20120285_Gaston East-West Corridor Email_20090707

FW Gaston E W, DENR Project No 09 0322
FW Gaston E -W, DENR Project No 09 -0322
Lespinasse, Polly
Sent Tuesday May 08 2012 3 00 PM
To Carrillo Sonia
Attachments GasEW NCTA DEIS2009 07 doc (64 KB)
From Marla Chambers [ mailto marla chambers @ctc net]
Sent Tuesday, July 07, 2009 9 09 PM
To Mcgee, Melba
Cc Lund, Steve, Militscher, Chris, Buncick, Marella, Lespinasse, Polly, Rodgers, Angle
Subject RE Gaston E W, DENR Project No 09 0322
Please see attached comments
Sorry for the previous blank email hit the wrong button
Marla J Chambers
Western NCDOT Permit Coordinator
N C Wildlife Resources Commission
12275 Swift Road
Oakboro NC 28129
phone & fax [phone]
cell 704 984 1070
marla chambers @ctc net
www ncwildlife org
From Marla Chambers [mailto marla chambers @ctc net]
Sent Tuesday, July 07, 2009 9 05 PM
To McGee Melba (Melba McGee @ncdenr gov)
Cc Lund, Steve, Militscher, Chris, Buncick, Marella, Lespinasse, Polly, Rodgers, Angie
Subject Gaston E W, DENR Project No
Marla J Chambers
Western NCDOT Permit Coordinator
N C Wildlife Resources Commission
12275 Swift Road
Oakboro NC 28129
phone & fax [phone]
cell 704 984 1070
marla chambers @ctc net
www ncwildlife org
Page 1 of 1
https //mall nc gov /owa/9ae= Item &t =IPM Note &1d= RgAAAADMSzLcd9W2TJHI4 %2bm 5/17/2012

'E=z"'I North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission IQ
TO Melba McGee Environmental Coordinator
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
FROM Marla Chambers Western NCDOT Permit Coordinator %Inn .-- All mn&ta_
Habitat Conservation Program NCWRC
DATE July 7 2009
SUBJECT Review of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Gaston
East West Connector a toll road from 185 west of Gastonia to 1485 near the
Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Gaston and Mecklenburg Counties TIP
No U 3321 DENR Project No 09 0322 due 07/01/2009 extended to
07/07/2009
The North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA) has submitted a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Gaston East West Connector which had previously been
proposed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation ( NCDOT) as a non toll facility
Staff biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission ( NCWRC) have
reviewed the information provided and represent the agency at Turnpike Environmental Agency
Coordination (TEAC) meetings These comments are provided in accordance with the
provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U S C 4332(2)(c)) and the Fish and
Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat 401 as amended 16 U S C 661 667d)
Comments regarding this project have been submitted to NCDOT and NCTA as appropriate
throughout the planning process through written comments emails and participation in
meetings We have expressed concerns from the beginning of our involvement in the project
about the high levels of direct and indirect impacts to the natural environment and whether the
benefit of the roadway justifies the negative impacts It appears that improvements will need to
be made to the existing east west roadways I 85 and US 74/29 regardless of whether or not this
project is built
NCTA proposes to construct a controlled access new location toll facility from 185 west of
Gastonia to 1485 near the Charlotte Douglas International Airport alternatives range in length
Mailing Address Division of Inland Fisheries 1721 Mail Service Center Raleigh NC 27699 1721
Telephone [phone] Fax [phone]

