20051764 Ver 1_Public Notice_20030509

~VET'I.AIVn~ 1401 QROl1
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
Raleigh Regulatory Field Office
6508 Falls of Neuse Road, Suite 120
Raleigh, North Carolina 27615-6814
(Web page - http://www.saw.usace.army.miUwetlands/index.htm)
Action ID No. 200020569
PUBLIC NOTICE
May 7, 2003
The NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, DIVISION OF
HIGHWAYS (NCDOT), 1548 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1548, has
applied for a Department of the Army (DA) Permit pursuant to SECTION 404 OF THE CLEAN
WATER ACT to authorize the proposed discharge of discharge fill material, impacting waters of
the United States, including WETLANDS and STREAMS, for construction of
IMPROVEMENTS TO SR 1158 (AIRPORT BOULEVARD) (T.LP. No. U-3823), crossing
BLOOMERY SWAMP and an unnamed tributary, and adjacent wetlands, from NC 42 west to
US 264, west of Wilson, in WILSON COUNTY, North Carolina.
BACKGROUND:
The social, economic, and environmental impacts associated with reasonable and feasible
build alternatives for this project have been described in a NCDOT/Federal Highway
Administration Environmental Assessment (EA) dated September 6, 2002.
The EA identifies six construction alternatives to be studied in detail. The Mass
Transportation and "No Build" alternatives are also discussed in the EA. By Concurrence Form
dated May 15, 2002, the Corps of Engineers agreed with the six construction alternatives to be
studied in detail.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The following description of work is taken from data provided by the applicant and from
observations made during on-site inspections by a representative of the Corps of Engineers. The
six proposed build alternatives are described below. Maps showing the location of the project
are included with this public notice.
MAY 0 9 2003
~'ATER QUAI~TY SECTION
NCDOT proposes to widen SR 1158 (Airport Boulevard) to a five-lane facility, from NC
42 west to US 264, a distance of approximately two miles. Only four lanes of roadway would be
constructed in the vicinity of the Bloomery Swamp crossing, to minimize impacts to wetlands.

A "sealed crossing" would be installed at the railroad crossing north of Bloomery Swamp,
including gates, signal flashers, and a concrete barrier in the median. Several new turn lanes are
also proposed.
Three different proposals for extending or replacing the existing box culvert at Bloomery
Swamp are being studied. Each crossing alternative has two alternatives for stormwater
management, either shoulder drains, or curb and gutter drainage, for a total of six alternatives.
Alternatives 1 and 2 propose extension of the existing five-barrel box culvert, and addition of
five equalizer pipes through the existing causeway to expand the reach of floodwaters throughout
the wetland system. Alternatives 3 and 4 propose to replace the existing culvert with a 200 foot
long bridge to enhance the reach of the Bloomery Swamp floodwaters throughout the wetland
system, and to provide adequate surface flows to the highest quality wetlands in the system.
Alternatives 5 and 6 propose to replace the existing culvert with a 475 foot long bridge to
completely span the contiguous wetlands on the southwest side of the Bloomery Swamp
crossing, and to equalize the acreage of wetlands impacted and wetlands restored by removal of
the culvert and causeway. Alternatives 1, 3 and 5 propose use of shoulder drains. Alternatives 2,
4 and 6 propose use of curb and gutter.
The wetlands that would be impacted by the project are riparian bottomland hardwood
wetlands adjacent to Bloomery Swamp and an unnamed tributary. Wetland and stream impact
sites by alternative are designated in the following table.
Impacts by alternative are as follows:
Alts. 1& 2 Alts. 3& 4 Alts. 5& 6
Bloomery Swamp stream im acts 361inear feet 0 linear feet O linear feet
Unnamed tributary stream impacts 871inear feet 87 linear feet 871inear feet
Total stream im acts 123 linear feet 87 linear feet 87 linear feet
Bloome Swam wetland im acts 0.73 acre *0.80 acre **0.50 acre
Unnamed tributary wetland impacts 0.004 acre 0.004 acre 0.004 acre
Total wetland im acts 0.734 acre 0.804 acre 0.504 acre
* Note: In these alternatives, 0.14 acre of wetlands would be restored through causeway removal
far a net impact of 0.66 acre.
** Note: In these alternatives, 0.50 acre of wetlands would be restored through causeway
removal for a net impact of 0. 0 acre.
In order to more fully integrate Section 404 permit requirements with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and to give careful consideration to our required public
interest review and 404 (b)(1) compliance determination, the Corps of Engineers is soliciting
public comment on the merits of the proposal and on the alternatives evaluated in the EA. At the
close of this comment period, the District Engineer will evaluate and consider the comments
received as well as the expected adverse and beneficial impacts of the proposed road construction

