20201004 Ver 1_2-2020-11-10-Slusher - ACOE-DWR Narrative Rev_20201110

FUSCO
LAND PLANNING & DESIGN, PLLC
November 10, 2020
David Brown
USACE Contact for Transylvania County
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208 Asheville, NC 28801
Re: Slusher- Sapphire Farm
Slusher - Sapphire Farm - Project Description
The purpose of this project is to repair existing stream crossings along tributaries on the
property, to enhance the lake edge of Lake Pickens & associated tributaries including the
Thompson River, and to provide an alternate access to an existing cabin site which will be
improved. The proposed enhancements will not only allow the owner better access to
different areas of the property but, more importantly, it will offer an opportunity for habitat
improvement on a variety of levels within the watershed. Lake Pickens itself is a waterbody
created by damming up an unnamed tributary to the Thompson River. Based on our records,
we understand the lake has been in place with its current dam since before 1971. The
property was operated as Camp Buc, a Presbyterian Camp, until sometime around 2015 and
was left unoccupied until Shannon Slusher & his family purchased the property in early 2019.
The property itself is located southwest of Lake Toxaway at 4730 Upper Whitewater Road
Sapphire, NC 29774 on the left after you cross the bridge over the Thompson River coming
from the south.
Mr. Slusher has engaged Stephen Stimson Associates for site overall planning efforts which
include restoration of an old cabin site, a new main house and new barn areas. Also, we have
engaged Anchor QEA of Asheville for dam evaluation and improvement. I am assisting as a
local contact for overall project coordination and permitting.
Since closing, we have been working with Lloyd Raleigh of Helia Environmental to work with
on bog restoration and forest enhancement activities. That work is ongoing and many areas
are in the process of being restored. (See Attachment A for a brief description of the Bog
work.) Also, Mr. Slusher has met with Jacob Rash and Andrea Leslie of the NC Wildlife
Resources Commission to explore options for fish habitat restoration within the lake, the
Thompson River and other tributaries on the property.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE - CONSERVATION PLANNING - LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT
P.O. Box 8013 - Asheville, NC 28804 - PH. 828-243-6604
www.fuscola.corn
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This work has been in support of Mr. Slusher's desire to improve habitat diversity throughout
the property and includes the lake edge improvements and other disturbances we are
requesting approval for herein. The additional work will allow us to implement a program to
renaturalize the lake to make it feel like more of a natural feature rather than a man-made
one. Also, it will provide improved access for dam maintenance and access to bog restoration
areas below the dam. With these goals in mind, we submit to you our request for Nationwide
Permit approval for the following activities.
A. Starting upstream of the lake, we plan to replace an existing crossing structure that
creates a pool along the unnamed tributary that enters the lake. The proposed activity
will be within the footprint of the existing structure and will maintain a similar profile
to the existing condition but will impound an additional area upstream of the existing
structure.
- S5 - For the existing stream crossing and primary weir structure, we will flood an
additional area upstream of the crossing. This will result in 61 linear feet of stream
disturbance due to flooding and will result in the addition of 0.06 Ac of open
water.
B. Within the lake and dam area, we are proposing to modify the dam and vary the lake
edge to create larger areas of wetland edge as well as a couple deeper pools for
fishing, swimming and water play. Also, there will be a raised area (currently outside
of the existing lake edge) and small dock along the lake's north edge. It should be
noted that there was an existing boathouse and dock structure at the east end of the
lake which the owner removed in early 2019. The building structure was
approximately 1500 sq. ft. and the dock was approximately 500 sq. ft.
- W5,W6,W7 Lake edge enhancements will impact 0.328 Ac of wetland area and
the installation of a small dock will create 0.0005 Ac of open water impact for the
installation of 6 +/- pilings within the existing lake edge.
- The enhancements will result in a net gain in open water area and wetlands. 4.45
Ac of open water will be provided at project completion and 0.71 Ac of wetland
edge area will be created which will result in a net gain of 1.18 Ac of open water
and 0.30 Ac of wetland area over the current condition.
- S6, Stream impacts associated with new dam construction - 40 LFofdisturbance
due to fill for the dam and 48 LF of disturbance due to flooding. In addition, 20 LF
of stream will be daylighted through the removal of an existing culvert and
flooded as part of the new dam construction.
- W8, Wetland impacts associated with new dam construction - 0.05 Ac offill
- Impacts associated with the dam will result in the creation of 0.20 Ac of open
water in the form of a pool east of the main dam structure.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE - CONSERVATION PLANNING - LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT
P.O. Box 8013 - Asheville, NC 28804 - PH. 828-243-6604
www.fuscola.com
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C. Below the dam, we are proposing to add an ATV access drive to access an existing
cabin site to the southwest. This access drive will allow us to reduce the width of the
access across the dam to a path to make the lake feel more natural and provide
additional area for edge habitat creation. Finally, it will provide better access to the
downhill side of the dam for maintenance effort. The development of this access drive
will result in stream and wetland impacts but will ultimately create improved habitat
by allowing better future access for dam maintenance and bog restoration and
management activities.
