20070583 Ver 1_Approval Letter_20070511

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Michael F. Easley, Governor
William G. Ross Jr., Secretary
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
~ ? .~ Alan W. Klimek, P.E. Director
Division of Water Quality
May 11, 2007
Caldwell County
DWQ Project No. 070583
Bridge No. 90 NCSR 1718
TIP Project No. B-3126
APPROVAL of 401 Water Quality Certification with Additional Conditions
Dr. Gregory J. Thorpe, PhD., Director
Project Development and Environmental Analysis
North Carolina Department of Transportation
1548 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1548
Dear Dr. Thorpe:
You have our approval, in accordance with the attached conditions and those listed below, for the following impacts for
the purpose of placing temporary and permanent fill material in Gunpowder Creek and in an unnamed tributary to
Gunpowder Creek while replacing Bridge No. 90 in Caldwell County:
Stream imnacts in the Catawba River Basin
Site Permanent Fill in Temporary Fill in Permanent Fill in Temporary Fill in Total Stream Stream
Intermittent Intermittent Stream Perennial Stream Perennial Stream Impact Impacts
Stream (linear ft) (linear ft) (liner ft) (linear ft) (linear ft) Requiring
Mitigation
linear ft
Site 1 48 48 0
Site 2 66 66 0
Site 3 350 350 350
Site 4 31 31 0
Total 350 145 495 350
Total Permanent Stream Impact for Project: 350 linear ft. Total Temporary Impact for Project: 1451inear ft.
T he project should be constructed in accordance with your application dated April 3, 2007, (received April 4, 2007),
including the environmental commitments made in the application letters. After reviewing your application, we have
decided that these impacts are covered by General Water Quality Certification Nos. 3627 and 3634. This Certification
corresponds to Regional General Permit Number 31 issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In addition, you
should acquire any other federal, state or local permits before you proceed with your project including (but not limited
to) Sediment and Erosion Control, Non-Discharge and Water Supply Watershed regulations. This approval will expire
with the accompanying 404 Permit.
This approval is valid solely for the purpose and design described in your application (unless modified below). Should
your project change, you must notify the DWQ and submit a new application. If the property is sold, the new owner
must be given a copy of this Certification and approval letter, and is thereby responsible for complying with all the
conditions. If total wetland fills for this project (now or in the future) exceed one acre, or if total impacts to streams (now
or in the future) exceed 150 linear feet, compensatory mitigation maybe required as described in 15A NCAC 2H .0506
NorthCarolina
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North Carolina Division of Water Quality 2090 U.S. Highway 70 Swannanoa, NC 28778 Phone [phone] Customer Service
Internet: www.ncwaterquality.org FAX [phone]
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer

Dr. Gregory J. Thorpe, PhD.
May 11, 2007
Page Two
(h) (6) and (7). For this approval to be valid, you must follow the conditions listed in the attached certification and any
additional conditions listed below.
Erosion and sediment control practices must be in full compliance with all specifications governing the
design, installation and operation and maintenance of such Best Management Practices in order to protect
waters standards:
b.
proper
surface
The erosion and sediment control measures for the project must be designed, installed, operated, and
maintained in accordance with the most recent version of the North Carolina Sediment and Erosion Control
Planning and Design Manual.
The design, installation, operation, and maintenance of the sediment and erosion control measures must be
such that they equal, or exceed, the requirements specified in the most recent version of the North Carolina
Sediment and Erosion Control Manual. The devices shall be maintained on all construction sites, borrow
sites, and waste pile (spoil) projects, including contractor-owned or leased borrow pits associated with the
project.
c. For borrow pit sites, the erosion and sediment control measures must be designed, installed, operated,
and maintained in accordance with the most recent version of the North Carolina Surface Mining Manual.
d. The reclamation measures and implementation must comply with the reclamation in accordance with the
requirements of the Sedimentation Pollution Control Act.
