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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-11-17_BR-0076_Agency_Mtg_Summary BR-0076: NCDOT / Agency Discussion – Meeting Summary Bridge No. 9 on NC 28 over Little Tennessee River Division 14 – Graham/Swain County Line, NC PARTICIPANTS: David McHenry NCDOT – Division 14 – Environmental Josh Deyton NCDOT – Division 14 – Project Development Team Lead Stacy Oberhausen NCDOT/TGS – Division 14 – Project Manager Cameron Cochran NCDOT– Division 14 – Assistant Division Construction Engineer Tammy McCoy TVA – Reservoir Land Use and Permitting – Program Manager Anne Patrick TVA – Regional Watershed Office Ryan Cook TVA – Regional Watershed Office Sophia Paulos Graham County Planning & Economic Development - Director Crystal Amschler USACE – Asheville Regulatory Field Office – Project Manager Ashley Thomas Brookfield Renewables – Compliance Manager George Stephens Brookfield Renewables – Land Use Specialist Kevin Mitchell NC DEQ, Division of Water Resources – Environmental Specialist Holland Youngman USFWS – Wildlife Biologist Nick Shaver NCWRC – Land and Water Access – Mountain Region Supervisor John Macemore NCWRC – Land and Water Access- South Mtn. Region Tech Supervisor Randy Henegar TGS - GESC Hydraulic Review Cathy Houser RK&K – Roadway / Project Manager – Design Phase Jon Whittington RK&K – Hydraulics and Erosion Control John Williams RK&K – Planning / Project Manager – Planning Phase PROJECT DESCRIPTION: STIP Project BR-0076 proposes to replace Bridge No. 9 on NC 28 over Little Tennessee River at the Graham/Swain County Line, NC. MEETING PURPOSE A virtual meeting was held on November 11, 2021, at 10:30 a.m. The purpose of this meeting was to present the plan for construction and the resulting impacts of the project, to request help from TVA and Brookfield Renewables to analyze the hydraulic needs, to identify issues that must be addressed and to obtain general input on the required steps going forward. Prior to this meeting, TVA has identified themselves as the lead federal agency. The meeting proceeded with a brief overview as well as construction phasing diagrams. The following is a summary of that the meeting topics and input received. Action items are in orange. November 30, 2021 BR-0076: NCDOT / Agency Discussion – Meeting Summary Bridge No. 9 on NC 28 over Little Tennessee River Division 14 – Graham/Swain County Line, NC NCDOT HISTORIC BRIDGE REUSE PROGRAM Bridge No. 9 has been identified as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and as such as offered as part of NCDOT’s Bridge Reuse Program. None of the agencies associated with this project have expressed interest in taking ownership of the bridge. NEED FOR REPLACEMENT The bridge is rated as structurally deficient. The design includes “pin hangers” (see image to right) such that if one pin fails, the whole span fails (fracture critical). A temporary fail safe has been put into place to allow the bridge to operate safely until it is replaced. CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS Attached is a pdf version of the presentation. The project team preferred to use barges and work bridges but because both require driving piles into the river bottom, the rock at the riverbed renders this unfeasible because they would not be stable enough to lift the required beams. There was discussion of possibly using a quasi-work bridge at the outer edges of the riverbanks to increase the hydraulic opening but a work pad would be required at the center where the river is the deepest. The team will explore this idea of the work pad as we begin to work with TVA and Brookfield Renewables on developing a plan of action for hydrology that works for everyone. The permanent/temporary impacts as shown in the presentation are summarized in the following table. All required easements are on TVA property. Any modifications discussed during the meeting will result in updates to the following table once the ideas have been explored. Impacts As Shown in Presentation Item Permanent Temporary Construction Easements 4.8 acres Permanent Easement 1.7 acres Tree Clearing Area 3.68 acres Stream Impacts Welch Cove Creek * 0 lf 191 lf Little Tennessee River 70 sf new columns 151 lf River Constriction Constriction will vary depending on the phase but the maximum is 84%. * This impact is dependent on retaining walls being viable. If they are not, culvert extension may be required. BR-0076: NCDOT / Agency Discussion – Meeting Summary Bridge No. 9 on NC 28 over Little Tennessee River Division 14 – Graham/Swain County Line, NC CULVERT ON CAMPGROUND RD to keep fill from the new bridge approach alignment off of Welch Cove Creek, either the culvert would have to be extended or a retaining wall would placed on top of the existing culvert. TVA indicated that an easement was granted to the WWTP but that ownership was still TVA. TVA recommended that NCDOT obtain an easement to maintain the wall and culvert. TVA indicated that maintenance of the culvert should now go to NCDOT. NCDOT was not in agreement. NCDOT and TVA agreed to discuss future culvert maintenance in the coming months. RECREATIONAL CONCERNS NCWRC expressed concerns over the use of pipes in the causeways being an issue for canoeist. There was a general consensus that pipes in the causeway were of little benefit to the flow and pose a potential hazard to boats. NCWRC expressed concerns over the narrow gap between causeways creating an unhealthy attraction for thrill seekers. Graham County recommended that the boat launch immediately upstream of the WWTP be closed during construction and for notices to be posted at the site re-routing users to the NCWRC Managed Boat Ramp just downstream of the bridge site. Multiple agencies agreed that a Boater Safety Plan will be a requirement and that as part of it, they recommend putting up a temporary system of flagged cables and buoys to prevent boaters from going upstream toward the bridge during construction. The location would be as shown below: Brookfield owns the land on both sides of the river and this would require another small easement on land to anchor the cable. NCWRC indicated that they may need to put in a North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC) special rule may need to be passed for this to take place. A boater safety plan will be provided to WRC Boat Ramp Close this ramp during construction Install Temporary Flagged Cable & Buoys BR-0076: NCDOT / Agency Discussion – Meeting Summary Bridge No. 9 on NC 28 over Little Tennessee River Division 14 – Graham/Swain County Line, NC the agencies for review. The project team will coordinate with NCWRC’s Nick Shaver