20071505 Ver 4_Other Agency Comments_20151110

From: Leslie, Andrea ]
Sent: Tuesday, November lU'ZUl5 l:Ul PK4
To: Brown, David VVSAW
Cc: Bryan Tompkins (bryan_tompkins@fwsgov); Fox, Tim; Barnett, Kevin; Price, Zan
(George); 8urdette' Jennifer a; Clement Riddle
Subject: Seven Falls Bonded Phases N[VVR[comments
Attachments: Seven Fa||s8ondedPhases_LVVi||ovv&Fo||y[r_Henderson[o_VVR[[omments.pdf
Attached are NCWRCammments on the Seven Falls Bonded PhaseaIP.
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Andrea Leslie
Mountain Habitat Conservation Coordinator
N(- Wildlife Resources Commission
20Q30 Great Smoky Mountain Expressway
Waynesville, N(-2Q7Q6
828-558-6011; 828-400-4223 (cell)
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S North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 9
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
November 10, 2015
Mr. David Brown
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801 -5006
SUBJECT: Seven Falls Bonded Phases
Little Willow Creek and Folly Creek and unnamed tributaries (UTs), Henderson
County
Action ID#: SAW - 2013 -01 159
Dear Mr. Brown:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
individual permit application to account for stream and wetland impacts from unauthorized
activities and proposed activities on Little Willow Creek, Folly Creek, and their unnamed
tributaries in Henderson County. I attended on on -site meeting with representatives of
Clearwater Environmental Consultants and regulatory agencies on August 11, 2015 and visited
the site again on November 6, 2015. 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).
The Seven Falls Bonded Phases project is on a 302 -acre site, which is a portion of the original
1,400 -acre Seven Falls Golf and River Club, granted 401 and 404 permits in 2008. A Certificate
of Non - compliance and numerous Notices of Violation were issued due to permit non-
compliance and erosion and sedimentation problems associated with road building. The current
individual permit accounts for 1,600 feet of unauthorized stream impacts associated mainly with
road culverts and additional impacts of 192 stream feet and 0.01 wetland acre associated with
new or lengthened culverts. Most impacts are on unnamed tributaries to Little Willow Creek.
There are Rainbow Trout in the watershed, and sedimentation resulting from road building
activities may have impacted trout. However, the proposed new activities should not impact
trout and do not need to be avoided during the trout spawning moratorium.
Mailing Address: Division of Inland Fisheries • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699 -1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

Seven Falls Bonded Phases Page 2 November 10, 2015
Little Willow & Folly Cr, Henderson Co
Impacts
The application characterizes unauthorized impacts and new proposed impacts associated with
culvert installation, summing up the culvert length as length of stream impacted. Many of the
installed culvert outlets are perched, not buried sufficiently, extremely long, and /or are placed at
a steep grade, effectively serving as barriers to upstream movement of aquatic organisms. The
application states that Impacts 3, 5, and 9 -13 do not meet requirements for aquatic life passage
and /or structural stability. However, it further states that Impacts 3 and 5 are on small streams
too small to support fish, and salamanders would be able to access culverts. No supporting
documentation is provided for this statement, and we question its validity. Impacts 12 and 13 are
also on streams likely too small to support fish, and the application states that a direct connection
is not necessary. The objective of providing aquatic life passage is to enable all aquatic
organisms —fish, salamanders, crayfish, and other aquatic invertebrates—to move freely through
a crossing; we do not believe that these crossings meet this objective.
There are numerous streams on the project site that are unstable and are a continuing source of
sediment and /or systemic channel instability. For example, the channel downstream of Impact 4
is not in its original channel and is held upgrade of the lowest part of the valley by debris and a
silt fence. The channel downstream of Impact 3 runs closely parallel to that below Impact 4 and
drops through a series of headcuts into an extremely incised and unstable channel. We
recommend that these streams be stabilized with natural channel design, restoring pattern,
dimension, and profile. The stream that is east of impact 413 and runs along the border of the
current project area has its origin in a sediment basin, which drops approximately 5 feet in grade
to the stream channel. This drop is temporarily stabilized with rip rap, which is unlikely to serve
as a permanent solution; the channel should be stabilized.
Many streams on the bonded property are impacted by excessive sediment deposits, resulting
from road building and land clearing activities. However, there is no mention of these impacts in
the permit application. According to agency staff familiar with the site before impacts, many of
the project area streams were in excellent condition before the initial 2008 permits were granted.
We request that the applicant provide a characterization of the extent and nature of sedimentation
in streams throughout the project area. In addition, we recommend that a thorough investigation
of stream stability through the project area be provided and problem areas addressed.
Mitigation
Mitigation is proposed at a 1:1 ratio for 1,792 feet of previous and new impacts to stream. This
mitigation would be provided through NC Division of Mitigation Services. The applicant
proposes this ratio in order to stretch limited funding available through the bond funds held by
Henderson County.
It is apparent that instream impacts are much greater than the 1,792 feet of stream that have been
culverted. In- stream habitats have been impacted by excessive sedimentation and channel
instability, and free movement of aquatic organisms has been severed by numerous impassable
culverts. Therefore, we recommend that a mitigation ratio closer to 2:1 be provided for the
stated 1,792 feet of stream impacts.

Seven Falls Bonded Phases Page 3 November 10, 2015
Little Willow & Folly Cr, Henderson Co
As most streams in the project area were high quality headwater streams, we recommend that
additional mitigation be provided in the form of preservation of high quality streams and riparian
buffers. NCWRC welcomes the opportunity to work with regulatory agencies and the permittee
to develop a mitigation plan to achieve this.
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project. Please contact me at
(828) 558 -6011 if you have any questions about these comments or need further assistance.
Sincerely,
Andrea Leslie
Mountain Region Coordinator, Habitat Conservation Program
ec: Clement Riddle, ClearWater Environmental
Tim Fox, Zan Price, Kevin Barnett, and Jennifer Burdette, NC Division of Water Resources
Bryan Tompkins, US Fish and Wildlife Service