2. There shall be no excavation from or waste disposal into, jurisdictional wetlands or waters associated with this
permit without appropriate modification. Should waste or borrow sites be located in wetlands or streams,
compensatory mitigation will be required since that is a direct impact from road construction activities.
3. Sediment and erosion control measures shall not be placed in wetlands or waters unless otherwise approved by this
Certification. If placement of sediment and erosion control devices in wetlands and waters is unavoidable, they shall
be removed and the natural grade restored upon completion of the project.
4. Adequate sediment and erosion control measures should be implemented prior to any ground disturbing activities to
minimize impacts to downstream aquatic resources. Temporary cover (wheat, millet or similar annual grain) or
permanent herbaceous cover should be planted on all bare soil within fifteen (15) days of ground disturbing activities
to provide long-term erosion control. Erosion control mating should be used in conjunction with appropriate seeding
on disturbed soils in steep slope and riparian areas. Matting should be secured in place with staples or wherever
possible, live stakes of native trees. Straw mulch and tall fescue should not be used in riparian areas.
5. Strict adherence to the most recent version of NCDOT's Best Management Practice For Bridge Demolition and
Removal, approved by the US Army Corps of Engineers, is a condition of the 401 Water Quality Certification.
6. Bridge deck drains should not discharge directly into streams. Stormwater shall be directed across the bridge and
pre-treated through site-appropriate means (grass swales, pre-formed scour holes, vegetated buffers, etc.) before
entering the stream. Please refer to the most current version of Stormwater Best Management Practices.
7. Compensatory mitigation for impacts to 315 linear feet of stream at a replacement ratio of 1:1 is required.
Compensatory mitigation for impacts to jurisdictional streams shall be provided by onsite relocations of 315 linear
feet of an unnamed tributary to Gunpowder Creek. The onsite stream relocation shall be constructed in accordance
with the design submitted in your April 3, 2007 application. Please be reminded that as-builts for the completed
stream shall be submitted to the North Carolina Division of Water Quality 401/Wetlands Unit with the as-builts for
the rest of the project. If the parameters of this condition are not met, then the permittee shall supply additional
stream mitigation for the 315 linear feet of impacts. All channel relocations will be constructed in a dry work area,
will be completed and stabilized, and must be approved on site by DWQ staff, prior to diverting water into the new
channel. Whenever possible, channel relocations shall be allowed to stabilize for an entire growing season. All
stream relocations shall have a 50-foot wide native wooded buffer planted on both sides of the stream unless
otherwise authorized by this Certification. A transitional phase incorporating rolled erosion control product (RECP)
and appropriate temporary ground cover is allowable.

Dr. Gregory J. Thorpe, PhD.
May 11, 2007
Page Three
8. Compensatory mitigation for an additional 35 linear feet of impact, in an unnamed tributary to Gunpowder Creek, is
required. We understand that you have chosen to perform compensatory mitigation for impacts to streams through
the North Carolina Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP), and that EEP has agreed to implement the mitigation
for the project. EEP has indicated in a letter dated IVlarch 13, 2006, that they will assume responsibility for satisfying
the Federal Clean Water Act compensatory mitigation requirements for the above-referenced project, in accordance
with the Tri-Party MOA signed on July 22, 2003 and the Dual-Party MOA signed on April 12, 2004.
9. The permittee shall visually monitor the vegetative plantings to assess and ensure complete stabilization of the
mitigation stream segments. The monitoring shall be conducted annually for a minimum of three (3) years after final
planting. Photo documentation should be utilized to document the success of the riparian vegetation and the results
submitted in a final report to DWQ within sixty (60) after completing the monitoring. After three (3) years a site
visit shall be conducted by DWQ staff to "close out" the mitigation site.
10. All work in or adjacent to stream waters shall be conducted in a dry work area. Approved BMP measures from the
most current version of NCDOT Construction and Maintenance Activities manual such as sandbags, rock berms,
cofferdams and other diversion structures shall be used to prevent excavation in flowing water.
