20051673 Ver 1_Other Agency Comments_20051108

~ North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
Richard B. Hamilton, Executive Director
MEMORANDUM
To: Lillette Granade
USACE
P. O. Box 1890
Wilmington, NC 28402-1890
And
Cyndi Karoly
NC DENR/DWQ
From: Steven H. Everhart, PhD {+"~"'
Southeastern Permit Coordinator
127 Cardinal Drive Ext.
Wilmington, NC 28405
Date: November 8, 2005
RE: Action ID# 200500471; Wheeler, Buckhead S/D, Fayetteville, Cumberland County; After-
the-Fact Public Notice Dated September 23, 2005. DWQ Project # OS-1673.
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) have reviewed
the subject application for impacts to wildlife and fishery resources. Our comments are provided
in accordance with provisions of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401, as
amended; 16 U.S.C. 661 et. seq.), and Sections 401 and 404 of the Clean Water Act (as
amended).
The subject property is located at 4431 Ferncreek Drive, designated LOT 206, adjacent to
Buckhead Creek. The approximately 0.3 acre lot is the applicant's primary residence and the
rear one-fourth of the lot is within the Buckhead Creek Floodway Easement. These waters are
Mailing Address: Division of Inland Fisheries 1721 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] Fax: [phone]

Wheeler -Lot 206 Buckhead S/D 2 November 8, 2005
classified as Class C Waters by the NC Division of Water Quality. Waters protected for
secondary recreation, fishing, wildlife, fish and aquatic life propagation and survival, agriculture
and other uses suitable for Class C. Secondary recreation includes wading, boating, and other
uses involving human body contact with water where such activities take place in an infrequent,
unorganized, or incidental manner. There are no restrictions on watershed development or types
of discharges.
The PN states that the applicant proposes keeping 0.036 acre (actually 0.054 acre, personal
communication, Lillette Granade, November 8, 2005) of unauthorized wetland fill for the
development of a backyard for asingle-family home. The fill is in violation of NWP 26 issued
by USACE to the original subdivision developer Dohn Broadwell on December 31, 1997. As
mitigation for wetland impacts, Mr. Broadwell was required to place a Deed Notification on
certain lots to prevent future impacts to wetlands. The property owners have applied for an
After-the-Fact Individual Permit to keep the unauthorized fill and have stated that a backyard is
critical for the functionality of this lot as a family residence. They are willing to mitigate, but no
mitigation plan has been provided.
We have the following comments/concerns:
We are concerned with any loss of riparian wetlands as they perform many functions
that are essential to maintaining and improving water quality. In addition, we
routinely recommend the maintenance or creation of 100 ft native vegetated buffers
on both sides of streams and wetlands in a project area.
2. Flood control is another important function of riparian wetlands. The placement of
fill in the Buckhead Creek floodway has likely caused changes in the flow regime and
is causing flooding problems upstream of the site. This could result in the need for
additional flood control devices in Buckhead Creek. Additional flood control devices
will have a detrimental effect on the ability of aquatic organisms to move within their
natural home ranges thereby disrupting population controls/parameters.
3. We recommend remediation of the site by manual removal of the unauthorized fill
and replanting with native vegetation common to the impacted area.
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this application. If you have any
questions or require additional information regarding these comments, please call me at (910)
796-7436.
CC: Pete Benjamin, USFWS
John Dorney, NCDWQ