20211527 Ver 1_More Information Received_20220110

Strickland, Bev
From: Sandy Smith <[e-mail]>
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2022 4:52 PM
To: Cohn, Colleen M; Glenda Knight
Cc: [e-mail]; Randy Howard; Allison Keith
Subject: RE: [External] RE: Princeville Dike Floodgate Repairs
Attachments: Axiom-NCDWR coorespondence - Princeville Dike Floodgate Repairs 210920.pdf
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Hello Again Colleen,
I have a few more comments that I hope will be of assistance with your review.
1. Axiom had a discussion with Stephanie concerning whether the proposed impacts would fit under the purpose
of NWP 03 (Maintenance). The attached e-mail chain documents our discussion and Stephanie's agreement
following her conversation about this project with Sue Homewood. In this chain, my e-mail to Stephanie dated
September 17, 2021 gives a bulleted list of reasoning why the proposed impacts might be considered to fit
under 15A NCAC 02B .0714 Section 11s (Table of Uses) — Protection of existing structures and facilities when this
requires additional disturbance to the riparian buffer —Allowable Upon Authorization.
2. Dr. Glenda L. Knight is the Princeville Town Manager, 201 South Main Street, Princeville, NC 27886. Her phone
number is 252-823-1057, and her e-mail is [e-mail].
The issue of agent authorization is a bit puzzling for me. Both Billy Standridge (USACE) and Stephanie Goss
(NCDWR) visited the site without one; and since the USACE owns the dike, Billy did not require one for the
permit application. If NCDWR needs one to proceed, I expect Dr. Knight might be our best resource since the
Town is overseeing the floodgate improvements.
Here is the cast of characters:
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) — owner of the Princeville dike and associated
floodgates. Edgecombe County lists no Lot number, Plan number, or Parcel ID for the dike. We have
two contacts with the USACE: Mr. Kent Tranter of the USACE Civil Works Programs & Project
Management — Wilmington District ([e-mail]) who is reviewing the project for a
Section 408 permit, and Billy Standridge of the USACE Washington Regulatory field office
([e-mail]) who is reviewing the project for a Section 404 permit.
• The Town of Princeville — It is my understanding that the Town and County co -maintain the levee. The
Town has received funds from a HUD Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery,
managed by the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency. As previously stated, Dr. Knight is the Town's
representative for this project.
• Sungate Design Group —The engineering firm contracted by the Town to design and oversee
improvements to four dike floodgates. Sungate's project manager is Randy Howard.
• Axiom Environmental, Inc — An environmental consulting firm sub -contracted by Sungate.
3. Axiom can set up a Teams meeting for Wednesday morning.
Thank you,
1

Sandy
Alexander P. (Sandy) Smith
Axiom Environmental, Inc.
218 Snow Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27603
Office/cell: 919-270-9306
From: Cohn, Colleen M <[e-mail]>
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2022 11:46 AM
To: Sandy Smith <[e-mail]>; Glenda Knight <[e-mail]>
Cc: [e-mail]; Randy Howard <[e-mail]>; Allison Keith
<[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [External] RE: Princeville Dike Floodgate Repairs
Good morning,
1. Thank you. I need enough to confirm that I am looking at the 401 Water Quality General Certification that
corresponds to the NWP that the Corps is looking to verify under. If this has been discussed with the Corps
already, I will proceed with looking at our WQGC that corresponds to NWP 03.
2. Thank you.
a. I will need the following information for the Town of Princeville as the applicant:
Name (Primary Contact):
Business Name: Town of Princeville (Department/Division etc if applicable)
Mailing Address:
Telephone Number for Contact:
Email Address for Contact (will receive electronic copy of permit):
b. Since Alexander (Sandy) Smith of Axiom Environmental signed the application as the agent/consultant,
on behalf of the applicant (Town of Princeville), an Agent Authorization is required. A sample Agent
Authorization form has been attached to this email.
c. Yes, it is acceptable for Mr. Howard to attend and for Dr. Knight to not attend. I do not anticipate it
being a long call. I want to make sure I am understanding the project and that we are putting the buffer
impacts under the most appropriate item(s) in the Table of Uses.
3. January 12th at 9am sounds great. If you have Teams and could send the invite, that would be preferable. If not, I
can send the invite.
Thank you,
Colleen Cohn
Environmental Specialist II
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Water Resources
Raleigh Regional Office
380o Barrett Drive
Raleigh, NC 27609
Office: 919-791-4258
E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Sandy Smith <[e-mail]>
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2022 11:07 AM
2