- W9,W10 - Wetland impacts include 0.018 Ac of wetland impact due to fill for the
construction of the ATV access drive.
- W11 - 0.001 Ac of wetland impact for pilings associated with a boardwalk
crossing the wetland/bog.
- S3 - 20 LF of stream daylighting due to the removal on and existing culvert
upstream of a proposed timber bridge in Area C. This culvet is in a relatively flat
area along a riffle which will allow us to lay the banks bank and seed with a
riparian seed mix for stabilization.
- Other crossings will be accomplished through the use of fords and bridges.
D. Thompson River improvements include the introduction of a boulder cascade
structure and streambank work to lay back the point bar upstream of the proposed
structure. The crest elevation of the boulder cascade structure would sit below the
bank full height of the channel.
- Thompson River- Impacts for the structure itself would be 183 linear feet
including a ladder type feature on the downstream side to promote fish passage.
- Thompson River - Point bar improvements along the Thompson River at this
location will allow us to lay back and stabilize stream banks along the channel
edge upstream of the proposed boulder cascade structure. This work will result in
150 linear feet of stream bank stabilization.
Our proposed overall disturbance/enhancement will result in the following Nationwide
Permit Requests:
1) Total Open Water permanent impact of 0.0005 Ac under NWP 29 - Lake
Pickens
2) Total Permanent Stream Channel Disturbance 149 LF under NWP 27 - S5, S6
3) Total Wetland Disturbance 0.402 Ac under NWP 27 - W5, W6, W7, W8,
W9, W10
4) Total Wetland Disturbance 0.001 Ac under NWP 29 - W11
5) Total Stream Bank Stabilization 150 LF under NWP 27 - Thompson River
6) Total Temporary Stream Channel Impact of 183 LF for installation of boulder
cascade structure under NWP 27 - Thompson River
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE - CONSERVATION PLANNING - LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT
P.O. Box 8013 - Asheville, NC 28804 - PH. 828-243-6604
www. fu sco l a. co rn
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7) Total Temporary Stream Channel Impact of 20 LF for purposes of daylighting
existing stream segments under NWP 27 - S3, S6
Mitigation Proposal:
a. New wetland area of 0.68 Ac fora net gain of 0.31 Ac of wetland, nearly 2:1 mitigation
for the proposed wetland disturbance around the lake.
Efforts have been made to avoid and minimize disturbances as part of our work as well. With
the lake area, we will be transforming the lake edge into a more sinuous curvilinear edge with
a greater variety of habitat opportunities. While there will be wetland disturbance associated
with this work, we will be creating additional wetland and increasing the total to provide
more wetland at project completion. The impacts in this area will be temporary and we are
confident the resulting wetland edge will be higher quality that what's currently there. The
increased flooded area behind the proposed weir structures above and below the lake will
disturb stream channel but will create additional open water. Also, the pool area may be
used as a collection point to divert water around the work area while under construction. The
ATV below the dam access road was pulled as close to the base of the dam as possible to
minimize impacts to the wetland below. Establishment of the access will help prevent future
disturbance by allowing access to the base of the dam for maintenance activities. Other
disturbance on the site are proposed for purposes of habitat improvement for flora and
fauna which will ultimately promote diversity and a healthy ecosystem.
With regard to additional approvals, proposed vertical construction will require typical
building permits from Transylvania County. The full extent of the proposed land disturbing
activity has not been determined but any proposed activity greater than one acre of
disturbance, including the lake area, will require erosion control approval by the North
Carolina Department of Environmental Quality - Land Quality Section (NCDEQ). Due to its
location along a designated trout waters, we are requesting a trout buffer variance from the
NCDEQ - Land Quality Section as well. Due to the difference in permit review timelines, the
NCDEQ trout buffer variance and erosion control permit requests will be submitted separate
of, but contingent upon, receiving approval for the proposed disturbances requested herein.
Work will commence as soon as all required permits are in hand. Equipment to be used will
be traditional construction equipment, including bulldozers, trackhoes and excavators for the
sitework and traditional construction equipment for erecting any structures.
Additional information will be provided upon request.
Thank you,
/s/ MatthewJ. Fusco
MatthewJ. Fusco
Enclosures
11 / 10/2020
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE - CONSERVATION PLANNING - LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT
P.O. Box 8013 - Asheville, NC 28804 - PH. 828-243-6604
www.fuscola.com
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