20070168 Ver 2_WRC Comments_20111012

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
July 7, 2011
Ms. Amanda Jones
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: Fall Creek Land Company Nationwide Permit Application
Off-line Pond Project, McDowell County
Dear Ms. Jones:
Mr. Todd Black with the Fall Creek Land Company requested a permit to construct a road crossing and pond
intake in an unnamed tributary to Hoppers Creek in McDowell County. Three lakes (range 6-25 acres) with
about 8,000 feet of stream impacts were proposed on the property in 2007, but they were never authorized.
Now proposed is about a 9 acre lake that would be constructed on a ridge-top and fed with a pumped intake.
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).
This project will not harm trout and construction does not need to be avoided during the trout spawning
season (moratorium).
As in 2007, we continue to recommend that the applicant pursue the construction of the desired pond, or
ponds, in dry watersheds on the property. These features would be passively supplied storm water run-off
from homes, roads, as well as undeveloped portions of the development. And, they would avoid impacts to
perennial streams and require less maintenance than either impoundments on perennial streams or pump fed
systems.
We recognize that construction of "watershed ponds" in suitable locations on the property may now be
infeasible because lots were parceled and sold before ponds were constructed. Moreover, the off-line pond
now proposed will have less stream impacts. However, as with in-line ponds, this alternative may cause
considerable harm to aquatic habitat downstream of the intake if it withdraws most if not all of stream flow.
The plans depict a high capacity pumping system relative to the small size of the stream. Moreover, the
depths of the 9-acre pond are not described, but even a shallow pond of this size in the upper piedmont of
Mailing Address: Division of Inland Fisheries • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]
Fall Creek Land Company Page 2 July 7, 2011
McDowell
North Carolina should require periodic inputs to maintain a stable water level in the summer, particularly
since there will be little watershed area to supply run-off.
The application states that the estimated 7Q 10 flow of the stream (0.6 cfs) will be maintained downstream of
the intake during pond filling, and, presumably, anytime during subsequent pump operation for make-up
water. In this situation, we find this minimum acceptable, albeit extremely low and difficult to accurately
gage. Therefore, we believe that additional conditions are warranted to ensure that this project will have
minimal adverse effects on aquatic habitat. Specifically, we recommend that the permit for this project
include the following conditions:
1) Any return water from the pond to the stream should discharge near to, but downstream of, the intake. If
applicable, this would reduce the amount of stream that experiences drastic flow reductions.
2) The intake line must be constructed so that it is dry before all downstream flow is captured. Specifically,
the invert of the intake pipe must be elevated slightly above the elevation of the stream bottom at its
highest point downstream to prevent the entrainment of all stream flow into the wet well. The stream
channel should be monitored, and, if necessary, periodically excavated to maintain this configuration.
3) The 7Q 10 estimate must be maintained downstream of the intake anytime the pumps are operated.
Stream flow and pump discharge records must be maintained.
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.
Sincerelv,
Dave McHenry
Mountain Region Coordinator
Habitat Conservation Program
cc: Mr. Clement Riddle, Clearwater Environmental Consultants
Mr. Todd Black, Fall Creek Land Company
Mr. Chuck Cranford, NC Division of Water Quality
Mr. Bryan Tompkins, US Fish and Wildlife Service