20072006 Ver 1_Approval Letter_20071214

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Michael F. Easley, Governor
William G. Ross Jr., Secretary
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Coleen H. Sullins, Director
Division of Water Quality
December 14, 2007
Macon County
DWQ Project No. 20072006
NCSR 1503 (Mack Branch Road)
APPROVAL of 401 Water Quality Certification with Additional Conditions
Mr. J. B. Setzer, P.E.
Division Engineer
N C Department of Transportation
253 Webster Road
Sylva, North Carolina 28779
Dear Mr. Setzer:
You have our approval, in accordance with the attached conditions and those listed below, for the following impacts in
an unnamed tributary to the Little Tennessee River (Lake Emory), for the purpose of making improvements to NCSR
1503 (Mack Branch Road) in Macon County:
Stream Im acts in the Little Tennessee River Basin
Site Permanent Fill in Temporary Fill in Permanent Fill in Temporary Total Stream Stream
Intermittent Intermittent Stream Perennial Stream Dewatering in Impact Impacts
Stream (linear ft) (linear ft) (linear ft) Perennial Stream (linear ft) Requiring
(linear ft) Mitigation
linear ft
Site 1 10 65 75 0
Total 10 65 75 0
Total Stream Permanent Impact for Project: 10 linear feet. Temporary Impact for Project: 75 linear feet.
The project should be constructed in accordance with your application dated November 26, 2007 (received November
30, 2007), including the environmental commitments made in the application letter. After reviewing your application,
we have decided that these impacts are covered by General Water Quality Certification Nos. 3704 and 3688,
corresponding to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit Numbers 14 In addition, you should acquire any
other federal, state or local permits before you proceed with your project including (but not limited to) Sediment and
Erosion Control, Non-Discharge and Water Supply Watershed regulations.
Please note that new 401 Water Quality Certifications went into effect on November 1, 2007. These Certifications
contain additional requirements that were not in the old certifications. You are strongly urged to review these
new certifications (attached) and become familiar with their requirements.
This approval is valid solely for the purpose and design described in your application (unless modified below). Should
your project change, you must notify the DWQ and submit a new application. If the property is sold, the new owner
must be given a copy of this Certification and approval letter, and is thereby responsible for complying with all
conditions. If total wetland fills for this project (now or in the future) exceed one acre, or if total impacts to streams (now
or in the future} exceed 150 linear feet, compensatory mitigation may be required as described in 15A NCAC 2H .0506
(h) (6) and (7). For this approval to be valid, you must follow the conditions listed in the attached certification and any
additional conditions listed below.
North Carolina Division of Water Quality 2090 U.S. Highway 70 Swannanoa, NC 28778
Internet: www ncwaterquality.org
NorthCarolina
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Phone [phone] Customer Service
FAX [phone] I-877-623-6748
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer

