20210627 Ver 1_NCDOT_15614.1075010_Polk_Tribal_Scoping_20210420

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
ROY COOPER J. ERIC BOYETTE
GOVERNOR SECRETARY

Mailing Address:
NC Department of Transportation
Division 14
253 Webster Road
Sylva NC 28779
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Customer Service: 1-877-368-4968
Website: www.ncdot.gov
Location:
NC Department of Transportation
Division 14
253 Webster Road
Sylva NC 28779

October 6, 2020

To: Dr. Wenonah Haire, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer
Catawba Indian Nation
1536 Tom Steven Road
Rock Hill, SC 29730

Elizabeth Toombs, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer
Cherokee Nation
PO Box 948
Tahlequah, OK 74465

Stephen Yerka, Preservation Specialist
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
2077 Governors Island Road
Bryson City, NC 28713

LeeAnne Wendt, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer
Muscogee (Creek) Nation
PO Box 580
Okmulgee, OK 74447

Whitney Warrior, Director of Natural Resources
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
PO Box 1245
Tahlequah, OK 74465

Subject: Start of Study for North Carolina Department of Transportation Project
I-26 and Old Howard Gap Drainage Repairs, WBS Project No. 15614.1075010
Polk County

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is planning to replace failing
drainage systems under and downslope from a section of I-26 in Polk County, North Carolina.
The project area has approximate center coordinates of -82.265 W, 35.247 N. Maps of the project
area are attached. The project will be federally-funded with the Federal Highway Administration
serving as the lead for compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The majority of the project area has been disturbed by prior highway construction. However,
disturbance of previously undisturbed ground is anticipated in the southernmost drainage
extension on a ridge extending down a mountainside.

2

In accordance with Section 106 of the NHPA, we request that you inform us of any historic
properties of traditional religious or cultural importance that you are aware of that may be
affected by the proposed project. Be assured that, in accordance with confidentiality and
disclosure stipulations in Section 304 of the NHPA, we will maintain strict confidentiality about
certain types of information regarding historic properties. Your comments may be included in
NEPA or NC Environmental Policy Act documentation.

Please contact me at [e-mail] or [phone] if you have any questions or
comments on the project. Please respond with any comments by November 20, 2020. We
greatly appreciate your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Dave McHenry
Division 14 Environmental Officer

Cc:
M. Wilkerson, NCDOT Human Environment Unit

Attach: I-26 and Old Howard Gap Drainage Repairs Maps

10/6/2020
NCCGIA
NCDOT GIS Unit, Sources: Esri, HERE,
Garmin, Intermap, increment P Corp.,
GEBCO, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN,
GeoBase, IGN, Kadaster NL, Ordnance
Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China
(Hong Kong), swisstopo, ©
OpenStreetMap contributors, and the
¯
POLK
HENDERSON
TRANSYLVANIA
BUNCOMBE
RUTHERFORDHAYWOOD
Project Area
I-26 and Old Howard Gap
Drainage Repairs
DF15614
Legend
LWCFDOT 6F newest
Local_District_Boundaries
NCHPO_NR_SL_DOE_Boundaries
0 0.25 0.50.125
Miles
.
TextProject Area
-82.265 35.247 decimal degrees
South Carolina