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Home My WebLink About20210046 Ver 1_Ashe 355 Wild and scenic correspondance_20210208From: Hining, Kevin J Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2019 11:20 AM To: 'Duncan, Jeffrey' <jeff_duncan@nps.gov>; 'Loretta.A.Beckwith@usace.army.mil' <Loretta.A.Beckwith@usace.army.mil> Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] RE: Question about the National Wild and Scenic portion of the New River Hey Jeff and Lori, I wanted to mention that I visited the Ashe County bridge #355 replacement location with New River State Park Ranger Jeff Matheson. He didn’t have any issues with the bridge replacement, and I think he was actually happy to know the new bridge will be a little higher than the old one and include a public access area. The only request they made was to inform them a few weeks prior to construction so that they can plan for a survey and relocation of any Hellbender’s in the vicinity of the bridge. I’ll include Lori Williams, amphibian biologist with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission staff in that request as well, in case they would like to attend. Just wanted to provide that update. Thanks, Kevin Kevin Hining Division 11 Environmental Officer North Carolina Department of Transportation 336 903 9129 office 828-386-8687 cell kjhining@ncdot.gov 801 Statesville Rd. PO Box 250 North Wilkesboro, NC 28659 Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties. _____________________________________________________________ From: Hining, Kevin J Sent: Wednesday, October 2, 2019 3:55 PM To: Duncan, Jeffrey <jeff_duncan@nps.gov> Cc: Loretta.A.Beckwith@usace.army.mil Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] RE: Question about the National Wild and Scenic portion of the New River Hey Jeff, I’m more than happy to show you the site if you decide to make a visit. Lori and I will be looking at a separate project in the near future in Ashe County, and if there is time, I’m hoping to take her by this site. Speaking of the bridge location, I’ve attached a map showing the proposed new bridge in relation to the WSR designation. I imagine low water bridges are probably not the norm in most places, but there are a surprising number of them in Ashe County on the New River. Several are public / NCDOT bridges, but that are even more private low water bridges. As you probably know, the bridges are not just outside if the WSR designated area, but within as well. I just wanted to mention, since it’s not necessarily something I’d expect folks to know that haven’t visited the area (I wasn’t sure if I mentioned that during our phone conversation or not….). Regarding the identified values used to determine if a project “invades or unreasonably diminishes a WSR”, I’m hoping we will actually improve recreational opportunities, making it easier for people to enjoy the scenic qualities of the river, as well as the fish and wildlife that reside within and along the river. To expand on this - currently the low water bridge is only a couple of feet above the water at normal flows, and there is no formal access or portage around the bridge. However, the new design will raise the bridge approximately 2 feet (not much, but hopefully enough to allow canoers and kayakers to go under it without having to portage). Also, we met yesterday with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission and the Ashe County Manager to discuss the construction of an official canoe access at the new bridge location. We intend to provide property within our right of way so that the new access can be built. So in short, we hope to have a new public river access as a result of the new bridge, and in an area that is currently lacking public access. As an additional measure, I’m meeting with New River State Park staff at the site tomorrow to discuss the bridge replacement and the new access opportunity. Thanks again for your assistance with this, and just let me know whenever I can provide information. Kevin Kevin Hining Division 11 Environmental Officer North Carolina Department of Transportation 336 903 9129 office 828-386-8687 cell kjhining@ncdot.gov 801 Statesville Rd. PO Box 250 North Wilkesboro, NC 28659 Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties. _____________________________________________________________ From: Duncan, Jeffrey <jeff_duncan@nps.gov> Sent: Tuesday, October 1, 2019 8:47 AM To: Hining, Kevin J <kjhining@ncdot.gov> Cc: Loretta.A.Beckwith@usace.army.mil Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] RE: Question about the National Wild and Scenic portion of the New River CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as an attachment to report.spam@nc.gov Hi Kevin-- Good talking to you as well. I do not necessarily solicit comments from the state park, so please feel free to loop them in when it's appropriate. As mentioned, our primary "client" so to speak will be the federal permitting agency, in this case the USACE. Assuming we conduct a full Section 7(a) Determination, we will