20060307 Ver 1_USACE Comments_20060323 (2)

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March 3, 2006
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
REGION 4
Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center
61 Forsyth Street, S.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303 - 8960
Colonel John E. Pulliam, Jr.
District Engineer
Wilmington District Corps of Engineers
ATTN: Mr. Tom Steffens
P.O. Box 1000
Washington, North Carolina 27889
SUBJECT: Tyrrell County Board of Commissioners
Public Notice Action ID: 200610086
Dear Colonel Pulliam:
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This letter is in reference: to the application by the Tyrrell County. Board ~f
~:ommissioners described in the above referenced Public Notice, (Ply) dated January 3(t, 2006.
The proposed project is located 2.5 miles southeast o~ Coluraibia; in Ty~•rell Couzity, North
. -Carolina. The applicants are requesting authorizati®n to dredge and.reconstruetche Riders Creek
Canal and Lateral A to the canal with the stated purpose of restoring drainage to the surrounding
area. The spoil material from the reconstruction of the canals would be side cast into the
adjacent wetlands and would create an elevated berm approximately 4 feet high by 30 feet wide.
The applicant also proposes to insta1120 foot wide culverts and openings every 200 feet to allow
water to enter the floodplain. The project will impact approximately 8,2001inear feet of waters
of the United States and 5.54 acres of high quality bottomland hardwood wetlands. No
mitigation is proposed. We have reviewed the PN and have the following comments about the
proposed project.
The stated project purpose is community restoration and to improve agricultural drainage.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 4 is concerned, however, that the
proposed project will not result in improved drainage to the area. Due to the nature and gradient
of the site, we are uncertain that dredging and reconstruction of the canals will provide the
drainage for the area that the applicants would like to achieve. It appears likely that the project
may, however, result in significant adverse impacts to a high quality bottoLnland hardwood
wetland system. Furthermore, as required by the 404(b)(1),Guidelines (Guidelines), the
applicants do not provide an evaluation of alternatives -that might better. achieve the project
purpose and have less environmental impact. Additionally, there is no indication the. applicants
have attempted to avoid and minimize impacts to aquatic resources,. as required by the
Guidelines. We recommend the applicants perform an alternatives analysis that investigates
other alternatives to achieve the basic project purpose. If the proposed alternative remains the

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2
preferred alternative, we would need to see more information supporting how this alternative
would actually achieve the stated project purpose. Regardless of the selected alternative, efforts
need to be made to avoid and minimize impacts to aquatic resources, including the proposed
disposal of spoil material in the floodplain wetlands.
The applicant is also not proposing any mitigation to offset the project's proposed
impacts. There is no evidence the applicant has gone through the project sequencing process of
avoidance, minimization and compensatory mitigation. The EPA, therefore, recommends
compensatory mitigation be provided for any project impacts to waters of the United. States (per
Federal and State requirements) after the applicant has avoided and minimized impacts to the
extent practicable.
In summary, the EPA believes the permit, as proposed, is not approvable at this time. As
stated above, we believe the applicant needs to provide an alternative analysis that evaluates
other less environmentally damaging and more effective alternatives that would meet the stated
project purpose. The applicant also needs to provide a mitigation plan to compensate for any
project impacts that can not be avoided or minimized. We appreciate the opportunity to
comment on this project. If you have any questions regarding these comments, please contact
Becky Fox at [phone] or fox.rebecca@ epa.gov.
. Sincerely,
•„
Ronald J. Mik lak, Chief
Wetlands latorv Section
cc: USFWS, Raleigh
NCDWQ, Raleigh
1`dCD~~Q, V6'ashingl=:.n
NCWRC, Washington
NMFS, Beaufort
NCDCM, Raleigh

cc List:
Ms. Cyndi Karoly
NC Division of Water Quality
1650 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1650
Mr. Kyle Barnes
NC Division of Water Quality
943 Washington Square MaII
Washington, NC 28405
Mr. Pete Benjamin
US Fish and Wildlife Service
PO Box 33726
Raleigh, North Carolina 27636-3726
3
Ms. Maria Tripp
NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Habitat Conservation Section
943 Washington Square Mall
Washington, NC 28405
Ron Sechler
Habitat Conservation Division
National Marine Fisheries~Service
101 Pivers Island Road
Beaufort, NC 28516
Doug Huggett
NC Division of Coastal Management
1638 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699

United States Department of the Interior ~ ,.
FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
Raleigh Field Office
Post Office Box 33726
Raleigh; North Carolina 27636-3726
February 28, 2006