to select the least environmentally damaging, practicable alternative (LEDPA). The District
Engineer is not authorizing construction of the Airport Boulevard improvements at this time. A
final Department of the Army permit could be issued, if at all, only after our review process is
complete, impacts to the aquatic environment have been minimized to the maximum extent
practicable, and a compensatory mitigation plan has been approved.
NCDOT has no specific plan at this time to provide compensatory mitigation for the
unavoidable impacts to wetlands and streams associated with this project.
According to the EA, the purpose of the proposed project is to improve capacity and
safety along this section of SR 1158 (Airport Boulevard).
Functional design plans and the EA are available for review at the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers Regulatory Field Office at 6508 Falls of Neuse Road, Suite 120; Raleigh, North
Carolina 27615-6846.
NCDOT is holding an open-house public hearing for this project on May 1, 2003, at the
James B. Hunt High School at 4559 Lamm Road, west of Wilson. A Corps of Engineers
representative will be at the hearing.
The State of North Carolina will review this public notice to determine the need for the
applicant to obtain any required State authorization. No Department of the Army permit will be
issued until the coordinated State viewpoint on the proposal has been received and reviewed by
this agency, nor will a Department of the Army permit be issued until the North Carolina
Division of Water Quality has determined the applicability of a Water Quality Certificate as
required by PL 92-500.
This application is being considered pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act
(33 U.S.C. 1344). Any person may request, in writing within the comment period specified in
the notice, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. Requests for public hearing
shall state, with particularity, the reasons for holding a public hearing.
The District Engineer has consulted the latest published version of the National Register
of Historic Places for the presence or absence of registered properties, or properties listed as
being eligible for inclusion therein, and the project does not impact any registered property or
property listed as being eligible for inclusion in the Register. Consultation of the National
Register constitutes the extent of cultural resource investigations by the District Engineer.
NCDOT has conducted surveys for architectural and archaeological resources, and has
coordinated with the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO). SHPO has
concurred that the project will not have any effect on architectural or archaeological resource
properties eligible for inclusion in the Register. The District Engineer is otherwise unaware of
the presence of such resources. Presently, unknown archeological, scientific, prehistoric, or
historical data maybe lost or destroyed by work under the requested permit.

The District Engineer is not aware, based on available information, that the activity will
affect species, or their critical habitat, designated as endangered or threatened pursuant to the
Endangered Species Act of 1973.
The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable
impacts, including cumulative impacts, of the proposed activity and its intended use on the public
interest. Evaluation of the probable impacts which the proposed activity may have on the public
interest requires a careful weighing of all those factors which become relevant in each particular
case. The benefits which reasonably maybe expected to accrue from the proposal must be
balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. The decision whether to authorize a
proposal, and if so the conditions under which it will be allowed to occur, are therefore
determined by the outcome of the general balancing process. That decision should reflect the
national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. All factors which
may be relevant to the proposal must be considered including the cumulative effects thereof.
Among those are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands,
cultural values, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, flood plain values, land use, navigation,
shore erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy
needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership,
and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people. For activities involving the placement of
dredged or fill materials in waters of the United States, a permit will be denied if the discharge
that would be authorized by such permit would not comply with the Environmental Protection
Agency's 404(b)(1) guidelines. Subject to the preceding sentence and any other applicable
guidelines or criteria, a permit will be granted unless the District Engineer determines that it
would be contrary to the public interest.
The Corps of Engineers is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, State, and local
agencies and officials; Indian Tribes, and other interested parties in order to consider and
evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity. Any comments received will be considered by the
Corps of Engineers to determine whether to issue, modify, condition, or deny a permit for this
proposal. To make this decision, comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species,
historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public interest
factors listed above. Comments are used in preparation of an Environmental Assessment and/or
Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. Comments
are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public
interest of the proposed activity.
Generally, the decision whether to issue this DA permit will not be made until the North
Carolina Division of Water Quality (NCDWQ) issues, denies, or waives State certification
required by Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The NCDWQ considers whether or not the
proposed activity will comply with Sections 301, 302, 306, and 307 of the Clean Water Act. The
application and this public notice for the DA permit serves as application to the NCDWQ for
certification.
4

Additional information regarding the Clean Water Act certification may be reviewed at
the offices of the Wetlands /401 Unit, North Carolina DENR, Division of Water Quality, 2321
Crabtree Boulevard, Raleigh, North Carolina. Copies of such materials will be furnished to any
person requesting copies upon payment of reproduction costs.
All persons desiring to make comments regarding the application for Clean Water Act
certification should do so in writing delivered to the North Carolina Department of Environment
and Natural Resources, Division of Water Quality, 1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC
27699-1650, on or before June 6, 2003, Attention: Mr. John Dorney.
Written comments pertinent to the proposed work, as outlined above, will be received in
this office, Attention: Eric Alsmeyer, unti14:15 p.m., June 6, 2003, or telephone [phone],
extension 23.
5

vicixtrr MAP
SR 1158 cA1RPOR'i' BLVD.)
FROM NC t2 WEST TO US 26t
wicSON COUNTY
TTP PROJECT' U-3823
NOT TO SCALE FIGURE 1
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