MaggieValleyWWTPLeveeRepair_JonathanCr_Haywood_NCWRCComments

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
Cameron Ingram, Executive Director

Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]
August 24, 2023

Mr. Mitchell Anderson
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006

SUBJECT: Maggie Valley WWTP Levee Repair
Jonathan Creek, Haywood County

Dear Mr. Anderson:

Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to permanently impact 197 ft and temporarily impact 208 ft of Jonathan Creek in
Haywood County. Our comments on this application are offered for your consideration under
provisions of the Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. 466 et. seq.) and Fish and Wildlife
Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 661-667d).

There are wild Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout in Jonathan Creek, and in-stream activities
should be avoided during the trout moratorium of October 15 and April 15. In addition, the
Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, US Federal Species of Concern, NC Special
Concern) is found in the vicinity of the project. In order to protect these species, it is important to
employ excellent erosion and sediment control techniques and minimize the amount of channel
dewatering.

The project proposes to repair an existing levee that protects the Maggie Valley wastewater
treatment plant from floods. Work would occur on a side channel of Jonathan Creek, with a
section of stream entirely dewatered for an estimated 2-3 days in order to allow equipment and
work to be performed in the dry. The streambanks and levee would be repaired with a
combination of boulders, vegetated soil lifts, and riprap. Native riparian vegetation would be
used in the soil lifts.

As hellbenders may be present in the project reach, we recommend against dewatering the entire
channel. Instead, we recommend working from the banks as much as possible and using a coffer
dam to isolate the work area.

Maggie Valley WWTP Levee Repair Page 2 August 24, 2023
Jonathan Cr, Haywood Co
We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to fish and wildlife:

1. In-channel work should be accomplished as quickly as possible and vigilance used in
sediment and erosion control during site preparation, construction, and clean up. Disturbed
areas should be seeded, mulched and/or matted as soon as possible, preferably at the end of
each workday.
2. Any erosion control matting used should be free of plastic or nylon mesh, as this type of
mesh frequently entangles wildlife and is slow to degrade, resulting in a hazard that may last
for years.
3. In-stream activities should be avoided between October 15 and April 15 to minimize impacts
to wild trout reproduction.
4. We recommend against dewatering the entire reach and recommend isolating the work area
with a coffer dam.

Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project. Please contact me at
[phone] if you have any questions about these comments.

Sincerely,

Andrea Leslie
Mountain Region Coordinator, Habitat Conservation Program

ec: Rick Trone, Withers Ravenel
Joey Winston, NC Division of Water Resources