20151119 Ver 1_NMFS Comments_20151121

N, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
p NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE
`*F Southeast Regional Office
d 263 13th Avenue South
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701-5505
http:llsew.nmfs. noaa.gov
November 24, 2015 F/SER47:FR/pw
(Sent via Electronic Mail)
Colonel Kevin P. Landers, Sr., Commander
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District
69 Darlington Avenue
Wilmington, North Carolina 28403-1398
Attention: Tyler Crumble
Dear Colonel Landers:
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) reviewed the public notice for Action ID
No. SAW -2015-02235 dated October 27, 2015. To accommodate larger ships, the North
Carolina State Ports Authority (SPA) proposes to conduct new dredging to relocate the Liquid
Bulk Pier and to widen the associated turning basin along the eastern side of the Cape Fear
River, New Hanover County. Relocating the pier to the edge of the new turning basin includes
reducing the length of the pier by 200 feet, constructing a new loading platform (56 feet in length
by 50 feet in width) on the remaining pier, and installing three breasting dolphins and four
mooring dolphins in line with the new platform and shoreline, respectively. The Wilmington
District's initial determination is the proposed project may adversely affect essential fish habitat
(EFH) or associated fisheries managed by South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
(SAFMC), the Mid -Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), or NMFS. The District
bases this determination on the proposed dredging of approximately 6.4 acres of state -designated
Primary Nursery Area (PNA)l. As the nation's federal trustee for the conservation and
management of marine, estuarine, and diadromous fishery resources, the NMFS provides the
following comments and recommendations pursuant to the authorities of the Fish and Wildlife
Coordination Act and the Magnuson -Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson -Stevens Act).
The proposed excavation to -44 feet MLLW (mean lower low water) with 3:1 side slopes would
disturb approximately 6.4 acres of shallow bottom habitat, most of which is currently designated
as PNA, and would result in the removal of approximately 100,000 cubic yards of material. The
proposed mooring dolphins would fill 15 square feet of coastal wetlands, primarily Phragmites
australis. The SAFMC identifies shallow sub -tidal bottom and coastal marsh in estuarine waters
as EFH for brown shrimp, pink shrimp, white shrimp, and gray snapper. The SAFMC identifies
these areas as EFH because fish and shrimp concentrate in these habitats for feeding and refuge
and experience high growth and survival rates when located in these habitats. Some waters of
the Cape Fear River, including the proposed project area, are designated as a PNA for species
The applicant initially proposed approximately 300,000 cubic yards of dredging from 83 acres. The applicant later revised the
proposal to approximately 100,000 cubic yards from 6.4 acres, according to emails from the Wilmington District and SPA dated
November 17 and November 24, respectively. Excavated material would be transported to the Eagle Island spoil site.
MAA

managed by the State of North Carolina. This designation makes the location a Habitat Area of
Particular Concern (HAPC) under the SAFMC fishery management plans for shrimp, snappers,
and groupers. The SAFMC provides detailed information on the EFH requirements of species it
manages in amendments to fishery management plans and Fishery Ecosystem Plan of the South
Atlantic Region. The project area also provides EFH forjuvenile bluefish and summer flounder,
which the MAFMC manages. Details about the EFH requirements of species managed by the
MAFMC are included in separate amendments to individual fishery management plans. Other
species of commercial or recreational importance found in the project area include red drum,
Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic menhaden, American shad, blueback herring, bay anchovy,
striped mullet, weakfish, striped bass, southern flounder, and blue crab. A number of these
species serve as prey for fish managed by the SAFMC (e.g., king mackerel, Spanish mackerel,
and cobia) or for highly migratory fish managed by the NMFS (e.g., billfishes and sharks).
The EFH assessment prepared by SPA proposes the following conservation measures to
minimize effects to EFH: 1) managing mechanical dredging to minimize discharge in the upper
water column, 2) minimizing discharge of dredge material overboard from scows when adding
water for hydraulic pumping to the spoil site, 3) dredging primarily during falling tides, 4) using
turbidity barriers around the dredge and scows at all time while dredging, and 5) using precise
navigation to ensure only authorized areas are dredged. The wetland fringe inshore of the
turning basin could potentially be affected by dredge plumes. With placement of barriers around
the dredging operation, significant accumulation of sediment within the fringing shallow marshes
is unlikely. While the EFH assessment did not address the potential impacts to the fringing
marsh sloughing into the excavated area, the revised project plans address this impact by limiting
the scope of the dredging, particularly in the southern portion of the project area.
To mitigate the impacts to PNA, the SPA proposes to place 13.4 acres of land adjacent to the
Brunswick River in a conservation easement. The majority of this property is coastal marsh also
designated PNA. In addition, to mitigate these impacts, the SPA also will pay $750,000 towards
planning, permitting, and design of a fish passage structure at Lock and Dam No. 2 on the Cape
Fear River. One of the overarching goals of the Cape Fear River Partnership (NOAA is a
member) is restoring access to historic migratory fish habitat in the upper Cape Fear River Basin.
Combined with funds appropriated by the North Carolina State Legislature, the funds from the
SPA will allow for completion of all services needed to develop the fish passage project into a
"shovel -ready" project within two years. The NMFS finds the proposed mitigation measures
acceptable for the loss of PNA at this site.
While the NMFS recognizes the care the SPA has taken to avoid affecting salt marsh habitat,
some concern about marsh sloughing into the newly dredged area remains. As noted by the
applicant, steeper side slopes appear infeasible base on sediment characteristics, and it appears
the revised dimensions of the turning basin reflect the smallest basin practicable given the project
purpose. The NMFS requests the permit require monitoring of the marsh vegetation edge three
years after construction to determine if equilibration of the new side -slopes results in loss of
vegetated marsh. If the monitoring shows loss of vegetated marsh, the NMFS requests a meeting
with the Wilmington District and SPA to determine the need for compensatory mitigation.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide these comments. Please direct related questions or
comments to the attention of Mr. Fritz Rohde at our Beaufort Field Office, 101 Pivers Island
Road, Beaufort, North Carolina 28516-9722, or at [phone].
/ for
Sincerely//,
io
Virginia M. Fay
Assistant Regional Administrator
Habitat Conservation Division
cc: COE, [e-mail]
USFWS, [e-mail]
NCDCM, [e-mail], [e-mail]
EPA, [e-mail]
SAFMC, Roger. [e-mail]
F/SER3, [e-mail]
F/SER4, [e-mail], [e-mail]