20040933 Ver 1_Approval Letter_20061212

F WAIF
Q~ R Michael F. Easley, Governor
\Q~~. -~~ William G. Ross Jr., Secretary
~ t ~ r North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
~ ~-~
~ ~`" " "` 'C' Alan W. Klimek, P.E. Director
"' Division of Water Quality
,ye~~~ ('~ ~ .
°s ,,; ~., "p >'~ December 12, 2006
`TJ ``%i ~' ~ ~ ~ Mitchell Yancey Counties
,p ~~ ,
~q~~ ~~;~ DWQ Project No. 04-0933
~'e,~ Bridge No. 143 NCSR 1304
~~ T1P Project No. B-2848
APPROVAL of 401 Water Quality Certification with Additional Conditions
Dr. Gregory J. Thorpe, PhD., Director
Project Development and Environmental Analysis
North Carolina Department of Transportation
1548 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1548
Dear Dr. Thorpe:
You have our approval, in accordance with the attached conditions and those listed below, for the following impacts for
the purpose of placing temporary and permanent fill material in the North Toe River while replacing bridge No. 143 in
Mitchell/Yancey Counties:
Stream Impacts in the French Broad River Basin
Site Permanent Fill in Temporary Fill in Permanent Fill in Temporary Fill in Total Stream Stream
Intermittent Intermittent Stream Perennial Stream Perennial Stream Impact Impacts
Stream (linear ft) (linear ft) (acres) (acres) (acres) Requiring
Mitigation
acres)
Site 1 <0.01 0.353 0.354 0
Total <0.01 ~ 0.353 0.354
Total Stream Impact for Project: 0.354 acres.
The project should be constructed in accordance with your application dated October 6, 2006, (received October 18,
2006), including the environmental commitments made in the application letters. After reviewing your application, we
have decided that these impacts are covered by General Waier Quality Certification Nos. 3403 and 3366. This
Certification corresponds to Nationwide Permit Numbers 23 and 33 issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 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. This approval
will expire with the accompanying 404 Permit.
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 ; omplying with all the
conditions. If total wetland fills for this project (now or in the future) exceec' 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.
NorthCarolina
,Natura!!~
North Carolina Division of Water Quality 2090 U.S. Highway 70 Swannanoa, NC 28778 Phone [phone] Customer Service
Internet: www.ncwaterquality.org FAX [phone] I-877-623-6748
An Equal OpportunitylAffirmative Action Employer

,~
Dr. Gregory J. Thorpe, PhD.
December 12, 2006
Page Two
1. Erosion and sediment control practices must be in full compliance with all specifications governing the proper
design, installation and operation and maintenance of such Best Management Practices in order to protect surface
waters standards:
a. The erosion and sediment control measures for the project must be designed, installed, operated, and
maintained in accordance with the most recent version of the North Carolina Sediment and Erosion Control
Planning and Design Manual.
b. The design, installation, operation, and maintenance of the sediment and erosion control measures must be
such that they equal, or exceed, the requirements specified in the most recent version of the North Carolina
Sediment and Erosion Control Manual. The devices shall be maintained on all construction sites, borrow
sites, and waste pile (spoil) projects, including contractor-owned or leased borrow pits associated with the
project. ;
c. For borrow pit sites, the erosion and sediment control measures must be designed, installed, operated,
and maintained in accordance with the most recent version of the North Carolina Surface Mining Manual.
d. The reclamation measures and implementation must comply with the reclamation in accordance with the
requirements of the Sedimentation Pollution Control Act.
2. 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 be located in wetlands or streams,
compensatory mitigation will be required since that is a direct impact from road construction activities.
3. 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 ofthe project.
4. The permittee shall use Design Standards in Sensitive Watersheds [15A NCAC 4B.0124 (a)-(e)]. Temporary cover
(wheat, millet or similar annual grain) or permanent herbaceous cover should be planted on all bare soil within
fifteen (15) days of ground disturbing activities to provide long-term erosion control. Erosion control mating should
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 should
not be used in riparian areas.
5. Strict adherence to the most recent version of NCDOT's Best Management Practice For Bridge Demolition and
Removal, approved by the US Army Corps of Engineers, is a condition of the 401 Water Quality Certification.
6. Bridge deck drains should not discharge directly into streams. Stormwater should be directed across the bridge and
pre-treated through site-appropriate means (grass swales, pre-formed scour holes, vegetated buffers, etc.) before
entering the stream. Please refer to the most current version of Stormwater Best Management Practices.
7. All work in or adjacent to stream waters shall be conducted in a dry work area. Approved BMP measures from the
most current version of NCDOT Construction and Maintenance Activities manual such as sandbags, rock berms,
cofferdams and other diversion structures should be used to prevent excavation in flowing water.
8. 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 sirongly discouraged.
9. Only clean and sediment free riprap shall be used and placed in surface waters.
10. The post-construction removal of temporary work pads will need to return the project site to its preconstruction
contours and elevations. The impacted areas shall be revegetated with appropriate native species. Disturbed
floodplains and streams should be restored to natural geomorphic conditions.
11. Mussels located in the North Toe River shall be relocated from the proposed impact area, prior to installing in-stream
structures, in accordance with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission recommendations.
12. The existing roadway that is to be eliminated should be restored back to original ground elevations and the natural
floodplain elevations and functions restored. Disturbed areas should be seeded or mulched to stabilize the soil and
native tree species should be planted with spacing of not more that l Oft. x l Oft.
13. 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.

Dr. Gregory J. Thorpe, PhD.
December 12, 2006
Page Three
14. Any riprap placed for bank stabilization should be limited to the streambank below the high water mark, and
vegetation should be used for stabilization above the high water elevation. Riprap should not be place in the active
thalweg channel or placed in the streambed in such a manner that precludes aquatic life passage. Bioengineering
boulders or structures should be properly designed, sized and installed.
15. Heavy equipment should 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.
16. All mechanized equipment operated near surface waters must be regularly inspected daily and maintained to prevent
contamination of stream waters from fuels, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, or other toxic materials.
17. Discharging hydroseed mixtures and washing out hydroseeders and other equipment in or adjacent to surface waters
is prohibited.
18. If concrete is used during construction (e.g., headwallsj, a dry work area should be maintained to prevent direct
contact between curing concrete and stream water. Water that inadvertently contacts uncured concrete should not be
discharged to surface waters due to the potential for elevated pH and possible aquatic life and fish kills.
19. No rock, sand or other materials shall be dredged from the stream channel, except where authorized by this
certification.
20. A copy of this Water Quality Certification shall be posted 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.
21. The permittee and its authorized agents shall conduct its activities in a manner consistent with State water other
appropriate requirements of State or Federal law. If DWQ determines that such standards or laws are not being met.
(including failure to sustain a designated achieved use) or that State of Federal law if being violated, or that further
conditions are necessary to assure compliance, DWQ may reevaluate and modify this certification.
22. During the construction of the project, no staging of equipment of any kind is permitted in waters of the U.S. or
protected riparian buffers.
23. 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.
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, / _ ~,
Alan W. Klimek, P.E., Director
Division of Water Quality
cc: Mr. J.J. Swain, P.E. Division 13 Engineer
Mr. Roger Bryan, Division 13 Environmental Officer
David Baker, USACE Asheville Field Office .
Transportation Permitting Unit
Mike Parker, Asheville Regional Office