20121107 Ver 1_Approval Letter_20130102

Dee Freeman
Secretary
January 2, 2013
Rowan County
NCDWQ Project No. 20121107
Safety Improvements Reid to North
Kannapolis
TIP No. P -5206
APPROVAL of 401 WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION with ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS
Mr. Marc Hamel, P.E., Manager of Environmental Programs
NCDOT, Rail Division
1553 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699 -1553
Dear Mr. Hamel:
You have our approval, in accordance with the conditions listed below, for the following impacts for the purpose of
Railroad and Crossing Safety Improvements from Reid to North Kannapolis in Rowan County:
Stream Impacts in the Yadkin -Pee Dee River Basin
Site
Permanent Fill in
Temporary Fill in
Permanent Fill in
Temporary Fill in
Total Stream
Stream
Total Wetland
Intermittent
Intermittent Stream
Perennial Stream
Perennial Stream
Impact
Impacts
Bridge
Stream (linear ft)
(linear ft)
(linear ft)
(linear ft)
(linear ft)
Requiring
(ac)
1
0.10
Mitigation
0.11
0.10
(linear ft)
1
216
51
0.11
267
165
216
51
267
165
Total
Total Stream Impact for Project: 267 linear feet.
Wetland Impacts in the Yadkin -Pee Dee River Basin
Site
Fill
Fill
Excavation
Mechanized
Hand Clearing
Area under
Total Wetland
(ac)
(temporary)
(ac)
Clearing (ac)
(ac)
Bridge
Impact (ac)
(ac)
(ac)
1
0.10
0.01
0.11
0.10
0.01
0.11
Total
Total Wetland Impact for Project: 0.11 acres.
The project shall be constructed in accordance with your application dated received December 7, 2012 with
additional information dated received electronically on December 21, 2012. After reviewing your application, we
have decided that these impacts are covered by General Water Quality Certification Number 3886 and 3893. This
certification corresponds to the Nationwide Permit 14 and Nationwide Permit 33 issued by the 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.
North Carolina Division of Water Quality, Winston -Salem Regional Office
Location: 585 Waughtown St. Winston - Salem, North Carolina 27107
Phone :336- 771 - 5000 \ FAX :336 - 771 -4630
Internet: www.ncwaterquality.org
An Equal Opportunity \ Affirmative Action Employer

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 NCDWQ 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 of total
impacts to streams (now or in the future) exceed 150 linear feet, compensatory mitigation may be required as
described in 15A NCAC 2H .0506 (h) (6) and (7). For this approval to remain valid, you must adhere to the
conditions listed in the attached certification(s) and any additional conditions listed below.
Condition(s) of Certification:
Project Specific Conditions
1. The NCDOT Rail Division will conduct a pre - construction meeting with all appropriate staff to ensure that
the project supervisor and essential staff understand the potential issues with stream and pipe alignment at
the permitted site. NCDWQ staff shall be invited to the pre - construction meeting.
2. Compensatory mitigation for 165 linear feet of impact to streams 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 the EEP has agreed to implement the mitigation for the project.
EEP has indicated in a letter dated December 13, 2012 that they will assume responsibility for satisfying
the federal Clean Water Act compensatory mitigation requirements for the above - referenced project, in
accordance with the EEP Mitigation Banking Instrument signed July 28, 2010.
Tall fescue shall not be used in the establishment of temporary or permanent groundcover within riparian
areas. For the establishment of permanent herbaceous cover, erosion control matting shall be used in
conjunction with an appropriate native seed mix on disturbed soils within the riparian area and on disturbed
steep slopes with the following exception. Erosion control matting is not necessary if the area is contained
by perimeter erosion control devices such as silt fence, temporary sediment ditches, basins, etc. Matting
should be secured in place with staples, stakes, or wherever possible, live stakes of native trees. Erosion
control matting placed in riparian areas shall not contain a nylon mesh grid, which can impinge and entrap
small animals. For the establishment of temporary groundcover within riparian areas, hydroseeding along
with wood or cellulose based hydro mulch applied from a fertilizer - and limestone -free tank is allowable at
the appropriate rate in conjunction with the erosion control measures. Discharging hydroseed mixtures and
wood or cellulose mulch into surface waters in prohibited. Riparian areas are defined as a distance 25 feet
landward from top of stream bank.
4. Strict adherence to the most recent version of NCDOT's Best Management Practices For Bridge Demolition
and Removal approved by the US Army Corps of Engineers is a condition of the 401 Water Quality
Certification.
S. Bridge deck drains shall not discharge directly into the stream. Stormwater shall be directed across the bridge
and pre - treated through site - appropriate means (grassed swales, pre- formed scour holes, vegetated buffers,
etc.) before entering the stream. Please refer to the most current version of Stormwater Best Management
Practices.
6. 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.
7. The dimension, pattern and profile of the stream above and below the crossing shall not be modified.
Disturbed floodplains and streams shall be restored to natural geomorphic conditions.
8. The use of rip -rap above the Normal High Water Mark shall be minimized. Any rip -rap placed for stream
stabilization shall be placed in stream channels in such a manner that it does not impede aquatic life
passage.
9. The Permittee shall ensure that the final design drawings adhere to the permit and to the permit drawings
submitted for approval.
10. Heavy equipment shall be operated from the banks rather than in the stream channel in order to minimize
sedimentation and reduce the introduction of other pollutants into the stream.

