20120178 Ver 1_Public Notice_20120417

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US Army Corps PUBLIC NOTICE
Of Engineers
Wilmington District
Issue Date April 17 2012
Comment Deadline May 17 2012
Corps Action ID # SAW 2011 00392
The Wilmington District Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received an application from
The City of Fayetteville seeking Department of the Army authorization to impact 131
acres of wetlands and 100 linear feet of stream channel associated with the construction
of the Buckhead Creek Watershed Stormwater Infrastructure Improvement Projects at
Raeford and Coventry Roads The project areas are located along Buckhead Creek
where Buckhead Creek crosses Raeford Road and Coventry Road in Fayetteville
Cumberland County North Carolina
Specific plans and location information are described below and shown on the attached
plans This Public Notice and all attached plans are also available on the Wilmington
District Web Site at
http / /www saw usace army mil/Wetlands/Notices /Current notices html
Applicant City of Fayetteville
Attn Ms Mary DePma
433 Hay Street
Fayetteville North Carolina 28301
AGENT (if applicable) W K Dickson & Co Inc
Attn Daniel Ingram
720 Corporate Center Drive
Raleigh North Carolina 27607
Authority
The Corps will evaluate this application and a decide whether to issue conditionally
issue or deny the proposed work pursuant to applicable procedures of Section 404 of the
Clean Water Act
Location
The Raeford Road project is located along Buckhead Creek where Buckhead Creek
crosses Raeford Road approximately 0 15 mile west of the intersection of Ireland Drive
and Raeford Road in Fayetteville Cumberland County North Carolina (N 35 041919 W

78 950392) The Coventry Road project is located along Buckhead Creek where
Buckhead Creek crosses Coventry Road approximately 0 4 miles southwest of the
intersection of Ireland Drive and Coventry Road in Fayetteville Cumberland County
North Carolina (N 35 026530 W 78 95191)
Existing Site Conditions
The proposed project areas consist of mostly undeveloped, forested floodplains along
Buckhead Creek The Raeford Road proposed project site includes a maintained utility
line through a portion of the area The existing land use pattern near the project is almost
entirely developed in the upland areas with development consisting mostly of residential
homes commercial areas along Raeford Road and a few undeveloped parcels Both the
Raeford Road and Coventry Road properties are traversed by Buckhead Creek where the
floodplain is relatively wide and a single unnamed tributary to Buckhead Creek runs
through the west side of the floodplain at the Coventry Site Buckhead Creek flows
beneath Raeford Road through a relatively undeveloped floodplain and then beneath
Coventry Road It then flows between residential developments to Lake Francis along
the eastern edge of an undeveloped floodplain and then southward into Little Rockfish
Creek and Rockfish Creek before entering the Cape Fear River The proposed project
sites both include wetlands adjacent to Buckhead Creek which are regularly flooded by
out of bank events The wetlands are variable ranging from shallow depressional areas
to extensive backwater wetlands The jurisdictional wetlands within the boundaries can
be characterized as riparian Elevations on the site range from a low of approximately
150 feet above mean sea level (MSL) along Buckhead Creek below Coventry Road to a
high of approximately 180 feet above MSL near Raeford Road The project area is
located in the Cape Fear River basin (HUC 0303000407 NCDWQ Sub basin 03 06 15)
The project areas are underlain by Blaney loamy sand (BaD) Blaney Urban land
complex (BdD) and Johnston loam (JT) According to the United States Department of
Agriculture Soil Survey of Cumberland and Hoke Counties North Carolina (October
1984) Blaney soils are found on shoulders of low hills of the Carolina Sandhills are
moderately permeable well drained with a seasonal high water table greater than six
feet Johnston soils are on two to six percent slopes found along major drain ways are
very poorly drained with moderate permeability and the season high water table is at the
surface for most for the year Johnston soils are considered hydric by the Natural
Resources Conservation Service (MRCS)
Three plant communities were identified within the project study area coastal plain small
stream swamp mixed hardwood/pine forest and maintained/disturbed lands The coastal
plain small stream swamp communities on the project property are located within the
active floodplain of Buckhead Creek and consist of mostly jurisdictional wetlands Most
plant life in these areas are adapted to seasonal flooding and extended periods of soil
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saturation The mixed Hardwood /Pine Forest community is located in upland areas The
Maintained/Disturbed Land areas result from previous human disturbances and include
areas subject to periodic mowing and other maintenance activities The existing road
shoulders utility easements and mowed areas around businesses and residential
properties are included in this habitat type
Applicant's Stated Purpose
The applicant stated that the primary goal of the project is to reduce flooding risks
through the watershed and to safeguard the public welfare through the proper collection
and conveyance of stormwater runoff in a non damaging and non life threatening
manner
Protect Description
Construction of these projects is tentatively scheduled to begin in July 2013 and is
anticipated to continue for one year Each project is further described below
Raeford Road The applicant stated that backwater from Raeford Road during the 25
year storm currently extends approximately 3 000 feet upstream of Raeford Road into the
Buckhead Creek subdivision The applicant s preferred alternative Alternative I
proposes the construction of a floodplam bench immediately downstream of Raeford
Road The proposed project would involve the excavation of material within the
floodplam for approximately 600 linear feet along Buckhead Creek The excavated flood
bench would range between 70 and 130 feet wide and would result in impacts to 0 97
acres of riparian wetlands No impact to Buckhead Creek would occur as a result of this
proposal According to the applicant installing a floodplam bench downstream of
