of Engineers has reviewed the proposed mitigation plan and
has stated that they believe the plan is "adequate to compensate for the proposed
impacts". The have also stated that the proposed plan is in "accordance with the
Wilmington District's Interagency Stream Mitigation Guidelines (2003) and the
recently published federal rule entitled Compensatory Mitigation for Losses of
Aquatic Resources (33 CFR Part 332)". The DWQ was a part of the interagency
team that developed the Stream Mitigation Guidelines and routinely accepts
payment into the NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP) as compensatory
mitigation for projects of this type. Ms. Rebekah Newton of CEC spoke with Mr.
Ian McMillan of the DWQ-Raleigh Office on August 12, 2011. Mr. McMillan
indicated that payment into EEP is an acceptable form of mitigation and is in
compliance with the published guidelines.
Mr. Ian McMillan
08.26.11
Page 4 of 4
The applicant believes the information submitted in this package addresses all issues set
forth by the DWQ in their letter dated August 5, 2011. Should you have any questions or
comments concerning this project please do not hesitate to contact me at 828-698-9800.
Sincerely,
Rebekah L. Newton R. ment ddle,
Project Biologist Principal
Cc: NC Division of Water Quality, Asheville - Chuck Cranford
US Army Corps of Engineers - Tasha McCormick
Attachment A
DWQ Request for Additional Information
(dated August 5, 2011)
A
AC® h R
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Division of Water Quality
Beverly Eaves Perdue Coleen H. Sullins Dee Freeman
Governor Director Secretary
August 5, 2011
CERTIFIED MAIL: RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Mr. Lew Bleiweis, Airport Director
Asheville Regional Airport Authority
61 Terminal Drive, Suite 1
Fletcher, NC 28732
DWQ Project # 07-1841, Ver. 4
Buncombe County
Subject Property: Asheville Regional Airport Runway Rehabilitation, Parallel Taxiway and
Cargo Hold Expansion
Ut to French Broad River [030402, 6-(54.5), B]
REQUEST FOR MORE INFORMATION
Dear Mr. Bleiweis:
On June 14 2011, the Division of Water Quality (DWQ) received your application dated June 8, 2011,
with Public Notice issued June 24, 2011, and received by the DWQ on June 24, 2011, to impact or fill 0.9
acres of 404/wetland and 2,076 linear feet of stream associated with rehabilitation of the existing runway
and development of a cargo facility with associated infrastructure at the existing Asheville Regional
Airport. The DWQ has determined that your application was incomplete and/or provided inaccurate
information as discussed below. The DWQ will require additional information in order to process your
application to impact protected wetlands.and/or streams on the subject property. Therefore, unless we
receive five copies of the additional information requested below, we will place this project on hold as
incomplete until we receive this additional information. If we do not receive the requested information,
your project will be formally returned as incomplete. Please provide the following information so that we
may continue to review your project.
Additional Information Requested:
1. "Impact #8" is proposed for construction of a stormwater pond. The application indicates that
City of Asheville (COA) requirements related to construction in a floodway are forcing these
impacts to occur. Please provide documentation of any decision communicated by the COA that
confirms this statement. Additional options to address stormwater management needs must be
considered that avoid "Impact #8".
2. Stormwater Management Plan (SMP) - Project approval is not possible without documentation
that a SMP has been approved by the COA.
3. Potential Mitigation - The stream located at the South-west corner of the Airport Property
(adjacent to NC HWY 280) is severely downeut and heavily influenced by stormwater from the
airport property. During the onsite meeting (March 9, 2010), NCDWQ and NCWRC both
expressed that restoration / stabilization of this channel should be part of the application package.
No plans for this stream segment have been submitted. A complete stream stabilization /
Wetlands, Buffers, Stonnwater, Compliance and Permitting Unit (WeBSCaPe) One
1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1650
Phone: [phone]k FAX: [phone] NorthCarolina
Internet: http://poaal.ncdenr.org/,veb/wq/ws Naturg,11Y
An Equal Opportunity l Affirmative Action Employer
Asheville Regional Airport Authority
Page 2 of 2
August 5, 2011
restoration plan should be developed and submitted for mitigation credit as part of this
application.
Please submit this information within 30 calendar days of the date of this letter. If we do not receive this
requested information within 30 calendar days of the date of this letter, your project will be returned and
you will need to reapply with a new application and a new fee.
This letter only addresses the application review and does not authorize any impacts to wetlands, waters or
protected buffers. Please be aware that any impacts requested within your application are not authorized (at
this time) by the DWQ. Please call Ms. Karen Higgins or Mr. Ian McMillan at 919-807-6300 if you have
any questions regarding or would like to set up a meeting to discuss this matter.
, Stormwater,
SCaPe), Supervisor
KH/ijm
cc: USACE Asheville Regulatory Field Office
Chuck Cranford, DWQ Asheville Regional Office
File Copy.
Clement Riddle, CEC, 224 South Grove Street, Suite f, Hendersonville, NC 28792
Filename: 071844Ve.4AshevilleRegionalAirportRutiway,PchabilitationParal:elTaxiwayA.-?dCargoHoldExpansion(Bancombe)O;s Y.ald