20131100 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20131118

�-o t 3 1 l o 0
� North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission �
Gordon Myers, Executive Director ,
TO: Andy Williams, Regulatory Project Manager,
Raleigh Regulatory Field Office, USACE
FROM: Marla Chambers, Western NCDOT Projects Coordinator �`�'- ���'ni���--.
Habitat Conservation Program, NCWRC
DATE: November 18, 2013
SUBJECT: Review of NCDOT's application for an after-the-fact (emergency) Section 404
permit for stabilization of the road shoulder and stream bank along SR 1114
(Dewitt Barnett Road), Watauga County, North Carolina.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has submitted an application to
obtain a Section 404 Permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Staff biologists
with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) have reviewed the
information provided. These comments are provided in accordance with the provisions of the
state and federal Environmental Policy Acts (G.S. 113A-lthrough 113-10; 1 NCAC 25 and 42
U.S.C. 4332(2)(c), respectively), the Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. 466 et seq.) and the
Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401, as amend'ed; 16 U.S.C. 661-667d), as
applicable.
The NCDOT has submitted an application for an after-the-fact (emergency) Section 404 permit
for stabilization of the road shoulder and stream bank along SR 1114 (Dewitt Barnett Road).
The bank stabilization permanently impacts 145 linear feet (l� of Lost Branch. Temporary
- impacts tota140 lf for dewatering the work area. While we have concerns regarding the bank
armoring used for stabilization, we do not object to the stabilization project. Hard armoring
usually provides little to no habitat or stormwater filtration and may causes stream
destabilization upstream or downstream of the armoring. �
We appreciate NCDOT informing us and other agencies of the emergency work at the time it
occurred, by email. We also appreciate the quick action to conduct this work in order to
minimize disturbance in the trout moratorium period.
Mailing Address: Division of Inland Fisheries • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

SR 1 I 14 (Dewitt Barnett Road)
Lost Branch, Watauga Co.
November 18, 20 ] 3
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project. If you have any questions
regarding these comments, please contact me at [phone].
cc: Amy Chapman, NCDWQ
Heath Slaughter, NCDOT