Routed: 03 Mar 2006 kj
Colonel Charles R. Alexander, Action: REG
District Engineer, Wilmington District
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers SUSp Date:
Post Office Box 1890 CF: Cdr, DCdr, DX, DP
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Wilmington, North Carolina 28402-1890 ~~~
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Attention: Tom Steffens 1~~ #" ~ ~
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Dear Colonel Alexander: Q- ~
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This is the report of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) on Action ID No. 2OwG100~;c~~
dated January 30, 2006 whereby the Tyrell County Board of Commissioners has applied form
Department of the. Army permit to perform stream channelization and fill wetlands alc~'g Rim
Creek in the Albemarle Sound watershed; Tyrell County, North Carolina: This report `is ~ Q
submitted in accordance with the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401; a~.amei~ed;
16 U.S.C. 661-667d),: to be used in your determination of compliance with 404(b)(1)-gtiidefnes
(40 CFR 230) and in your public interest review (33 CFR 320.4) as they relate to the protection
of fish and wildlife resources.
The proposed project is located approximately 2.5 miles southeast of Columbia along 8,200
linear feet of Riders Creek and a lateral canal which feed the Scuppernong River in Tyrell
County, North Carolina. The applicant proposes to channelize 8,200 feet of old historic canals
originally constructed before 1920, and sidecast fill material into approximately 5.64 acres of
high quality forested wetlands. The stated purpose of the project is to increase flows into Riders
Creek from adjacent residential and agricultural lands. There are also existing relic spoil piles
scattered along the length of the project that have generally sloughed off into adjacent wetlands.
According to the Public Notice, the areas along the old canals that are trying to recover and
become naturalized in many areas.
The proposed project involves excavation of Riders Creek along the entire 8,2001inear foot
reach that, according to the application, has been historically channelized: The applicant
proposes to dredge 28,152 cubic yards of material to a depth of 5.0 feet below the normal water
level. Spoil material generated by the proposed project would be placed in high, quality forested
weflarids: The applicant also proposes an undetermined number ofculvert-placements in
wetlands, and no mitigation is proposed to compensate for the anticipated adverse environmental
impacts of this project.

The channelization of streams involves the removal of natural woody debris that provides
primary production and that fish use as habitat, the removal of natural stream meanders, and
stream bank clearing of riparian habitats. channelization also increases channel depth and
width, and involves the disposal of dredged material along riparian corridors. Consequently, the
flooding that make the bottomland wetlands so productive is reduced or eliminated, and wetland
plant communities become stressed or are replaced by upland vegetation. The flood storage
capabilities of the bottomland hardwood forest would be bypassed, and flooding in
unchannelized downstream segments would be much more severe, (Taylor, et al. 1990).
Shallow coastal plain streams provide essential habitat for a variety of important aquatic species.
In particular, these small streams and flooded wetlands provide essential spawning habitat for
the anadromous hickory shad (Alosa mediocris) and blueback herring (Alsoa aestivalis) that
utilize these small streams and backwater areas for reproduction during spring high flows. These
habitats also provide essential rearing habitat for young of the year hickory shad, and'ulueback
herring, (Rulifson, 1994). These fisheries are intensely managed through cooperative inter-state
councils and commissions due to their commercial and recreational significance. Further, the
wetland habitats and forested stream corridors proposed for development provide essential
nesting habitat for a variety of neotropical migratory birds which nest in forests and natural areas
along streams and in wetlands.
The Service is very concerned about the significant direct, secondary and cumulative adverse
impacts of this channelization project on nationally important resources and waters of the United
States. Specifically, the channelization of 8,200 linear feet of a 94 year old "canal", and filling
of 5.6 acres of high quality forested wetlands would effectively eliminate or significantly alter
the fish and wildlife values of these important coastal plain wetlands. The project would severely
compromise the natural functions of the forested wetlands that would be impacted by the
proposal. These functions include the attenuation of flood waters, maintenance of water quality,
and habitat functions for fish and wildlife resources. Additionally, the applicant has not provided
a clear need or purpose for the proposed channelization project, and the application indicates that
no mitigation for unavoidable impacts is proposed. The scale of wetland impacts either from
direct fill or the potential lowering of the water table have the potential for significant
detrimental impacts to these functioning wetland systems. Alternatives to meet the purpose of
the project also have not been investigated.
In light of the potential significant adverse impacts to important coastal plain streams and water
quality within Riders Creek, the Scuppernong River, and the Albemarle Sound, the Service has
the following concerns: The EPA's 404 (b)(1) guidelines have not been exhausted; there is no
acceptable proposed mitigation plan (including minimization of impacts to streams and
wetlands); there is considerable uncertainty concerning potential water quality degradation.
There is also the potential for this project to severely impact the fish and wildlife resources of
Riders Creek and the Scuppernong River through direct and indirect cumulative impacts
involving permanent habitat loss, and habitat degradation from stream channelization and 5.64
acres of permanent wetland impacts. The historically channelized portions of Riders Creek may,
however, be a good candidate for stream restoration and wetland restoration to improve water
quality and flood water filtration.

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Based on the above information, the Service recommends that Department of the Army
Authorization for this project be denied due to unacceptable impacts to public trust resources. If
you have any questions regarding this information, please contact Mr. Mark D. Bowers of my
staff at [phone] (Ext. 19) or at the above address.
Ecological Services Supervisor
Literature Cited
Rulifson, Roger A., 1994. Status of Anadromous Alosa Along the East Coast of North America.
Pages 134-158 in J.E. Cooper, R.T. Eades, R.J. Klauda, and J.G. Loesch, editors.
Anadromous Alosa Symposium, Tidewater Chapter, American Fisheries Society,
Bethesda Maryland.
Taylor, Jan R., Miladay A. Cardamore and William J. Mitsch, 1990. Bottomland Hardwood
Forests: Their Functions and Values. In Ecological Processes and Cumulative Impacts:
Illustrated by Bottomland Hardwood Wetland Ecosystems. Edited by James G.
Gosselink, Lyndon C. Lee, and Thomas A. Muir. 1990. Lewis Publishers, Inc.
cc: NMFS -Beaufort
DCM - Wilmington
EPA - Atlanta V
NCWRC-Raleigh
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