11. Only clean and sediment free riprap shall be used and placed in surface waters.
12. The post-construction removal of temporary work pads will need to return the project site to its preconstruction
contours and elevations. The impacted areas shall be revegetated with appropriate native species. Disturbed
floodplains and streams should be restored to natural geomorphic conditions.
13. The existing roadway that is to be eliminated should be restored back to original ground elevations and the natural
floodplain elevations and functions restored. Disturbed areas should be seeded or mulched to stabilize the soil and
native tree species should be planted with spacing of not more that l Oft. x l Oft.
14. Native riparian vegetation (e.g. rhododendron, dog hobble, willows, alders, sycamores, dogwoods, black walnut and
red maple) must be reestablished within the construction limits of the project by the end of the growing season
following completion of construction.
15. The use of riprap above the Normal High Water Mark shall be minimized. Any riprap placed for stream stabilization
shall be placed in stream channels in such a manner that it does not impede aquatic life passage.
16. Heavy equipment should be operated from the banks rather than in the stream channels in order to minimize
sedimentation and reduce the introduction of other pollutants into the stream.
18. All mechanized equipment operated near surface waters must be regularly inspected daily and maintained to prevent
contamination of stream waters from fuels, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, or other toxic materials.
19. Discharging hydroseed mixtures and washing out hydroseeders and other equipment in or adjacent to surface waters
is prohibited.
20. If concrete is used during construction (e.g., headwalls), a dry work area shall be maintained to prevent direct contact
between curing concrete and stream water. Water that inadvertently contacts uncured concrete shall not be
discharged to surface waters due to the potential for elevated pH and possible aquatic life and fish kills.
21. No rock, sand or other materials shall be dredged from the stream channel, except where authorized by this
certification.
22. The outside buffer, wetland or water boundary located within the construction corridor, approved by this
authorization, shall be clearly marked by highly visible fencing prior to any land disturbing activities. Impacts to
areas within the fencing are prohibited unless otherwise authorized by the certification.
23. A copy of this Water Quality Certification shall be maintained on the construction site at all times. In addition, the
Water Quality Certification and all subsequent modifications, if any, shall be maintained with the Division Engineer
and the on-site project manager.
24. The permittee and its authorized agents shall conduct its activities in a manner consistent with State water other
appropriate requirements of State or Federal law. If DWQ determines that such standards or laws are not being met
(including failure to sustain a designated achieved use) or that State of Federal law if being violated, or that further
conditions are necessary to assure compliance, DWQ may reevaluate and modify this certification.
25. During the construction of the project, no staging of equipment of any kind is permitted in waters of the U.S. or
protected riparian buffers.

Dr. Gregory J. Thorpe, PhD.
May 11, 2007
Page Four
26. Upon completion of the project, the NCDOT Division Engineer, shall complete and return the enclosed "Certificate
of Completion Form" to notify NCDWQ when all work included in the §401 Certification has been completed. This
form shall be returned to the Transportation Permitting Unit of the NC Division of Water Quality, 2321 Crabtree
Blvd., Suite 250, Raleigh, North Carolina 27604.
If you do not accept any of the conditions of this certification, you may ask for an adjudicatory hearing. You must act
within 60 days of the date that you receive this letter. To ask for a hearing, send a written petition, which conforms to
Chapter 150B of the North Carolina General Statutes to the Office of Administrative Hearings, 6714 Mail Service
Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-6714. This certification and its conditions are final and binding unless you ask for a
hearing.
This letter completes the review of the Division of Water Quality under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. If you have
any questions, please telephcne Mr. Mike Parker of the Asheville Regional Office at 828?96.4500.
Sincerely,
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~;y Alan ~. Klimek, P.E., Director
~~ Division of Water Quality
cc: Mr. Mike Pettyjohn, P.E. Division 14 Engineer
Mr. Heath Slaughter, Division 14 Environmental Officer
Mr. Monte Matthews, USACE Raleigh Field Office
Transportation Permitting Unit
Mike Parker, Asheville Regional Office