20030179 Ver 6_Public Hearing Info_20070817

PUBLIC HEARING FOR 401 WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION FOR THE removal of the
Dillsboro dam and Powerhouse in Jackson County
Ramsey Center
Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC
September 25, 2007 6:00 pm
Steve Tedder: Good evening. I would like to call this public hearing to order. My name is Steve Tedder
and I will be the hearing officer tonight. I am the Supervisor of the Water Quality Program in the Winston-
Salem Regional Office of the Division of Water Quality. First, I would like to recognize Division of Water
Quality staff members who are present. If anyone needs any help during this hearing, please contact a staff
member who will be glad to assist. Staff members present are John Dorney and Periann Russell from the
Central Office in Raleigh as well as Mike Parker and Kevin Barnett (others?) from the Asheville Regional
Office.
The purpose of this hearing is to solicit water-quality related comments from all interested parties
regarding the proposed removal of the Dillsboro dam and powerhouse for the 404 Permit that must be
issued to Duke Power by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
On June 27, 2007, the Division of Water Quality received a complete application for this project
and placed it on public notice on and around July 10, 2007 in local papers. Based on comments received
from the public, the Division notified Progress Energy on July 28, 2007 that the Director of the Division
(Ms. Coleen Sullins) had decided to have a public hearing for the project Public notices were published in
local papers on and around August 22, 2007 making notice of the hearing tonite.
I realize that this may be an important issue for many people here tonight. Please realize that as
hearing officer I can only consider comments that are directly related to Water Quality impacts expected to
result from this project. In order to conduct this hearing in a fair and orderly fashion, I am asking that
everyone observe certain rules. The hearing's purpose is to hear your comments related to the issuance of
this proposed 401 certification and is not a question and answer session. Cross examination of any speaker
will not be allowed. Before we ask for comments from the public and the applicant, I will ask John Dorney
to explain the 401 Certification process as it relates to this project.

John Dorney: In order to put this meeting into perspective, I will briefly describe the 401 Water Quality
Certification process as well as some technical background issues for the project. A 401 Water Quality
Certification is required for any application for federal permit that has a discharge into waters such as this
application fora 404 Permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers. According to the Clean Water Act,
each federal permit must have a Section 401 Water Quality Certification from the Division of Water
Quality. A 401 Certification is a Certification by the Division of Water Quality that the project will not
violate any relevant water quality standards and regulations.
According to the Clean Water Act, a 404 Permit cannot be issued until a 401 Certification is issued or
waived. DWQ's review procedures for these Certifications are outlined in regulations passed by the
Environmental Management Commission and became effective on 1 October 1996. The basic review
process is as follows. DWQ must first determine whether significant existing uses are present in the waters
or wetlands and whether the project would remove or degrade those uses. Next, DWQ must determine
whether 1) there is a practical alternative to the project, 2) whether the impacts can be further minimized, 3)
whether the project will result in degradation of groundwaters or surface waters, 4) whether it results in
cumulative impacts, 5) whether it provides for protection of downstream water quality standards through
stormwater controls and finally, 6) whether the wetland and stream mitigation plans (where required) will
replace the existing uses of impacted streams and wetlands.
The following short presentation explains some of the technical details behind this project and should help
ensure that everyone understands the process that has been followed to date in reviewing this project as
well as the agreements that P rgy has made regarding this project.
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Dorney gives Power Point presentation.
Steve Tedder: With this background information, let me discuss the schedule for this evening.

We will take written or oral statements from every individual who signed up to speak at the front table, in
the order of registration. If you missed that opportunity, please see DWQ staff members Mike Parker,
Periann Russell and Kevin Barnettin the back of the room sometime this evening. I request that you limit
your speaking time to **** minutes in length. Mr. Dorney will hold up signs indicating that you have one
minute left to speak as well as when your time is up in order to keep this hearing on schedule. More
lengthy, detailed comments can be made in writing to the following address:
Mr. Steve Tedder
Care of Mr. John Dorney
NC Division of Water Quality
Parkview Building
Wetlands Unit
2321 Crabtree Blvd.
Raleigh, NC 27604
The hearing record will remain open until October 26, 2007 at 5 pm for this purpose. Anyone wishing to
make a written statement is welcome to do so by that time. After that time, I will evaluate all the
information and statements and make a recommendation regarding the 401 Certification to Ms. Coleen
Sullins, Director of the Division. If she decides to deny the Certification, Duke Power will either have to
modify their plans to make them acceptable to the Division or appeal the decision through the NC Office of
Administrative Hearings. If Ms. Sullins decides to issue the Certification, Duke Power will still have to
obtain a 404 Permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers for this project. Any conditions that the
Division of Water Quality includes in the Certification will become conditions of the 404 Permit as well.
Finally, we will be tape recording this meeting and I ask that you speak clearly so that we can record your
comments.
Now I w' 1 ask an~c~d~officials t t ould like tp~ ake a s~ ent to s ow a er all t~~~ ,
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Now I will call on citizens who have asked to speak. I will also call the number of the next speaker and ask
that she or he be ready to speak promptly. Mr. Dorney will assist me in keeping the speaker to **** 3
minutes. Please be considerate of other speakers and keep your remarks to **** minutes.
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MULTIPLE SPEAKERS
Steve Tedder: Thank you for your respectful attention during this hearing. As I mentioned before, the
hearing record will remain open until October 26, 2007. After that time, I will make a recommendation
regarding this Certification to the Director of the Division. This concludes the Public Hearing for the 401
Water Quality Certification for the proposed 404 Permit for the removal of Dillsboro dam and powerhouse
in Jackson County.
SWT/jrd
Phspeech
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