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Home My WebLink About20020408 Ver 2_Other Agency Comments_20151028Burdette, Jennifer a From: Craig R. Wyant <craig.wyant @charter.net> Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2015 5:02 PM To: Hair, Sarah E SAW; Burdette, Jennifer a; Turlington, Chad Subject: VMC Rockingham Quarry USFWS response letter Attachments: USFWS response 10- 16- 15.pdf Ms. Hair et al I have received the following comment letter from the USFWS for the VMC Rockingham Quarry Expansion in Richmond county, NC. You may already have a copy of this in your files. Craig Craig R. Wyant RLA /SWS A Fine Line Design Post Office Box 163 High Shoals, NC 28077 704 - 240 -0793 craig.wyant @chartennet United States Department of the Interior Craig Wyant PO Box 163 High Shoales, NC 28077 FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Raleigh ES Field Office Post Office Box 33726 Raleigh, North Carolina 27636-3726 October 16, 2015 Re: Vulcan Materials Quarry- Richmond County, NC Dear Mr. Wyant: This letter is to inform you that a list of all federally-protected endangered and threatened species with known occurrences in North Carolina is now available on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) web page at http://www.fws.gov/raleigh. Therefore, if you have projects that occur within the Raleigh Field Office's area of responsibility (see attached county list), you no longer need to contact the Raleigh Field Office for a list of federally-protected species. Our web page contains a complete and frequently-'up4ated, list of all endangered and,threateried species protecte& by, the provisions of the Endangered.Species Act, of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)(Act), and a list of federal species of conc I ernt that are known to occur in each county in North Carolina. Section 7 of the Act requires that all federal ,agencies (or their designated non-federal representative), in consultation with the Service, insure that any action federally authorized, funded, or carried out by such agencies is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any federally-listed, endangered or threatened species. A, biological assessment or evaluation maybe prepared to fWfill that requirement and in determining whether additional consultation with the Service isnecessary. In addition -to the.feder4lly-protected species list, ,,i,,nf'or,,mat,,ion,on the species' life histories and habitats and information on completing a biological assessment or evaluation and, can be found on our web page at http://www,fws.gov/raleigh. Please check the web site often for updated information or changes. , If your project contains suitable habitat for any of the federally-listed species known to be present within the county where your project occurs, the proposed action has the potential to The term "federal vecigs, of concern" refers, to those species which the Service believes might be in need of concentrated conservation actions. Federal species of concern receive no legal protection and their designation does not necessarily imply that the species will eventually be I proposed for listing as a federally endangered or threatened species. However, we recommend that all practicable measures be taken to avoid or minimize adverse impacts to federal species of concern. rIA adversely affect those species. As such, we recommend that surveys be conducted to determine the species' presence or absence within the project area. The use of North Carolina Natural Heritage program data should not be substituted for actual field surveys. If you determine that the proposed action may affect (i.e., likely to adversely affect or not likely to adversely affect) a federally-protected species, you should notify this office with your determination, the results of your surveys, survey methodologies, and an analysis of the effects of the action on listed species, including consideration of direct, indirect, and cumulative effects, before conducting any activities that might affect the species. If you determine that the proposed action will have no effect (i.e., no beneficial or adverse, direct or indirect effect) on federally listed species, then you are not required to contact our office for concurrence (unless an Environmental Impact Statement is prepared), However, you should maintain a complete record of the assessment, including steps leading to your determination of effect, the qualified personnel +he- c*oacacmi4,nf bab4at 11+nnAif1.rAnQ_.e!fa nhntnaranhp . With regard to the above-referenced project, we offer the following remarks, Our comments are submitted pursuant to, and in accordance with, provisions of the Endangered Species Act. Based on the information provided and other information available, it appears that the proposed action is not likely to adversely affect any federally-listed endangered or threatened species, their formally designated critical habitat, or species currently proposed for listing under the Act at these sites. We believe that the requirements of section 7(a)(2) of the Act have been satisfied for your project. Please remember that obligations under section 7 consultation must be reconsidered if. (1) new information reveals impacts of this identified action that may affect listed species or critical habitat in a manner not previously considered; (2) this action is subsequently modified in a manner that was not considered in this review; or, (3) a new species is listed or critical habitat determined that may be affected by the identified action. However, the Service is concerned about the potential impacts the proposed action might have on aquatic species. Aquatic resources are highly susceptible to sedimentation. Therefore, we recommend that all practicable measures be taken to avoid adverse impacts to aquatic species., including implementing directional boring methods and stringent sediment and erosion control measures. An erosion and sedimentation control plan should be submitted to and approved by the North Carolina ,Divisioa of.,LandRes=c",,,Land,,Quality,b,ecttgnpnor to construction. Erosion and sedimentation controls should be installed and maintained between the construction site and any nearby down-gradient surface waters. In addition, we recommend maintaining natural, vegetated buffers on all streams and creeks adjacent to the project site. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has developed a Guidance Memorandum (a copy can be found on our website at (http://www.fws.gov/raleigh) to address and mitigate secondary and cumulative impacts to aquatic and terrestrial wildlife resources and water quality. We recommend that you consider this document in the development of your projects and in completing an initiation package for consultation (if necessary). OA .4 We hope you find our web page useful and i ' nformative and that following the process described above will reduce the time required, and eliminate the need, for general correspondence for species' lists. If you have any questions or comments, please contact John Ellis of this office at (919) 856-4520 ext. 26. Sincerely, "J L P P, to Benjamin ield Supervisor M f,4 List of Counties in the Service's Raleigh Field Office Area of Responsibility 0 Alamance Perquimans Beaufort Person Bertie Pitt Bladen Randolph, Brunswick Camden Richmond Robeson Carteret Rockingham Caswell Sampson Chatham Scotland Chowan Tyrrell Craven Wake Cumberland Warren Currituck Washington Dare Wayne Duplin Wilson Durham Edgecombe Franklin Gates Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Hertford Hoke Hyde Johnston IN Jon", Lenoir)",/,"�,,,,,�,��,/"",.",�,( . .. .. .. ---,/ ..... ...... . . Martin Montgomery Moore Nash New Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender 0