20041235 Ver 1_General Correspondence_20080122

Baker Engineering NY, Inc.
8000 Regency Parkway, Suite 200
Cary, NC 27518
Phone: [phone]
Fax:[phone]
January 16, 2008
Eric Kulz
NC Division of Water Quality
Wetlands and Stormwater Branch
JAN 2 2 2008
2321 Crabtree Blvd., Suite 250 pE~-y~~,~y
Raleigh, NC 27604 YVETUWDSANDSTORWWq~i
Subject: Privateer Farms benthic macroinvertebrates monitoring
Dear Eric,
The letter is to inform you of Baker Engineering's status and intent, regarding the benthic
macroinvertebrates monitoring of the Privateer Farms Restoration Site (Site). This letter also includes as
an attachment, the 2005 benthic macroinvertebrates monitoring report that represents data from Year 1
following construction.
The Privateer Farms Restoration Plan states that: benthic macroinvertebrates data will be collected from
the reference reach and within the project reach. Post-restoration sampling will begin one year after
construction activities have been completed, and annually thereafter for a total of three years. Collected
data will be compared to initial data collected from the reference reach site. Sampling will be conducted
during summer months if significant flow is present. Sampling will be conducted between November and
March if summer flows are low for project streams.
The Site was sampled for benthic macroinvertebrates on January 10, 2006 (to represent one year after
construction) by Baker Engineering (see attachment). No samples were collected during pre-construction
monitoring within the proposed restoration area (Harrison Creek) due to its high water levels and lentic
conditions. The Site was not sampled during January of 2007. According to the North Carolina Division
of Water Quality (NCDWQ) benthic macroinvertebrates protocol, biological recovery of restored reaches
may take longer than three years following disturbance. Due to this rationale, Baker Engineering intends
to sample the Site every other year, which would cause our next sampling event to occur during January of
2008. The last biological sampling event for the Site will take place during January of 2010. Baker
Engineering will sample the one location stated in the Site's mitigation plan, as well as the reference site,
in accordance with the NCDWQ protocols for benthic macroinvertebrates sampling.
Sincerely,
~~
Kevin eedy, PE
Project Manager
Attachment: Privateer Farms Benthic Macroinvertebrates Report

Privateer Farms Benthic Macroinvertebrates Report
Year 1 Monitoring
Benthic macroinvertebrate samples were collected at two sites on January 10, 2006, as
part of the first year ofpost-monitoring requirements. One sampling site (Site 1) is
located within the downstream section of the project reach, while the other sampling site
(Site 2, reference reach) is located on Panther Branch, approximately 13 miles from the
restoration site (Figure 1). The sampling methodology followed the Qual-4 protocol
listed in the NCDWQ's Standard Operating Procedures for Benthic Macroinvertebrates.
A summary of the benthic macroinvertebrate sampling results at each location is
presented in Table 1, with complete results presented in Table 2.
The components of the benthic macroinvertebrate community that are commonly used to
evaluate water quality are the EPT taxa. The EPT taxa include specimens belonging to
the insect orders Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies) and Trichoptera
(caddisflies). These groups are generally the least tolerant to water pollution and
therefore are very useful indicators of water quality. Therefore, the presence of
substantial numbers of EPT taxa and individuals is considered indicative of relatively
undisturbed "higher quality" streams. EPT metrics commonly used to assess water
quality include EPT taxa richness, EPT biotic index, and EPT abundance, which are
shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Summary of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Data for the Project Reach and
the Reference Reach.
Site Total Taxa EPT Taxa Total EPT EPT
Richness Richness Biotic Index Biotic Index Abundance
Site 1 16 1 7.4 7.4 3
Project Reach
Site 2 21 5 7.11 5.31 11
Panther Branch
As expected, the benthic macroinvertebrate community of Site 2 (reference site) reflected
that of a healthier community compared to Site 1 (restoration site). A healthier
community is characterized by higher total and EPT taxa richness values and lower biotic
values. The data recorded in Table 1 and Table 2 for Site 2 represent a benthic
macroinvertebrate community typical of a small Coastal Plain stream.
No samples were collected during pre-construction monitoring within the proposed
restoration area (Harrison Creek) due to its high water levels and lentic conditions.
Benthic communities found in conditions similar to the restoration area, during pre-
restoration, are typically dominated by very tolerant organisms such as midges and
oligochaetes. Since lotic conditions have been established within the restoration area
after project construction, introduction of less tolerant organisms should occur.
During the early post-restoration years, the benthic community most likely will be
composed of fine particulate organic material (FPOM) consumers such as scrapers,
collector-gatherers, and filterer-collectors. As the woody vegetation matures, inputs of

