20221528 Ver 1_Other Agency Correspondence_20230316

Quible
Quible & Associates, RC, P.O. Drawer870
Kitty Hawk, NC 27949
ENGINEERING • ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES • PLANNING • SURVEYING Phone: [phone]
SINCE 1959 Fax: [phone]
web: quible.com
March 16, 2023
Attn: Pace Wilber
Branch Chief, Southeast Regional Office
National Marine Fisheries Service
P.O. Box 769
Morehead City, NC 28557
RE: Fort Macon State Park Shoreline Restoration and Protection
Response to the NMFS Letter (2/7/2023) and Virtual Meeting Discussion (3/3/2023)
Chief Wilber,
I appreciate your assistance with this important project associated with shoreline protection and
environmental restoration/enhancement of a highly erosive estuarine shoreline within Fort
Macon State Park, in Carteret County, North Carolina. Please see below topics and applicant
responses intended to satisfy comments raised by NMFS in the 2/7/2023 letter and
subsequently discussed during a virtual meeting held on 3/3/2023.
EFH Conservation Recommendations and Applicant Responses:
■ The project design should include gaps at least every 100 feet. Those gaps should be at least 10
feet wide and full depth (i.e., extend form the water surface to the substrate).
Applicant Response: Please see attached modified design based on feedback received by NMFS
and USACE during our 3/3/2023 meeting. As designed, the waterward toe of the sill is along the
mean low tide line. It was discussed that if the sill lengths were reduced to approximately 150 ft
(from 250 ft) that this may satisfy this issue, especially since we were already accommodating for
10 ft wide gaps. It is understood that the gaps in the sill system will allow for passage of tidal
waters and marine life that utilize these shallow water areas. This is also a sufficient spacing for
visitors of the Park to access the estuarine waters for educational and recreational purposes. We
have seen projects with too many gaps (or too wide of openings without sufficient overlapping
protection) experience focused of funneled erosion in the gap areas that impact the ability to
successfully grow coastal wetland grasses due to scour. We believe that this re -design
addresses the intent of this comment while minimizing overlapping sections and providing stable
shallow water areas on the landward side of the sills. For sill design associated with living
shorelines, it has been our goal to meet or exceed the gap requirements that are established in
the CAMA General Permitting conditions which are essentially joint State and Federal approvals.
That requirement is for 5 ft gaps every 100 ft or equivalent, and 10 ft gaps every 150 ft would
exceed that functional design parameter.
Other than the modified sill design on the accompanying plan set that includes additional gaps
and overlapping sections, the only other update to the plan set is that we included the 1934 and
1939 shorelines (See Sheet 1) showing that there has been an average of 500 If of shoreline
erosion since then. We have also included a copy of those historic aerial photographs (the 1934
drawing shows the extent of natural coastal wetlands and the 1939 aerial is after the vicinity was
covered with unconsolidated dredge spoil material).

■ The project should include compensatory mitigation to offset the loss of shallow water habitat
from the rock sill, concrete baffles, and fill placed landward of the sill.
Applicant Response: The project as proposed is a living shoreline system that will result in a
net gain of environmental enhancement benefits. As we discussed during our 3/3/2023
meeting, the rock system in the alignment proposed is in the intertidal area and the rock will
provide a substrate for oyster reef establishment. The water quality in this area is
recognized regionally as being conducive to prolific oyster reefs where there is adequate
substrate for the oysters to adhere to. The rock sills are intended to provide this substrate.
It is evident from the immediately adjacent USCG concrete groin that is covered in oysters in
the intertidal elevations that this is the case. It is also interesting to see that downed trees
and other debris allow oysters to grow as long as this is in the intertidal area. This has been
an important item in our planning to maximize the living shoreline benefits. And, oyster reefs
are a passive (nature -based) mitigating measure to offset impacts associated with sea level
rise and climatic impacts from increased frequency and intensity of storm events. As sea
level rises, oyster reefs will grow vertically.
There is no fill other than the rock sills and Quickreef® system in the intertidal areas. All fill
needed to create a soft slope from the top of vertical erosion escarpments to the upper
beach will be landward of the intertidal area (landward of the Mean High High Water Line).
Native wetland and upland plantings will include riparian coastal wetlands plants such as
Spartina alterniflora, Juncus roemerianus and schoenoplectus spp., in addition to transitional
beach face and slope plantings to include Spartina patens and woody shrub vegetation.
Please see the cross -sections on Sheet 3 of the plan set.
■ The applicant should clarify whether any of the fill or planted vegetation shown in the project
drawings will be below the Mean High Water Line. Regardless of the location relative to the
Mean High Water Line, the NMFS requests an opportunity to review the planting plan and
measures the permit will require to reduce runoff into tidal watersfrom the fill and from the
activities needed to accomplish the planting.
Applicant Response: As stated above, none of the sand fill or grading activity that is needed to
soften the erosion escarpment slopes and for stabilization of the shoreline after rock work is
complete will be waterward of the Mean High High Water Line. Plantings waterward of the
MHHW Line will not be accompanied by fill and will consists of emergent coastal wetland
species.
■ To protect juvenile shrimp and finfish using the inlet and adjacent shallow bottom habitat,
the permit should require all in -water work to abide by the construction moratorium provided
for inlets in the North Carolina Coastal Habitat Protection Plan. Specifically, no in -water
work should be allowed from April 1 through July 31.
Applicant Response: The applicant respectfully requests that there is no in -water work
moratorium period for this project for the following reasons:
➢ This shoreline is actively eroding at a rapid rate and it is extremely important that the
stabilization work commences as soon as possible. The only earthen road used by the
Park is currently threatened and otherwise public lands are being lost.
➢ It is important to project Stakeholders to have the rock work completed prior to peak
tropical storm season when wide areas of mass erosion can occur from a single storm.
The design and construction phasing includes the rock work being completed before
any landward grading and plantings. And, the plants must be installed in the Spring to
optimize the survival rates.
➢ The project is grant -funded and it was a requirement to secure a contract to perform
the work in late 2022 and complete the project in 2023. We have secured a contractor
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and issued a Notice of Award in December 2022 as required.
The bottom type in the location of the sill footprint is sand dominated. It has been our
experience that setting rock on top of geotextile underlayment fabric does not cause
turbidity impacts in environments such as this.
After our 3/3/2023 meeting, it was verified by NCDMF that the setting of rock in water is
not included in the NC Coastal Habitats Protection Plan (CHPP) as a recommended
moratorium trigger, and the only mention of a moratorium period in the CHPP is related
to dredging.
All in -water work will be from equipment on land and will not cause any bottom
disturbance outside of the footprint of the sill alignment.
We have worked on other similar projects where nearshore rock sill work did not
require a moratorium.
Please review this information and advise whether this satisfactorily addresses your comments
and concerns. We would like to re -commence review to allow for issuance of the Joint State
and Federal CAMA Major Permit.
Sincerely,
Quible & Associates, P.C.
P�
Brian Rubino
CC: Twyla Cheatwood, NMFS
Fritz Rohde, NMFS
Curt Weychert, NCDCM
Gregg Bodnar, NCDCM
Liz Hair, USACE
Mickey Sugg, USACE
Randy Newman, Fort Macon State Park Superintendent
Benjamin Flemming, Fort Macon State Park
Todd Miller, NCCF
Lexia Weaver, NCCF
Kerri Allen, NCCF
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