Gaston East West Connector DEIS 2 July 7 2009
Gaston & Mecklenburg Co s
from 214 to 23 7 miles The document examined 12 end to end Detailed Study Alternatives
(DSAs) and Identified DSA 9 as the Recommended Alternative A Preferred Alternative will be
selected after the comment period for the DEIS Stream Impacts ranged from 47 188 to 60 224
linear feet among the alternatives Wetland Impacts ranged from 6 9 to 13 2 acres Terrestrial
Impacts ranged from 1 759 to 1908 acres in the largely rural project area
The preliminary engineering designs for the DSAs are for six lanes with a 46 foot median based
on traffic projections from the non toll scenario The document indicated that if traffic
projections for the toll scenario show four lanes to be sufficient the footprint of the project
would not change but instead the median width would be increased We recommend that the
median remain the same width and the footprint be narrowed for a four lane facility in order to
minimize impacts to area resources A wider right of way could be preserved for possible future
widening but additional impacts to streams and wetlands should be avoided until such widening
occurs
The project crosses both main arms of Lake Wylie, the Catawba River and South Fork Catawba
River arms Section S 8 5 2 in the Summary does not clarify that these rivers and Lake Wylie
are the same bodies of water which could cause some confusion however clarification does
occur In later chapters Lake Wylie is a popular recreational area for boating fishing and
waterskiing The internationally renowned Bass Masters Classic fishing tournament was held at
Lake Wylie in 2004 The most rapidly growing area of Gaston County is area closest to the lake
Water quality in many project area waterways Is degraded as evidenced by the number of
streams on the Final 2006 303(d) list or Draft 2008 303(d) list South Fork Catawba River
Catawba Creek McGill Branch, Crowders Creek and Abernathy Creek Two additional water
resources are on the Final 2006 305(b) list due to not supporting one or more of their designated
uses but not sufficiently degraded to be placed on the 303(d) list Catawba River /Lake Wylie
and Blackwood Creek Further degradation is likely to occur from direct and indirect impacts to
area waterways Sediment and erosion control measures should adhere to the Design Standards
in Sensitive Watersheds and additional measures to manage growth and development will be
needed to minimize negative impacts to water quality and the area s natural resources
Mitigation efforts should focus on improving degraded streams in the project area
Negative impacts to terrestrial resources and wildlife are another significant concern, as the road
construction and additional development will reduce wildlife habitat and increase habitat
fragmentation in the project area Collisions with wildlife are a serious safety concern for the
traveling public as well Where significant floodplam fills are proposed we recommend
installing floodplam culverts in the road fill to provide wildlife crossings, reduce flooding and
flood damage restore some hydrological functions of the floodplam and reduce flood velocities
at the stream crossings We commend NCTA for committing to coordinating with NCWRC U
S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) on
the feasibility and design of a wildlife passage at stream S 156 and for agreeing to provide several
bridges at crossings that were not required to convey floodwaters in order to minimize stream
and wetland impacts which will also enhance wildlife passage

Gaston East West Connector DEIS 3 July 7 2009
Gaston & Mecklenburg Co s
Bald eagles (Hahaeetus leucocephalus) which have been removed from the Endangered Species
list but are still protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act occur around Lake
Wylie Protective measure should be provided We disagree with the statement in the North
Carolina Endangered Species Act paragraph in Section 6 5 12 that indicated state protection of
state listed species does not apply to transportation projects We believe it is NCDOT s and
NCTA s responsibility as state agencies to protect state listed species in the construction of
transportation facilities throughout the state and we request their assistance in protecting these
animals We see nothing in the Article (NCGS Chapter 113, Article 25) that would exempt
transportation projects from the Act
Indirect and cumulative impacts are a mayor concern and have the potential to be even more
significant than the direct impacts According to the DEIS Gaston County has a high potential
for accelerated growth and indirect effects to notable features as a result of the project and
Mecklenburg County has a moderate potential Both counties have a moderate potential to
experience cumulative effects related to land use changes The rural nature of the project area is
likely to be lost without additional significant measures in place to manage growth Urban and
suburban sprawl are occurring in portions of the project vicinity While some stormwater
management controls exist to provide some protection of water quality measures such as placing
limits on impervious surfaces and preserving riparian buffers to streams and wetlands are
lacking Numerous studies have shown that when 10 -15% of a watershed is converted to
impervious surfaces there is a serious decline in the health of receiving waters (Schueler 1994)
and the quality of fish habitat and wetlands are negatively impacted (Booth 1991 Taylor 1993)
Measures to mitigate secondary and cumulative impacts can be found in the Guidance
Memorandum to Address and Mitigate Secondary and Cumulative Impacts to Aquatic and
Terrestrial Wildlife Resources and Water Quality ( NCWRC 2002) We also strongly encourage
the use of Low Impact Development (LID) practices Information on these measures can be
found at www lowimpactdevelopment org http / /www epa gov /owow /nps /lid /lidnatl pd f and
http / /www stormwatercenter net/
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project If you have any questions
regarding these comments please contact me at [phone] We look forward to continuing
our participation in the planning process for this project
Literature Cited
Booth D 1991 Urbanization and the natural drainage system impacts solutions and
prognoses Northwest Environmental Journal 7(1) 93 118
NCWRC (North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission) 2002 Guidance Memorandum to
Address and Mitigate Secondary and Cumulative Impacts to Aquatic and Terrestrial
Wildlife Resources and Water Quality NCWRC Raleigh Available
http / /www ncwildlife org/ pg07_ WildlifeSpeciesCon /pg7c3_lmpacts pdf (February
2003)
Schueler, Tom 1994 The Importance of Imperviousness Watershed Protection Techniques
1 3 (pp 100 111)

Gaston East West Connector DEIS
Gaston & Mecklenburg Co s
July 7 2009
Taylor B L 1993 The influences of wetland and watershed morphological characteristics and
relationships to wetland vegetation communities Masters thesis Dept of Civil
Engineering University of Washington Seattle WA
cc Steve Lund USACE
Marella Buncick USFWS
Christopher Mllrtscher USEPA
Polly Lespmasse, NCDWQ
Angle Rodgers, NCNHP