Mr. J. B. Setzer, P.E.
December 14, 2007
Page Two
1. There shall be no excavation from or waste disposal into, jurisdictional wetlands or waters associated with this
permit without appropriate modification. Should waste or borrow sites, or access roads to waste or borrow sites, be
located in wetlands or streams, compensatory mitigation will be required since that is a direct impact from road
construction activities.
2. Sediment and erosion control measures shall not be placed in wetlands or waters unless otherwise approved by this
Certification. If placement of sediment and erosion control devices in wetlands and waters is unavoidable, they shall
be removed and the natural grade restored upon completion of the project.
3. Adequate sedimentation and erosion control measures must be installed and maintained on the project site to
minimize sediment transport to downstream aquatic resources. Temporary cover (wheat, millet or similar annual
grain) or permanent herbaceous cover shall be planted on all bare soil within fifteen (15) days of ground disturbing
activities to provide long-term erosion control. Erosion control mating shall be used in conjunction with appropriate
seeding on disturbed soils in steep slope and riparian areas. Matting should be secured in place with staples or
wherever possible, live stakes of native trees. Straw mulch and tall fescue shall not be used in riparian areas.
4. If multiple pipes or barrels are required, they shall be designed to mimic the natural stream cross section as closely as
possible including pipes or barrels at flood plain elevation and/or sills where appropriate. Widening the stream shall
be avoided. Stream channel widening at the inlet or outlet end of structures typically decreases water velocity
causing sediment deposition that requires increased maintenance and disrupts aquatic life passage.
5. For projects impacting waters classified by the NC Environmental Management .Commission as Trout (Tr), High
Quality Waters (HQW) or Water Supply I or II (WS-I, WS-II), stormwater shall be directed to vegetated buffer
areas, grass-lined ditches or other means appropriate to the site for the purpose of pre-treating stormwater runoff
prior to discharging directly into streams. Mowing of existing vegetated buffer areas is strongly discouraged.
6. The dimension, pattern and profile of the stream, above and below the crossing, shall not be modified. Disturbed
floodplains and streams shall be restored to natural geomorphic conditions.
7. Native riparian vegetation (e.g. rhododendron, dog hobble, willows, alders, sycamores, dogwoods, black walnut and
red maple) must be reestablished within the construction limits of the project by the end of the growing season
following completion of construction.
8. The use of rip-rap above the Normal High Water Mark shall be minimized. Any rip-rap placed for stream
stabilization shall be placed in stream channels in such a manner that it does not impede aquatic life passage.
9. Rip-rap shall not be placed in the active thalweg channel or placed in the streambed in a manner that precludes
aquatic life passage. Bioengineering boulders or structures should be properly designed, sized and installed.
10. Heavy equipment shall be operated from the banks rather than in the stream channels in order to minimize
sedimentation and reduce the introduction of other pollutants into the stream.
11. All mechanized equipment operated near surface waters must be regularly inspected and maintained to prevent
contamination of stream waters from fuels, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, or other toxic materials.
12. The Permittee shall ensure that the final design drawings adhere to the permit and to the permit drawings submitted
for approval.
13. Discharging hydroseed mixtures and washing out hydroseeders and other equipment in or adjacent to surface waters
is prohibited.
14. No rock, sand or other materials shall be dredged from the stream channel, except where authorized by this
certification.
1S. A copy of this Water Quality Certification shall be maintained on the construction site at all times. In addition, the
Water Quality Certification and all subsequent modifications, if any, shall be maintained with the Division Engineer
and the on-site project manager.
16. All fill slopes located in jurisdictional wetlands shall be placed at slopes no flatter than 3:1, unless otherwise
authorized by this certification.
17. The outside buffer, wetland or water boundary located within the construction corridor approved by this
authorization shall be clearly marked by highly visible fencing prior to any land disturbing activities. Impacts to
areas within the fencing are prohibited unless otherwise authorized by this certification.

Mr. J. B. Setzer, P.E.
December 14, 2007
Page Three
18. The issuance of this certification does not exempt the Permittee form complying with any and all statutes, rules,
regulations or ordinances that may be imposed by other government agencies (i.e. local, state, and federal) having
jurisdiction, including but not limited to applicable buffer rules, stormwater management rules, soil erosion and
sedimentation control requirements, etc.
19. The Permtttee shall report any violations of this certification to the Division of Water Quality within 24-hours of
discovery.
20. Upon completion of the project, the NCDOT Division Engineer shall complete and return the enclosed "Certificate of
Completion Form" to notify NCDWQ when all work included in the §401 Certification has been completed. This
form shall be returned to the Transportation Permitting Unit of the NC Division of Water Quality, 2321 Crabtree
Blvd., Suite 250, Raleigh, North Carolina 27604. This condition supersedes Condition 18 in Water Quality
Certification No. 3704 and Condition 15 in Water Quality Certification No. 3688.
If you do not accept any of the conditions of this certification, you may ask for an adjudicatory hearing. You must act
within 60 days of the date that you receive this letter. To ask for a hearing, send a written petition, which conforms to
Chapter 150B of the North Carolina General Statutes to the Office of Administrative Hearings, 6714 Mail Service
Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-6714. This certification and its conditions are final and binding unless you ask for a
hearing.
This letter completes the review of the Division of Water Quality under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. If you have
any questions, please telephone Mr. Mike Parker of the Asheville Regional Office at 828.296.4500.
Sincerely,
~ Coleen H. Sullins, Director
Division of Water Quality
cc: Mark Davis, Division 14, DEO
Ed Ingle, Roadside Environmental
David Baker, USACE Asheville Field Office
Transportation Permitting Unit
Mike Parker, Asheville Regional Office