to obtain the details of what is required in the NCAC rule making. NCWRC will send a public notice alerting the public to impacts on recreational access during construction around the same time as the rule making. See “Updates Since Meeting” section at end of minutes for additional information. RIVER CONSTRICTION DURING CONSTRUCTION One of the outcomes of the proposed construction methodology results. The amount of constriction would vary depending on the phase of construction but the maximum would be 84% for a period of one month. Hydraulic analysis of the 84% constriction indicates that even normal flow would overtop the proposed causeway. TVA and Brookfield Renewables agreed to coordinate with NCDOT to see if a lower flow rate could be established where would work could occur without overtopping causeways and with a contingency for a storm event. A ten-year storm even is typical for consideration but will be worked out between the agencies as part of the coordination. Both Brookfield and TVA will be providing contact information to NCDOT and RK&K to begin coordination regarding river operations. TVA provided a contact for the TVA River Forecast (865-632-6065). See “Updates Since Meeting” section at end of minutes for additional information. It was noted during construction that the water from Welch Cove Creek during a storm is negligible compared to the lake/river. It would also peak at a different time than the river and therefore isn’t a major factor in the hydrology affecting the causeways. If the coordination on low-flow periods with Brookfield and TVA still results in overflow of the causeway, another idea was presented at the meeting that could be explored at a later time. With this idea, a work pad would still be required in the middle of the river for lifting but perhaps an unanchored temporary work bridge could be used to get to the work pad. While an unanchored work bridge isn’t stable enough to lift from, it might be possible for a crane to crawl across it to get to the stable work pad. This idea has not been vetted with contractors but if it proved feasible it might reduce the constriction on the river enough to prevent overflow of the work pad. Anne Patrick requested hydrology information on what we were proposing to begin a conversation with TVA River Operations. We will provide this information. NCDWR and USACE share the same concerns as TVA and Brookfield concerning river flow. They agreed that if TVA and Brookfield’s needs were met, their most likely would be met as well. We will keep NCDWR and the USACE in the loop as work toward a solution unfolds. In the following section on Endangered Species Concerns, there is a Section 7 requirement that the bridge only be demolished in the winter. NCDOT/TVA will coordinate further with USFWS. STORMWATER ON THE BRIDGE NCDWR expressed concern over deck drains. The new bridge will be designed with enough space on the deck to handle drainage without the use of deck drains. BR-0076: NCDOT / Agency Discussion – Meeting Summary Bridge No. 9 on NC 28 over Little Tennessee River Division 14 – Graham/Swain County Line, NC REVEGETATION PLAN NCDWR expressed interest in a revegetation plan for Welch Cove Creek. NCDOT will work with TVA to develop a revegetation plan and will share these with NCDWR. ENDANGERED SPECIES CONCERNS On March 11, 2021, NCDOT met with USFWS onsite to discuss Indiana bat, northern long eared bat (NLEB) and gray bat concerns. The result of the meeting was two conditions: • Tree Clearing will only occur during winter • Bridge Demolition will only occur during winter With these two conditions in place, USFWS indicated that based on currently shown impacts they would agree to May Affect, Not Likely to Adversely Affect when officially submitted. For TVA, the Land Use Application will initiate their Environmental Review at which they will pursue issues such as Endangered Species. HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHAOELOGICAL CONCERNS Based on early screening utilizing SHPO’s website, NCDOT architectural historians have identified two resources eligible for the National Register of Historic Places: • Graham County Bridge No. 9 • TVA Fontana Dam Property The bridge will be removed as part of construction may result in an adverse effect on the bridge and TVA will have to work with SHPO to determine the “effect” to the Fontana property. An adverse effect would result a Section 106 MOA. For TVA, the Land Use Application will initiate their Environmental Review at which they will pursue National Historic Preservation Act. We will provide all screenings and surveys completed to date by NCDOT archaeologists and architectural historians for TVA to consider. PERMITS AND APPLICATIONS TVA 26(a) Permit Application and Land Use Application– Preliminary plans can be used to submit the 26(a) permit, but final plans are required before they can process it. TVA prefers to receive both 26(a) and Land Use Application at the same time. NCDOT must provide an appraisal as part of the land use application. The Land Use Application initiates the environmental review including the Section 106 and Section 7 activities. The process to obtain permits and convey easements takes 12 – 18 months. Anne Patrick indicated that Ryan Cooke would be in the lead on developing the Land Use Permit. FERC Review– Brookfield Renewables indicated the information we’d be providing to TVA would likely be sufficient for their review as well. Ashley Thomas indicated he would provide an example application package. He further indicated that the FERC review should only require about 60 - 90 days. Ashley indicated he reach out to Water Resources Group and Operations Group and provide us with contacts. BR-0076: NCDOT / Agency Discussion – Meeting Summary Bridge No. 9 on NC 28 over Little Tennessee River Division 14 – Graham/Swain County Line, NC US FOREST SERVICE INPUT Prior to the meeting, USFS affirmed that so long as our actions are within the ROW already granted, that no further action would be required. UPDATES SINCE MEETING RK&K’s Jon Whittington made contact after the meeting with TVA’s Justin Long who will be providing historical discharge rates and hopefully information on how they relate to different storm events. NCWRC’s Nick Shaver later provided additional information on NC Administrative Code rule making referenced above. NCDOT would need to identify the duration of closure to boats. If it is one year or under, a temporary rule could be applied. If it is over one year, a permanent rule would be implemented and repealed once the construction was complete. This process should be initiated 4-6 months prior to Let to have the rule in place.