To: Cohn, Colleen M <[e-mail]>; Glenda Knight <[e-mail]>
Cc: [e-mail]; Randy Howard <[e-mail]>; Allison Keith
<[e-mail]>
Subject: [External] RE: Princeville Dike Floodgate Repairs
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Good Morning Colleen,
Thank you for your request for additional information concerning this submittal. I will provide answers to your
questions as numbered below.
1. The use of NWP 03 was confirmed verbally by Billy Standridge during a site visit on June 24. Billy agreed that
NWP 03 is appropriate for the proposed impacts and that the impacts of all four sites should be presented in
one PCN. I am attaching an e-mail received from Billy dated November 4, 2021 (after he received the same e-
PCN that you did) stating that his is reviewing the PCN. Although he does not name the NWP in this e-mail, he
does not explicitly disagree with the proposed use of NWP 03. I hope this will suffice for your needs.
2. You are correct, the Town of Princeville is the applicant, and Dr. Glenda Knight is the Town's primary
contact. The Town's project engineer, Sungate Design Group, subcontracted Axiom to be the agent who
conducted the wetland and stream delineation and buffer determination, met on site with Billy Standridge of
the USACE and Stephanie Goss of the NCDWR to discuss the details of the project, and generated and submitted
the permit application. With your approval, we recommend that our discussions concerning details of the
permit application include Randy Howard of Sungate and release Dr. Knight from needing to attend.
3. We are available for a discussion January 12 at 9 am. Will you be setting up the Teams meeting?
Thank you again,
Sandy
Alexander P. (Sandy) Smith
Axiom Environmental, Inc.
218 Snow Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27603
Office/cell: 919-270-9306
From: Cohn, Colleen M <[e-mail]>
Sent: Friday, January 7, 2022 4:56 PM
To: Sandy Smith<[e-mail]>; Glenda Knight <[e-mail]>
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: Princeville Dike Floodgate Repairs
Good afternoon, Dr. Knight and Mr. Smith,
I am reviewing the above referenced project, and in order to complete the review, some additional information is
required:
1) Has the use of NWP 03 — Maintenance been verified by the US Army Corps of Engineers? If so, please provide
the Division with a copy of the verification. [15A NCAC 02H .0502(c)]
2) Axiom Environmental Inc. is listed as the Applicant, but Dr. Knight of the Town of Princeville is listed as the
Primary Contact. It appears that the Town of Princeville is supposed to be listed as the Applicant for this
application with Axiom Environmental acting as the agent. Is this correct?
3

3) I'm having some difficulty understanding the buffer impacts. In the PCN, all Buffer Impacts are listed as
"Allowable Upon Authorization". On page 157 of 235 of the Attachments to the PCN, a Riparian Buffer Impact
Sheet is shown. Impacts are listed as "Road Crossing" and "Parallel Impact" without additional details, so it is
difficult to tell where the impacts fall under the Table of Uses. [15A NCAC 02H .0502(c)] I would like to schedule
a meeting to discuss the buffer impacts for this project via Microsoft Teams. I am available the following days:
January 12, 9am -12pm
January 13, 9am — 12pm
January 18, 9am — 12pm or 1pm to 3pm
Please let me know if one of the above dates works for either/both of you.
Thank you,
Colleen Cohn
Environmental Specialist II
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Water Resources
Raleigh Regional Office
380o Barrett Drive
Raleigh, NC 27609
Office: 919-791-4258
E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
4