be advising them whether or not issuing a permit, given the specifics of the project, is consistent with the WSR Act. The blockage of flow could be an issue as maintaining free flow is one of the main components of the WSR Act. We'd need to look at how this could affect the designated portion of the New. It'll all get back to that "invade or unreasonably diminish" standard I mentioned. The good news is that the project is essentially a replacement in kind, so I'm thinking it should fairly straightforward. But the Devil's always in the details so we'll need to discuss those. I'm wondering if it might be good to try to schedule a site visit at some point so we all have the same perspective and can scratch our heads together at the same time. The document I mentioned is attached. Appendix D outlines the thought process we will need to undertake in evaluating the project. I'll be on leave next week, and then on work related travel most of the remainder of October. That said, I should be available to respond to email and/or talk on the phone as needed. Best, Jeff Jeffrey R. Duncan, PhD Regional Aquatic Ecologist National Park Service-Interior Regions 1, 2, and 4 Science and Natural Resources Division Aquatic Resources, Wild and Scenic Rivers, Hydropower 100 West Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd Suite 215 Chattanooga, TN 37402 423-987-6127 Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail is intended for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed. It may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or otherwise protected by applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient or the employee or agent responsible for delivery of this e-mail to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, copying, or use of this e-mail or its contents is strictly prohibited. If you received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately and destroy all copies. On Mon, Sep 30, 2019 at 3:42 PM Hining, Kevin J <kjhining@ncdot.gov> wrote: Jeff, Thanks again for the information today. I’ve attached a preliminary drawing of the new bridge, preliminary permit drawings, and some photos of the existing bridge. Also, the bridge will be state funded. One note about the permit drawings – it shows temporary work pads on both sides of the river, and one of the work pads looks like it blocks > 50% of the river flow. We have told the consultant doing the design that we will not be allowed to block ≥ 50% of the river at one time. We will likely utilize small work pads connected by a temporary work bridge for building the first and second/middle pier. This will then be removed, and a small work pad installed on the opposite end of the bridge to build the final, third pier. This will reduce the amount of flow that is blocked at any one time. I’ve Cc’d Lori Beckwith, our USACE representative. She is on leave until mid-October, and I believe you mentioned you’ll be on leave from next week through October. So, sounds like it will be later in November before we work on this, but feel free to let me know if there is anything I can do in the meantime to assist with the process. I did have another question I meant to ask you today – should I contact New River State Park and tell them about the project, or do you solicit comments from them (if needed)? Thanks, Kevin Kevin Hining Division 11 Environmental Officer North Carolina Department of Transportation 336 903 9129 office 828-386-8687 cell kjhining@ncdot.gov 801 Statesville Rd. PO Box 250 North Wilkesboro, NC 28659 Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties. _____________________________________________________________ From: Hining, Kevin J Sent: Monday, September 30, 2019 1:14 PM To: jeff_duncan@nps.gov Subject: Question about the National Wild and Scenic portion of the New River Hey Jeff, I wanted to follow up my voice message with an email. I’m working on a future bridge replacement on the South Fork New River in NC, about 20 river miles upstream of the National Wild and Scenic portion of the New River. I don’t foresee any issues with the work, given the scope of the project and it’s distance from the designated section. However, I wanted to be sure and cover our bases. Our US Army Corp representative provided me your information, and said you might be the correct contact for the WSR portion of the New River. I noticed that on the National Wild and Scenic website (https://rivers.gov/rivers/New.php) it shows the New River State Park as the managing entity. Do you know if I would need to speak with them instead? Thanks in advance for your help, Kevin Kevin Hining Division 11 Environmental Officer North Carolina Department of Transportation 336 903 9129 office 828-386-8687 cell kjhining@ncdot.gov 801 Statesville Rd. PO Box 250 North Wilkesboro, NC 28659 Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties. _____________________________________________________________ Email correspondence to and from this sender is subject to the N.C. Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.