Raeford Road would decrease the 25 year water surface elevations approximately 0 6 to
10 feet upstream of Raeford Road without increasing the culvert size under Raeford
Road Recommendations from the watershed study include a future phase for this project
for the installation of another culvert under Raeford Road to provide additional flood
reductions The floodplam culvert is not included in this permit application
Coventry Road The applicant s preferred alternative Alternative 1 would involve the
installation of two 8 foot by 6 foot box culverts on either side of the two existing box
culverts under Coventry Road and the construction of a floodplam bench
According to the applicant installing the additional culverts would provide a 25 year level
of service for Coventry Road and reduce water surface elevations for the 25 year storm
upstream of Coventry Road between 10 feet and 2 8 feet The applicant further states
that the Coventry Road culvert project would also lower water surface elevations

approximately 1 500 feet upstream of Coventry Road and 450 feet downstream of
Coventry Road and would significantly reduce flooding upstream of Coventry Road
The applicant states that the floodplain bench would reduce the 25 year water surface
elevation downstream of Coventry Road by approximately 0 9 to 3 0 feet The excavated
flood plain bench would be 40 to 70 feet wide along approximately 800 linear feet on the
left bank and 400 linear feet on the right bank of Buckhead Creek and would result in
impacts to 0 35 acres of riparian wetlands and 100 linear feet of stream channel
Other alternatives include the following
An alternative which is similar to the preferred alternatives with the exception that the
grading of the floodplain benches would avoid wetland impacts to the extent possible
Flood reductions for this alternative at the Raeford Road site during the 25 year storm
Flood reductions for Alternative 2 during the 25 year storm will vary between 0 4 feet
and 0 5 feet depending on the location providing approximately 50 to 70 percent of the
benefit of Alternative 1 The applicant states that flood reductions for this alternative at
the Coventry Road site during the 25 year storm would vary between 0 6 feet and 3 3 feet
depending on the location providing approximately 70 to 90 percent of the benefit of
Alternative 1
Another alternative evaluated involves the buyout/relocation of affected
homes/businesses that would remove development from the identified affected areas of
both sites This alternative would require the consent of property owners The costs to
purchase properties would be significant Identification of all affected properties could be
problematic potentially exposing the City to litigation This alternative would not
adequately solve the flooding problems without major disruption to the existing
community and it is not the applicants s preferred alternative
The development of detention BMPs up gradient of the flooding that would adequately
reduce peak flow and downstream flooding potential is another alternative evaluated
However due to the high development in the watershed very few opportunities are
available for detention Additionally the cost involved in this alternative would be
expected to be significant due to grading and the required infrastructure to convey runoff
to the site Based on the limited benefit for flood reduction and the high cost this
alternative was not studied further
The No Build alternative would leave the existing natural environment undisturbed
However the No Build alternative does not fulfill the purpose and need of the City of
Fayetteville to reduce flooding risks and is not consistent with the City s stormwater
infrastructure and management policies This alternative does not reduce flooding or
improve water quality within the Buckhead Creek watershed and it is not a preferred
alternative
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Installing an additional 60 inch RCP under Raeford Road would result in water surface
reductions between 18 and 2 1 feet during the 25 year storm However increasing the
culvert capacity would increase flows downstream in already flood prone areas
Therefore additional projects would need to be constructed before installing a culvert
under Raeford Road to mitigate the increases in flow and prevent a significant increase in
water surface elevation Additional project constraints for installing a floodplain culvert
under Raeford Road must also be addressed prior to proceeding with the project
including dealing with traffic from road closures the presences of multiple utility lines
and significant coordination between NCDOT and the City of Fayetteville as Raeford
Road is a NCDOT maintained road Given all of the constraints with this project it is
anticipated that if it is constructed the timeframe for implementation would be lengthy
The development of flood control features to the downstream breached Lake Francis was
considered but would not provide flood control benefits to most of the affected
properties Removal of the Lake Francis dam would primarily result in potential
mitigative measures yield only limited flood control benefits, and it is not a preferred
alternative
Other work associated with proposed improvements to the Buckhead Creek Watershed
stormwater infrastructure includes culvert upgrades in the Kingsford Development off of
Fern creek Drive and in the Montclair Subdivision near Montclair Road and Stoneykirk
Drive These activities comply with Nation Wide Permit 3 for maintenance and are not
being evaluated under this permit request
Avoidance and Minimization Information
The applicant provided the following avoidance and minimization information
Avoidance — Significant jurisdictional streams and wetland areas are present within the
project area During the planning and design phase of the project efforts were made to
avoid impacts to the greatest extent practicable It would not be possible to avoid all
impacts to ,jurisdictional areas due to design constraints Impacts have been avoided
where practicable Certain unavoidable impacts are necessary to fulfill the applicant s
purpose and need
Minimization — The Applicant minimized impacts to wetlands in the design phase The
Stormwater Infrastructure Improvement Projects for Raeford Road and Coventry Road
must meet NPDES and City of Fayetteville criteria Minimization efforts include