From: Sandy Smith
To: Goss. Stephanie
Cc: Allison Keith. Scott Davis
Subject: RE: [External] RE: Princeville Dike Floodgate Repairs
Date: Monday, September 20, 2021 10:00:00 AM
Attachments: jmaoe001.nnn
jmaoe002.ono
Thank you for working this through with us Stephanie.
With this information, we will move forward with completion of our e-PCN. We will complete the buffer impact tables; and we will assume the impacts
will be Allowable Upon Authorization and therefore not propose mitigation.
I had a very nice weekend and hope you did too.
Sandy
Alexander P. (Sandy) Smith
Axiom Environmental, Inc.
218 Snow Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27603
Office/cell: 919-270-9306
From: Goss, Stephanie <[e-mail]>
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2021 9:18 AM
To: Sandy Smith <[e-mail]>
Cc: Allison Keith <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [External] RE: Princeville Dike Floodgate Repairs
Sandy,
I have reviewed the rules again and conferred with colleagues and we agree that protection of existing structures is acceptable to use for this project.
Thank you and hope you had a good weekend.
Stephanie Z. Goss
Environmental Program Consultant
Division of Water Resources
Raleigh Regional Office
380o Barrett Drive
Raleigh, NC 27609
919-791-4256
E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Sandy Smith<ssmith(Eaxiomenvironmental.org>
Sent: Friday, September 17, 2021 12:35 PM
To: Goss, Stephanie <SteDhanie.goss n5ncdenr.gov>
Cc: Allison Keith <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [External] RE: Princeville Dike Floodgate Repairs
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Hey Stephanie,
If it helps with any decision making for this project, we offer the following text:
Potential impacts to riparian buffers due to access road creation fall within the descriptions of Exemptions within Section 6 of the Tar -Pamlico
Riparian Buffer Rules.
• The proposed access roadways are being included within the existing levee footprints in order to maintain the integrated flood -control valves and
maintain the existing use and function of the levee system.
• The levees and integral valve structures have been in place since 1965 (prior to January 1, 2000) and maintain a present and ongoing use of
protecting the Town of Princeville from flooding.
• Existing and ongoing uses are further defined in Section 6b and specifically include the displacement of vegetation by structures or regular activity.
• The proposed maintenance roadways are located in the approximate footprint of existing pathways used to monitor flood valves, visible in historic
aerial photography. The addition of a gravel surface to these areas to maintain access to these locations fall within the ongoing use of the levee
structure and is not anticipated to cause a substantial change in vegetation, which is well maintained over the entirety of the levee system.
• The proposed ongoing use designation of the proposed maintenance access roadways are also supported in Section 11s (Table of Uses), as the
"protection of existing structures and facilities requiring additional disturbance to the riparian buffer" is Allowable upon Authorization.
Thanks for your and Sue's input and guidance.

Have a good weekend,
Sandy
Alexander P. (Sandy) Smith
Axiom Environmental, Inc.
218 Snow Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27603
Office/cell: 919-270-9306
From: Goss, Stephanie <[e-mail]>
Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2021 10:54 AM
To: Sandy Smith<SsmithlEaxiomenvironmental.org>
Cc: Allison Keith <akeith Eaxiomenvironmental.org>
Subject: RE: [External] RE: Princeville Dike Floodgate Repairs
Sandy,
I am stall waiting for an answer for you. I am conferring with Sue regarding this project and as soon as I have an answer, I will let you know.
Stephanie Z. Goss
Environmental Program Consultant
Division of Water Resources
Raleigh Regional Office
380o Barrett Drive
Raleigh, NC 27609
919-791-4256
E-mail correspondence to and from this address maybe subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Sandy Smith<ssmithCEaxiomenvironmental.ore>
Sent: Wednesday, September 8, 2021 12:58 PM
To: Goss, Stephanie <[e-mail]>
Cc: Allison Keith<akeithCEaxiomenvironmental.org>
Subject: RE: [External] RE: Princeville Dike Floodgate Repairs
CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as an attachment to Report Spam.
Good Afternoon Stephanie,
I hope all is well with you.
Following our visit to Princeville, Axiom has learned that the access roads proposed for floodgate improvements will meet the criteria of "built -upon
area,' and that these roads are planned within the riparian buffer in multiple locations. It is my understanding that these roads need to be of sufficient
strength to support construction equipment when repairs are needed, and this is what will elevate them into the category of "built -upon area."
The Town of Princeville has requested we move forward with a NWP 3 application, and I would like to determine how proposed impacts to the riparian
buffer will be viewed by the NCDWR. During our site visit, we discussed the possibility that construction of access roads along the man-made levee to the
existing floodgates, even if the roads constitute built upon area, might be allowable based on the existing use/purpose of the levee and floodgates. I see
in 15A NCAC 02B .0734 TAR-PAMLICO RIVER BASIN: NUTRIENT SENSITIVE WATERS MANAGEMENT STRATEGY: PROTECTION AND MAINTENANCE OF
EXISTING RIPARIAN BUFFERS, within the Table of Uses, item (s) Protection of existing structures and facilities, when this requires additional disturbance to
the riparian buffer —Allowable Upon Authorization. Is this a reasonable way to proceed?
Do you think we should work out whether proposed impacts will be Allowable upon Authorization or Allowable with Mitigation Upon Authorization prior
to submittal of the e-PCN, or should we submit the e-PCN first so NCDWR can see the details of the plan and calculations of proposed impacts before a
final determination is made?
Thank you for your input.
Sandy
Alexander P. (Sandy) Smith
Axiom Environmental, Inc.
218 Snow Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27603
Office/cell: 919-270-9306
From: Goss, Stephanie <stephanie.goss Encdenr.gov>

