20230755 Ver 1_20230427-NWP 16 & 23 Complete Application_20230531

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
69 DARLINGTON AVENUE
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403-1343
April 27, 2023
Environmental Resources Section

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Water Resources
401 Wetland and Buffer Permitting Unit
ATTN: Ms. Stephanie Goss
512 N. Salisbury Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27604

Dear Ms. Goss:

On the date of this letter, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Environmental
Resources Section submitted an electronic Preconstruction Notification (PCN)
application on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) requesting written approval to
conduct maintenance dredging of the Oak Island channel and basin, in Caswell Beach,
Brunswick County, North Carolina. Work is to be conducted using a hydraulic cutter
suction dredge with material pumped to an approved upland disposal area (DA 277). A
check in the amount of $570.00, the required fee for processing the PCN, will be sent
under separate cover.

As you are aware, regular maintenance dredging of federal channels is required
to ensure safe navigation. Such activities are undertaken in compliance with all
conditions of applicable state and federal authorizations, including the appropriate
Water Quality Certification.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. Should you have any
questions or require additional information, please contact Mr. John Policarpo by
telephone: [phone] or by email: [e-mail].
Sincerely,
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Jenny Owens
Chief, Environmental Resources Section
USACE, Wilmington District

Project Name: USCG Station Oak Island Maintenance Dredging
The U.S.Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), on behalf of the U.S.Coast Guard(USCG),
is seeking Nationwide Permit (NWP) Nos. 16 and 23, for Return Water from Upland
Contained Disposal Areas and Approved Categorical Exclusions, respectively, from the
Corps’ Regulatory Division. The Corps also requests verification to utilize North
Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), Division of Water Resources
(DWR), Water Quality General Certification No. 4248. This document is intended to
address the relevant regulations regarding the aforementioned NWPs.

Proposed Project: The project is the hydraulic maintenance dredging of USCG Station
Oak Island basin and entrance channel out to the Southport Navigation Channel to the
required depth of -9.0 feet mean lower low water (MLLW), with an allowable overdepth
dredge to -11.0 feet MLLW. All dredged material, estimated to be no more than 25,000
cubic yards (CY), will be pumped via pipeline to Disposal Area (DA) 277. Any effluent
from the DA would be discharged by spillway pipe into the Atlantic Intracoastal
Waterway (AIWW), in compliance with DWR General Certification 4248 (Return Water
from Upland Contained Disposal Areas). A dredging window has been established for
the protection of fisheries resources, from October 1 to March 31; all maintenance
dredging would be conducted within this 6-month window. The estimated quantity of
material to be dredged during FY24 will be approximately 25,000 CY.

Project Purpose: The project purpose is to maintenance dredge the existing USCG
Station Oak Island basin and navigation channel with placement of dredged material in
DA 277.

Activity Location: The project is located within waters of the United States, associated
with the Elizabeth River, at 300 Caswell Beach Road, Oak Island, Brunswick County,
North Carolina (Latitude: 33.893383º; Longitude: -78.033647º).

Avoidance and Minimization: The Corps proposes to only dredge those areas that are
in need (please see attached plans). The temporary pipeline will either be floated or
laid on the bottom of the waterway in a manner that does not impede navigation or the
ability of wildlife to move through the area. It will also be noted in the contract
specifications that the contractor must abide by all measures to protect federally listed
threatened and endangered species during work, as noted below. To protect fisheries
resources, dredging would only be conducted from October 1 through March 31.

Water quality will be monitored two times per day, at a minimum, at the western spillway
at DA 277. If turbidity exceeds 25 nephelometric turbidity units (NTUs), measures, such
as using stop-logs at the spillway or moderating dredging operations to allow settlement
of suspended sediment over time, would be implemented.

Mitigation: There will be no loss of waters of the U.S., including wetlands, either
physically or in functions and values; therefore, compensatory mitigation would not be
required.

Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA): The Corps has determined
that the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect, the West Indian
manatee. The contractor will be required to adhere to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service’s (USFWS) Guidelines for Avoiding Impacts to the West Indian Manatee (2017).
The Corps has also determined that the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to
adversely affect, sea turtles (loggerhead, green, Kemp’s Ridley, leatherback, hawksbill),
Atlantic sturgeon, shortnose sturgeon, and the giant manta ray. The contractor will be
required to adhere to the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) 2020 South
Atlantic Regional Biological Opinion for Dredging and Material Placement Activities in
the Southeast United States (2020 SARBO) Project Design Criteria (PDCs). These
conservation measures will remain in place until all work is complete and the vessels
have left the area.

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson
Stevens Act), Essential Fish Habitat (EFH): An EFH assessment was done under the
original Environmental Assessment and again in 2016. Available data suggests the
area may contain EFH for the following: Atlantic sharpnose shark (adult and juvenile),
summer flounder (larvae, juvenile, adult), clearnose skate (juvenile), windowpane
flounder (juvenile), snapper-grouper complex (all), bluefish (adult and juvenile), Atlantic
butterfish (adult), and coastal migratory pelagic fish (all). In addition, portions of the
project area, specifically within the channel leading to the Coast Guard base, are within
waters designated by the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries as Primary
Nursery Area (PNA). Priority dredging areas of the proposed project will impact EFH
within the channel. However, maintenance dredging will be conducted within the
existing federally authorized channel; the Corps is not proposing to dredge deeper or
wider than the authorized channel limits. The channel is dredged on a regular basis,
depending on need and available funding, and the proposed action is not considered
new work. An environmental window to conduct all dredging activities from October 1
through March 31 will protect fisheries resources. Therefore, the proposed project
would not have a substantial adverse effect on EFH.

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA): Portions of the
USCG navigation channel are within the Southport and Fort Caswell Historic Districts.
In addition, the USCG Station Oak Island circa 1932 has been documented on upland
portions of the site (although the historic structure has been removed), and the Oak
Island Lighthouse and Oak Island Life Saving Station are also located landward of the
project area. Regardless of the location of the USCG channel within the historic
districts, or the adjacency of the noted historic structures, the proposed action would
have no adverse effect on any historic or archaeologic resource. The proposed project
is maintenance dredging of the existing USCG channel within their federally authorized
limits; no new work is proposed. Placement of material would continue to be in DA 277,
as is typical for this project. Therefore, the Corps has determined that the proposed
project would have no potential to cause effects to historic or archaeological resources.

Conclusion:The Corps has concluded that the proposed maintenance dredging of the
existing USCG Station Oak Island navigation channel would not substantially adversely
affect EFHand would not adversely affect endangered speciesso long as all mitigative
measures are followed. In addition, the proposed project would have no potential to
cause effects to historic resources. No mitigation would be required for the proposed
maintenance dredging, as there would be no loss to waters of the United States,
including wetlands. All dredged material would be placed into existing DA 277, which is
typically utilized when dredging the USCG channel. Based on this determination, the
Corps believes the proposed project qualifies for NWP Nos 16 and 23 and a
corresponding NCDWR Water Quality General Certification No. 4248.

SOUTHPORT QUADRANGLE
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
NORTH CAROLINA - BRUNSWICK COUNTY
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