11. All mechanized equipment operated near surface waters must be regularly inspected and maintained to
prevent contamination of stream waters from fuels, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, or other toxic materials.
12. No rock, sand or other materials shall be dredged from the stream channel except where authorized by this
certification.
13. All fill slopes located in jurisdictional wetlands shall be placed at slopes no flatter than 3:1, unless otherwise
authorized by this certification.
14. 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.
15. 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 this certification.
16. The issuance of this certification does not exempt the Permittee from complying with any and all statutes,
rules, regulations, or ordinances that may be imposed by other government agencies (i.e. local, state, and
federal) having jurisdiction, including but not limited to applicable buffer rules, stormwater management
rules, soil erosion and sedimentation control requirements, etc.
17. The Permittee shall report any violations of this certification to the Division of Water Quality within 24 hours
of discovery.
18. Upon completion of the project (including any impacts at associated borrow or waste sites), the NCDOT
Division shall complete and return the enclosed "Certification of Completion Form" to notify NCDWQ when
all work included in the 401 Certification has been completed.
19. Native riparian vegetation must be reestablished in the riparian areas within the construction limits of the
project by the end of the growing season following completion of construction.
20. 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, or access roads to 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.
If you wish to contest any statement in the attached Certification you must file a petition for an administrative
hearing. You may obtain the petition form from the office of Administrative hearings. You must file the petition
with the office of Administrative Hearings within sixty (60) days of receipt of this notice. A petition is considered
filed when it is received in the office of Administrative Hearings during normal office hours. The Office of
Administrative Hearings accepts filings Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:OOam and 5:OOpm, except
for official state holidays. The original and one (1) copy of the petition must be filed with the Office of
Administrative Hearings.
The petition may be faxed - provided the original and one copy of the document is received by the Office of
Administrative Hearings within five (5) business days following the faxed transmission.
The mailing address for the Office of Administrative Hearings is:
Office of Administrative Hearings
6714 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699 -6714
Telephone: (919)- 431 -3000, Facsimile: (919)- 431 -3100
A copy of the petition must also be served on DENR as follows:
Mr. William Cary, General Counsel
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
1601 Mail Service Center

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 contact Amy Euliss at (336)771 -4959.
Sincerely,
Charles Wakild
Director
Attachments [General Certification (permittee only) and Certificate of Completion form]
Cc: Scott Davis, Axiom Environmental (electronic copy only)
Kent Boyer, Division 9 Environmental Officer (electronic copy only)
John Thomas, US Army Corps of Engineers, Raleigh Field Office (electronic copy only)
Marla Chambers, NC Wildlife Resources Commission (electronic copy only)
Beth Harmon, Ecosystem Enhancement Program (electronic copy only)
Transportation Permitting Unit, (electronic copy only)
File Copy

NCDWQ Project No.:
Applicant:
Project Name:
Date of Issuance of 401 Water Quality Certification:
County:
Dee Freeman
Secretary
Certificate of Completion
Upon completion of all work approved within the 401 Water Quality Certification or applicable Buffer Rules, and
any subsequent modifications, the applicant is required to return this certificate to the 401 Transportation Permitting
Unit, North Carolina Division of Water Quality, 1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC, 27699 -1650. This form
may be returned to NCDWQ by the applicant, the applicant's authorized agent, or the project engineer. It is not
necessary to send certificates from all of these.
Applicant's Certification
I, , hereby state that, to the best of my abilities, due care and diligence
was used in the observation of the construction such that the construction was observed to be built within substantial
compliance and intent of the 401 Water Quality Certification and Buffer Rules, the approved plans and
specifications, and other supporting materials.
Signature:
Agent's Certification
Date:
I, , hereby state that, to the best of my abilities, due care and diligence
was used in the observation of the construction such that the construction was observed to be built within substantial
compliance and intent of the 401 Water Quality Certification and Buffer Rules, the approved plans and
specifications, and other supporting materials.
Signature:
Engineer's Certification
Partial Final
Date:
I, , as a duly registered Professional Engineer in the State of North
Carolina, having been authorized to observe (periodically, weekly, full time) the construction of the project,for the
Permittee hereby state that, to the best of my abilities, due care and diligence was used in the observation of the
construction such that the construction was observed to be built within substantial compliance and intent of the 401
Water Quality Certification and Buffer Rules, the approved plans and specifications, and other supporting materials.
Signature
Date
North Carolina Division of Water Quality, Winston -Salem Regional Office
Location: 585 Waughtown St. Winston - Salem, North Carolina 27107
Phone :336- 771 - 5000 \ FAX :336 - 771 -4630
Internet: www.ncwaterquality.org
An Equal Opportunity \ Affirmative Action Employer
Registration No.