NCG010000_NOAA Comments_20240305

Clark, Paul
From: Pat Shaw -Allen - NOAA Federal <[e-mail]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 5, 2024 11:23 AM
To: Clark, Paul
Subject: [External] Re: FW: NCG01, NCG25 Stormwater Draft General Permits - Construction
Activities
Attachments: NC Construction NOI in Atl Sturgeon CH Catchments.xlsx
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Good morning Paul
Thank you for sending the permits and fact sheets. While there is no mention of Endangered Species Act (ESA) species or
designated critical habitat, ESA -listed sturgeon and habitats occur below the fall line of North Carolina. Section 9 of the
Endangered Species Act prohibits "take" of ESA -listed species. Take as defined under the ESA means "to harass,
harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such
conduct." Discharges from construction sites can cause take. Take would be avoided or minimized if
these permits could extend the same buffer protections afforded to trout waters to waters where
sturgeon can occur. Applicants should also be made aware if their activities are in areas where ESA -
protected resources (and probably state -protected resources) may be affected.
Endangered Atlantic sturgeon and shortnose sturgeon may be found in coastal waters, Albemarle Sound,
and the Chowan, Roanoke, Tar/Pamlico, Neuse, New, Cape Fear, Waccamaw, and Pee Dee Rivers. Critical
habitat designated under the ESA for the endangered Carolina distinct population segment of Atlantic
sturgeon includes the Roanoke, Tar -Pamlico, Neuse, North East Cape Fear, and Pee Dee Rivers because
these waters include physical and/or biological features essential to their conservation. Currently, the
Roanoke River is the only North Carolina river with a verified spawning population of Atlantic sturgeon. While
there is evidence of spawning for other rivers, monitoring has been limited. Shortnose sturgeon have not had
critical habitat designated for them because they were listed before the ESA critical habitat regulations
were enacted. Shortnose sturgeon may have been extirpated from North Carolina's rivers, with poor
water quality a contributing factor.
For context, I did a quick plot using the NOI spreadsheet from the NC NCI website and identified 156 NOI for activities in
catchments adjacent to Atlantic sturgeon critical habitat since 2019 (map below). I note that impervious cover reported
for NCI 88153 must be a typo.

Patricia Shaw -Allen, Ph.D. (she/her)
Ecotoxicologist, ESA Consultation Biologist
NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources
U.S. Department of Commerce
Office: [phone]
pat.shaw-allena-rioaa.gov
www.nmfs.noaa.gov
191

On Mon, Mar 4, 2024 at 11:54 PM Clark, Paul <[e-mail]> wrote:
To Whom It May Concern,
Hi. Please see the NCG01, NCG25 Stormwater Draft General Permits and draft fact sheets for Construction
Activities. The permits have only minimal changes from the previous versions such as requiring an onsite rain gage and
secondary containment requirements. The permit public notice period is February 13, 2024 through March 25,
2024. Please contact me with any questions. Thx.
Paul Clark
Water Supply Watershed Protection Coordinator
Stormwater Program
Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources
Department of Environmental Quality
[phone]
[e-mail]
Before printing this email, please consider your budget and the environment.
https:lld eq. nc.govlsw
�rrad correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North
�arolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.

From: Clark, Paul
Sent: Friday, December 22, 2023 9:57 AM
To: R4NPDESPermits <[e-mail]>
Cc: Tyler, Kip <[e-mail]>; Lawyer, Mike <[e-mail]>; Georgoulias, Bethany
<betha ny.georgoul ias@deg. nc.gov>
Subject: NCG01, NCG25 Stormwater Draft General Permits - Construction Activities
To Whom It May Concern,
Hi. Please see the NCG01, NCG25 Stormwater Draft General Permits for Construction Activities. The permits have only
minimal changes from the previous version such as requiring an onsite rain gage and secondary containment
requirements. We plan to public notice the permits (and factsheets) beginning at the end of January or beginning of
February and ending in March. Permit factsheets will be sent to EPA in the near future. Please contact me with any
questions. Thx.
Paul Clark
Water Supply Watershed Protection Coordinator
Stormwater Program
Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources
Department of Environmental Quality
[phone]
[e-mail]
Before printing this email, please consider your budget and the environment.
h ttps://d eq. n c. qo v/sw
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North
Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.

Email correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties by an authorized
state official.