20061575 Ver 3_Application_20080117

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STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPART'1VIENT OF TRANSPORTATION
\ MICHAEL F. EASLEY LYNDO TIPPETT
tt -- GOVERNOR
~V1 SECRETARY
~ ~ January 7, 2008
.S Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
~ -~ Environmental Planning Office Q ~~~~~~ D
Tribal Utilities Building ~ (,Q ~ S 15 v •
~ PO Box 455 JAN 1 7 2008
~ Cherokee, NC 28719
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SUBJECT: Request for 401 Water Quality Certification for work on
U Cherokee Tribal Lands for the proposed replacement of Bridge
~ No. 24 on US 19 over the Oconaluftee River in Swain County.
~. Federal Aid Project No. BRSTP-19(11), TIP B-4696.
Please find enclosed a copy of the Programmatic Categorical Exclusion, permit drawings
~ and design plans for the above referenced project. The North Carolina Department of
Transportation (NCDOT) proposes to replace Bridge No. 24 using phased construction,
on existing alignment, with a 200-foot, two-span bridge. There will be <0.01 acre of
U permanent impact to surface waters due to the new bents, and 0.18 acre of temporary
impact to surface waters will be required for temporary work pads. There are no
~,,- jurisdictional wetlands within the project area.
Regulatory Approvals Received Under Separate Cover:
Section 404 Permit: NCDOT has been issued a Nationwide 23/33 permit from the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (USAGE) for project B-4696 on October 24, 2006. This permit
expired on March 18, 2007, therefore the Department requested a renewal for this permit.
NCDOT was issued a renewal for this project on November 16, 2007 which expires
November 16, 2009.
NC Division of Water puality Section 401 Certification: The NCDOT submitted the
above mentioned 404 application for NC DWQ's review on October 24, 2006 and
September 4, 2007. The Department will adhere to the 401 General Certification
numbers 3701 and 3688, and therefore does not anticipate or request written approval for
this project.
MAILING ADDRESS:
NC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
1598 MAIL SERVICE CENTER
RALEIGH NC 27699-1598
TELEPHONE: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
WEBS/TE.' WWW.DOH.DOT.STATE.NC.US
LOCATION:
PARKER LINCOLN BUILDING
2728 CAPITAL BLVD., SUITE 24O
RALEIGH NC 27604

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TVA: This project is located within the jurisdiction of the Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA). Therefore, an approval under Section 26a of the TVA Act will be required and
applied for under separate cover.
Impacts to Waters of the United States
General Description:
The water resource impacted for this project is the Oconaluftee River. The North Carolina
Division of Water Quality (NCDWQ) classifies the Oconaluftee River as "C" with a
secondary classification of Tr. ~ The Oconaluftee River is located in Hydrological
Cataloguing Unit 060 ]a00~ ~,tl~ttr'~r~~s~; River Basin.
Permanent Impacts: There will be <0.01 acre of permanent stream impacts to
accommodate the new bridge bents.
Temporary Impacts: There will be 0.18 acre of temporary impacts to accommodate
construction of the new bridge via temporary work pads. The pads will consist of Class
A and Class II rip rap (shown on sheet 3 of the permit drawings), and will be completely
removed once they are no longer needed. These pads are necessary to construct a bent
and to hoist the large beams into their proper location.
Utilities: Water lines in the area will be reattached to the new bridge. There will be no
utility impacts for this project.
Bride Demolition: Bridge No. 24 was built in 1958. The structure consists of 5 spans
totaling 237 feet in length. The existing bridge is composed of a reinforced concrete deck
and girders with a substructure composed of reinforced concrete posts. Bridge No. 24 will
be removed without dropping any components onto the Oconaluftee River. Best
Management Practices for Bridge Demolition and Removal will be implemented.
Federally Protected Species
Plants and animals with federal classifications of Endangered, Threatened, Proposed
Endangered, and Proposed Threatened are protected under provisions of Section 7 and
Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. As of November 5, 2007,
the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) lists 13 federally protected species for Swain County
(Table 1).

Table 1. Federally-Protected Species for Swain County.
-Gommon'Name rtS~ienfific''Nanle Status ~t~abitatl Last
Surv.ey.Date :Biological
~Gonclusion
Carolina northern fl s uirrel Glaucom s sabrinus coloratus E No No Effect
astern cou ar uma concolor cou uar E No No Effect
diana bat otis sodalis E No No Effect
S otfm chub C rinella (=H bo sis) monacha T No No Effect
alachian elktoe lasmidonta raveneliana E Yes-10/2004 No Effect
ittle-win eazlymussel a ias abula E Yes-10/2004 No Effect
oonday lobe atera clarki nantahala T No No Effect
S nice-fir moss s ider icrohexura montiva a E No No Effect
it inia s iraea iraea vir iniana T Yes- 6/29/2006 No Effect
ock ome lichen G mnoderma lineare E No No Effect
ray bat otis risescens E No No Effect
ald eagle aliaeetus leucoce halus Delisted* No N/A
o turtle otis risescens T (S/A) No No Effect
*The bald eagle has been delisted from the Endangered Species Act as of August 8, 2007. It is
still protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. No habitat exists in the project
area for the bald eagle.
Avoidance & Minimization
The construction of this project has minimized the extent of the built-upon area by using
the existing alignment for the widening. Traffic will be maintained onsite using phased
construction on the new bridge. The existing structure will carry traffic until enough of
the new bridge is constructed to accommodate the traffic. Best management practices will
be utilized to minimize water quality impacts. In compliance with 15A NCAC
02B.0104(m) we have incorporated the use of BMP's in the design of the project.
The structure chosen to replace Bridge No. 24 will be a larger structure, and will only
contain one set of bents. This will allow for an increased hydraulic capacity, and a
reduced likelihood of debris obstruction.
Due to the presence of trout, in-stream construction is prohibited during the trout-
spawning period of October 15 through April 15 to avoid impacts on trout reproduction.
Design Standards in Sensitive Watersheds will be used on this project.
Mitigation
Permanent surface water impacts for this project is minimal and only from bridge bents.
Therefore, mitigation is not proposed for this project.
Regulatory Approvals
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians 401 Certification• An Eastern Band of the Cherokee
Indians 401 Certification will apply for this project. NCDOT is providing this application
for their review. All conditions of the General Certification will be adhered to, therefore
NCDOT does not anticipate or request written approval for this project.

Thank you for your assistance with this project. If you have any questions or need
additional information, please contact Michael Turchy at maturch~(c~dot.state nc us or
[phone].
Sincerely
~. .
~/ Gregory J. Thorpe, Ph.D., Environmental Management Director
Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch
Cc:
W/o attachment (see website for attachments)
Mr. Brian Wrenn, NCDWQ (2 Copies)
Ms. Marella Buncick, USFWS
Ms. Marla Chambers, NCWRC
Mr. Harold Draper, TVA
Dr. David Chang, P.E., Hydraulics
Mr. Victor Barbour, P.E., Project Services Unit
Mr. Greg Perfetti, P.E., Structure Design
Mr. Mark Staley, Roadside Environmental
Mr. J. B. Setzer, P.E., Division Engineer
Mr. Mark Davis, DEO
Mr. Jay Bennett, P.E., Roadway Design
Mr. Majed Alghandour, P. E., Programming and TIP
Mr. Art McMillan, P.E., Highway Design
Mr. Scott McLendon, USACE, Wilmington
Mr. John Williams, P.E., PDEA Project Planning Engineer