coarse particulate organic material (CPOM) such as leaves and woody debris into the
stream should increase. Inputs of CPOM provide a critical resource base for the benthic
macroinvertebrate community, especially in a low-order stream such as the restoration
site. In response to the CPOM increase, CPOM consumers such as shredders should
invade and help increase the CPOM:FPOM consumer ratio to a level typical of a healthy
low-order stream such as the upstream site. This predicted trend, however, will rely
heavily upon the successful establishment of the riparian vegetation.

Table 2. Benthos Data for Privateer Farms Project
(Samples collected on January 10, 2006)

3PECIFS;
~~ Tokranc~ -
;. `Vetoes`; •, Fe~dlrig` ;
~ ~ "~~
'~?" Site ~, ~
Rc~tot~Oi~
-Reath Site Z
.`~_P~ather
$ranch .
THROPODA
Insecta
Ephemeroptera
Caenidae
Caenis sp. 7.4 CG C
Leptophlebiidae
Leptophlebia sp. 6.2 CG R
Plecoptera
Taeniopterygidae
Taeniopteryx sp. 5.4 SH R
Trichoptera
Limnephilidae
Ironoquia punctatissima 7.8 SH C
Pycnopsyche sp. 2.5 SH C
Rhyacophilidae
Rhyacophila lobifera ' PR C
Odonata
Coenagrionidae
Ischnura sp. 9.5 PR C
Gomphidae
Progomphus obscurus 8.2 PR R
Libellulidae
Libellula sp. 9.6 PR C
Megaloptera
Corydalidae
Nigronia serricornis 5.0 PR R
Hemiptera
Corixidae
Sigara sp. 9.1 PR R
Diptera
Chironomidae
Chironomus sp. 9.6 CG A
Clinotanypus pinguis 8.7 PR R
Conchapelopia grp. 8.4 PR R
Corynoneura sp. 6.0 CG R
Dicrotendipes modestus 8.7 CG C
Dicrotendipes neomodestus. 8.1 CG R
Orthocladius annectens 5.4 CG C
Parametriocnemus lundbecki 3.7 CG R
Polypedilum halterale grp. 7.3 SH R
Polypedilum i[linoense 9.0 SH R C
Psectrocladius sp. 5.3 CG A
Rheocricotopus sp. 5.9 CG R
Stenochironomus sp. 6.5 CG R

~ -
`$1'RC~S ~ Tolerance

~' ~alues~ Feeding ~

Group Site 1
Restarati'ou
., Reach _ Site 2.
panther
Branch
Tanytarsus sp. 6.8 FC A
Tventenia bavarica grp. 3.7 CG C
Zavrelimyia sp. 9.1 PR
Simulidae
Prosimulium sp. 6.0 FC
Simulium sp. 6.0 FC A A
Tipulidae
Tipula sp. 7.3 SH R
Crustacea
Amphipoda
Gammaridae
Cammarus sp. 9.1 SH R A
Isopoda
Asellidae
Caecidotea sp. 9.1 CG A
Decapoda
Cambaridae CG C
MOLLUSCA
Bivalvia
Sphaeriidae
Sphaerium sp. 7.6 FC R
NELIDA
Oligochaeta
Lumbriculidae 7.0 CG A
Tubifidae
Spirosperma sp. 5.4 CG R
otal Taxa Richness 16 21
PT Taxa Richness 1 5
otal Biotic Index 7.4 7.11
PT Biotic Index 7.4 5.31
PT Abundance 3 11
Notes: Tolerance Values: ranges from 0 (least tolerant to pollution) to 10 (most tolerant to pollution).
Functional Feeding Group: CG =Collector-Gatherer, FC = Filterer-Collector, OM =Omnivore,
PR =Predator, SC =Scraper, SH =Shredder.
Abundance: R =Rare (1-2 individuals); C =Common (3-9 individuals); A =Abundant (10 or more
individuals).
~~