restricting excavation to elevations above the OHWM and placement of additional
culverts on the floodplain instead of in the stream channel

Compensatory Mitigation
The applicant proposes mitigation through the on site re establishment of wetlands at a
lower elevation to the extent of current conditions and on site creation of wetlands Re
establishment of wetlands at a 1 1 ratio is proposed and creation of wetlands at a 0 5 1
ratio is proposed to provide further mitigation for the temporary loss of functions during
the construction phase of the project If re established and created wetlands fail to meet
,jurisdictional criteria after three growing seasons post construction the applicant
proposes to use an escrow fund to purchase in lieu fee or mitigation bank credits to
compensate for impacts
Other Required Authorization
This notice and all applicable application materials are being forwarded to the appropriate
State agencies for review The Corps will generally not make a final permit decision
until the North Carolina Division of Water Quality ( NCDWQ) issues denies or waives
State certification required by Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (PL 92 500) The
receipt of the application and this public notice in the NCDWQ Central Office in Raleigh
serves as application to the NCDWQ for certification A waiver will be deemed to occur
if the NCDWQ fails to act on this request for certification within sixty days of the date of
the receipt of this notice in the NCDWQ Central Office Additional information
regarding the Clean Water Act certification may be reviewed at the NCDWQ Central
Office 401 Oversight and Express Permits Unit 2321 Crabtree Boulevard Raleigh
North Carolina 27604 2260 All persons desiring to make comments regarding the
application for certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act should do so in
writing delivered to the North Carolina Division of Water Quality ( NCDWQ) 1650 Mail
Service Center Raleigh North Carolina 27699 1650 Attention Mr Ian McMillan by
May 10 2012
Essential Fish Habitat
This notice initiates the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation requirements of the
Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act The Corps initial
determination is that the proposed project will not adversely impact EFH or associated
fisheries managed by the South Atlantic or Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Councils
or the National Marine Fisheries Service
Cultural Resources
The Corps has consulted the latest published version of the National Register of Historic
Places and is not aware that any registered properties or properties listed as being
eligible for inclusion therein are located within the project area or will be affected by the
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proposed work Presently unknown archeological, scientific prehistoric or historical
data may be located within the project area and/or could be affected by the proposed
work
Endangered Species
The Corps has reviewed the project area, examined all information provided by the
applicant and consulted the latest North Carolina Natural Heritage Database Based on
available information the Corps has determined pursuant to the Endangered Species Act
of 1973 that the proposed protect will have no effect on federally listed endangered or
threatened species or their formally designated critical habitat
Evaluation
The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable
impacts including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest
That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of
important resources The benefit which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the
proposal must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments All factors
which may be relevant to the proposal will be considered including the cumulative effects
thereof among those are conservation economics aesthetics, general environmental
concerns wetlands historic properties fish and wildlife values flood hazards flood plain
values (in accordance with Executive Order 11988) land use navigation shoreline
erosion and accretion recreation water supply and conservation water quality energy
needs safety food and fiber production mineral needs considerations of property
ownership and in general the needs and welfare of the people For activities involving
the discharge of dredged or fill materials in waters of the United States the evaluation of
the impact of the activity on the public interest will include application of the
Environmental Protection Agency s 404(b)(1) guidelines
Commenting Information
The Corps is soliciting comments from the public Federal State and local agencies and
officials Indian Tribes and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the
impacts of this proposed activity Any comments received will be considered by the
Corps to determine whether to issue modify condition or deny a permit for this proposal
To make this decision comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species
historic properties water quality general environmental effects and the other public
interest factors listed above Comments are used to the preparation of an Environmental
Assessment (EA) and/or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Comments are also used to determine the
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need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed
activity
A copy of this Public Notice and all pertinent plans can be found at
http / /www saw usace army mil /Wetlands/Notices /current notices html or by contacting
the Wilmington Regulatory Field Office at [phone]
Any person may request in writing within the comment period specified in this notice
that a public hearing be held to consider the application Requests for public hearings
shall state with particularity the reasons for holding a public hearing Requests for a
public hearing shall be granted unless the District Engineer determines that the issues
raised are insubstantial or there is otherwise no valid interest to be served by a hearing
Written comments pertinent to the proposed work as outlined above will be received
by the Corps of Engineers Wilmington District until 5pm May 17 2012 Comments
should be submitted to Crystal Amschler 69 Darlington Avenue Wilmington North
Carolina 28403 1343 telephone [phone]
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