20072086 Ver 1_More Info Letter_20071227

~pF W A Tfi9 p Michael F. Easley, Governor
.~~ G William G. Ross Jr., Secretary
~ North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
> .:,1
fl -~ Alan W. Klimek, P.E. Director
Division of Water Quality
~-L<.
December 27, 2007
DWQ Project # 07 2086
Onslow County
CERTIFIED MAIL: 7007 0220 0000 8222 7498
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Alexandra and John McLaughlin
2107 Aquia Drive
Stafford, VA 22554
Subject Property: 128 Cando Road, Sneads Ferry
Onslow County
REQUEST FOR MORE INFORMATION
Dear Mr. And Mrs. McLaughlin:
On December 7, 2007, the Division of Water Quality (DWQ) received your LAMA application dated
December 7, 2007 to install a boat ramp and two boatlifts. The DWQ has determined that your
application was incomplete and/or provided inaccurate information as discussed below. The DWQ will
require additional information in order to process your application to impact protected wetlands and/or
streams on the subject property. Therefore, unless we receive the additional information requested below,
we will have to move toward denial of your application as required by I SA NCAC 2H .0506 and will
place this project on hold as incomplete until we receive this additional information. Please provide the
following information so that we may continue to review your project.
Additional Information Requested:
Fritz Rohde of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) sent out a memo (see attached)
that your proposed project would cause significant adverse impacts to the primary nursery area as
identified by DMF. This would be considered a degradation of waters, which would result in violations
of the following Water Quality Standards
15A NCAC 02B .0201 ANTIDEGRADATION POLICY
(f) Activities regulated under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) which require a water
quality certification as described in Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1341) shall be
evaluated according to the procedures outlined in 15A NCAC 2H .0500. Activities which receive a water
quality certification pursuant to these procedures shall not be considered to remove existing uses. The
evaluation of permits issued pursuant to G.S. 143-215.1 that involve the assimilation of wastewater or
stormwater by wetlands shall incorporate the criteria found in 15A NCAC 2H .0506D(1)-(5) in
determining the potential impact of the proposed activity on the existing uses of the wetland per 15A
NCAC 2H .0231.
North Carolina Division of Water duality 127 Cardinal Drive Extension Phone [phone] Customer Servicel-877-623-6748 One
Wilmington Regional Office Wilmington, NC 28405-3845 FAX [phone] Internet: h2o.enr.state.nc.us NorthCarolina
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer - 50% Recycled/10% Post Consumer Paper ~atura!!t~

Page Two
Alexandra and John McLaughlin
DWQ Project # 07 2086
December 27, 2007
15A NCAC 02B .0221 TIDAL SALT WATER QUALITY STANDARDS FOR CLASS SA
WATERS
(1) Best usage of waters. Aquatic life propagation and maintenance of biological integrity (including
fishing and functioning PNAs), wildlife, secondary recreation, and any other usage except
primary recreation or shellfishing for marketing purposes.
(2) Conditions Related to Best Usage. The waters shall meet the current sanitary and bacteriological
standards as adopted by the Commission for Health Services and shall be suitable for shellfish
culture; any source of water pollution which precludes any of these uses, including their
functioning as PNAs, on either ashort-term or long-term basis shall be considered to be violating
a water quality standard.
Please contact Fritz Rohde of DMF at [phone] to try and resolve this issue or revise the application
to remove the boat ramp portion of the project. If the boat ramp is removed from the proposed project, the
DWQ will have no objection.
Please respond within three weeks of the date of this letter by sending this information to me in writing
and Ian McMillan c/o 401 Wetlands Unit, 2321 Crabtree Blvd, Raleigh, NC 27604-2260. If we do not
hear from you within three weeks, we will assume that you no longer want to pursue this project and we
will consider the project as withdrawn.
This letter only addresses the application review and does not authorize any impacts to wetlands, waters
or protected buffers. Please be aware that any impacts requested within your application are not
authorized (at this time) by the DWQ. Please call me at 910-796-7215 or Ian McMillan at 919-715-
4631 if you have any questions regarding or would like to set up a meeting to discuss this matter.
Sincerely,
;~
-~~~~~~-
~;'~ Joanne Steenhuis
Senior Environmental Specialist
Attachment
cc: Charles Riggs -Charles F. Riggs and Associates, Inc.
Ian McMillan -DWQ 401 Oversight and Express Unit, Raleigh
Dave Timpy - USACE Wilmington Regulatory Field Office
Fritz Rohde -DMF
Jon Giles -DCM Wilmington Office
Doug Huggett -DCM Morehead Office
Central Files
WiRO

MEMORANDUM
December 27, 2007
TO: Doug Huggett
FROM: Fritz Rohde
SUB.TECT: .1ohn McLaughlin
The following comments by the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
(DMF) on the subject permit application are offered pursuant to G.S. 113-131. The DMF
approves of this project only if the recommended changes are incorporated, otherwise
DMF objects to this project due to the significant adverse impacts such a development
will have on the estuarine resources and the functionality of the primary nursery in that
area.
The applicant is proposing to install a boat ramp and 2 boats lift to an exisiting
dock adjacent to Bumps Creek in Sneads Ferry. The waters of Bumps Creek are a
designated PNA. PNAs are defined as those areas inhabited by the embryonic, larval or
juvenile life stages of marine or estuarine fish or crustacean species due to favorable
physical, chemical or biological factors. As a designated PNA, the creek provides an
important rearing area for a variety of estuarine fishes and invertebrates that need
relatively undisturbed habitats. The proposed boat ramp would fill about 240 sq ft of
PNA and about 144 sq ft of coastal wetland. It is DMF's position that this covering of
the PNA by the boat ramp would have a significant adverse impact to the PNA.
The DMF approves only of the boatlift portion of the application.