Sent: Thursday, August 5, 2021 8:36 AM
To: Sandy Smith <ssmithlraaxiomenvironmental.org>
Cc: Allison Keith<akeithPaxiomenvironmental.nrg>
Subject: RE: [External] RE: Princeville Dike Floodgate Repairs determination
Sandy,
Thank you, it was a beautiful day! Here is the definition for "built -upon" area [15A NCAC 02B .0610]:
(5) "Built -upon area means the term as defined in G.S. 143-214.7(b2).
(b2) For purposes of implementing stormwater programs, "built -upon area" means
impervious surface and partially impervious surface to the extent that the partially impervious
surface does not allow water to infiltrate through the surface and into the subsoil. "Built -upon
area" does not include a slatted deck; the water area of a swimming pool; a surface of number 57
stone, as designated by the American Society for Testing and Materials, laid at least four inches
thick over a geotextile fabric: a trail as defined in G.S. 113A-85 that is either unpaved or paved
as long as the pavement is porous with a hydraulic conductivity greater than 0.001 centimeters
per second (1.41 inches per hour): or landscaping material, including, but not limited to, gravel,
mulch, sand, and vegetation, placed on areas that receive pedestrian or bicycle traffic or on
portions of driveways and parking areas that will not be compacted by the weight of a vehicle,
such as the area between sections of pavement that support the weight of a vehicle. The owner
or developer of a property may opt out of any of the exemptions from "built -upon area" set out
G.S. 143-214.7 Page 1
in this subsection. For State stormwater programs and local stonnwater programs approved
pursuant to subsection (d) of tliis section, all of the following shall apply:
(1) The volume, velocity, and discharge rates of water associated with the
one-year, 24-hour storm and the difference in stormwater runoff from the
predevelopment and postdevelopment conditions for the one-year, 24-hour
ctnr n oh oll rro rolriil utorr ■i cinrr QM/ orrnntohlo an rrinnoi-in rr hx rrl rnlnn-ir onri
httos://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BvSection/Chanter 143/GS 143-214.7.ndf
Stephanie Z. Goss
Environmental Program Consultant
Division of Water Resources
Raleigh Regional Office
3800 Barrett Drive
Raleigh, NC 27609
919-791-4256
E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Sandy Smith<ssmith(Eaxiomenvironmental.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 5, 2021 8:24 AM
To: Goss, Stephanie <5tenhanie.gossCEncdenr gov>
Cc: Allison Keith <[e-mail]>
Subject: [External] RE: Princeville Dike Floodgate Repairs determination
CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as an attachment to Report Soam
Thanks Stephanie for your quick letter and a nice day yesterday. Allison and I are doing some homework concerning project plan details and buffer term
definitions. We will stay in touch.
Sandy

Alexander P. (Sandy) Smith
Axiom Environmental, Inc.
218 Snow Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27603
Office/cell: 919-270-9306