HomeMy WebLinkAbout20160279 Ver 2_Other Agency Correspondence_20160808� �tAT OF
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DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
69 DARLINGTON AVENUE
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403-1343
August 05, 2016
Regulatory Division/1200A
Action ID: SAW -2014-01568
Mr. David Pepper
WI High Point Landfill, LLC
3301 Benson Drive, Suite 601
Raleigh, North Carolina 27509
Dear Mr. Pepper:
NC Department of
Environmental Quality `.
Received
AUG 0.8 2096
Winston-Salem
Regional Office
Please reference your Individual Permit application for Department of the Army (DA)
authorization to permanently discharge fill material into 394 linear feet of stream channel and
0.60 acre of riparian, non-riverine wetlands, and temporarily discharge fill material into 10 linear
feet associated with expanding the existing Waste Industries (WI) High Point Construction and
Debris (C&D) Landfill. The project area is located in an undeveloped tract of land east of the
existing WI High Point C&D Landfill cells, located on the west side of Riverdale Road,
approximately 0.3 miles south of its intersection with Kivett Drive, at 5822 Riverdale Drive in
high Point, in Guilford County, North Carolina.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District (Corps) advertised your proposal by
public notice dated May 13, 2016. Comments in response to the notice were received from the
North Carolina Division of Water Resources (NCDWR), North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission (NCWRC), North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
(NCDNCR), and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The comments received
are enclosed for your information and to provide you with the opportunity to address any of the
stated concerns. Please provide written responses to the comments from the NCWRC. Please
note that the USFWS, in a letter dated June 10, 2016, stated that the action is not likely to
adversely affect federally listed species or their critical habitat, and that they have no objection to
the activity as described in the permit application.
Further, on February 6, 1990, the Department of the Army (DA) and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) establishing procedures
to determine the type and level of mitigation necessary to comply with Clean Water Act (CWA)
Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines. This MOA provides for first, avoiding impacts to waters and
wetlands through the selection of the least damaging, practical alternative; second, taking
appropriate and practical steps to reduce impacts on waters and wetlands; and finally,
compensation for remaining unavoidable impacts to the extent appropriate and practical. To
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enable us to process your application, in compliance with the MOA, we request that you provide
the following additional information:
a. Permits for work within wetlands or other special aquatic sites are available only if
the proposed work is the least environmentally damaging, practicable alternative.
Please furnish information regarding any other alternatives, including upland
alternatives, to the work for which you have applied and provide justification that
your selected plan is the least damaging to water or wetland areas.
Specifically, please add to the alternatives analysis provided in your
Individual Permit application, received May 2, 2016, to further explore
Off -Site alternatives. If Off -Site alternatives are not practicable,
please explain why.
b. It is necessary for you to have taken all appropriate and practicable steps to minimize
losses of Waters of the U.S., including wetlands. Please indicate all that you have
done, especially regarding development and modification of plans and proposed
construction techniques, to minimize adverse impacts.
I have evaluated the avoidance and minimization information included
in your application, and determined the details to be sufficient for our
evaluation.
c. The MOA requires that appropriate and practicable mitigation will be required for all
unavoidable adverse impacts remaining after the applicant has employed all
appropriate and practicable minimization. Please indicate your plan to mitigate for the
projected, unavoidable loss of waters or wetlands or provide information as to the
absence of any such appropriate and .practicable measures.
i. I have evaluated the compensatory mitigation plan included in your
application, and have determined the details to be generally sufficient
for our evaluation.
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The aforementioned requested information is essential to the expeditious processing of your
application; please forward this information to us within 30 days of your receipt of this letter. If
you have any questions regarding these matters, please contact me at (919) 554-4884 extension
22 or Samantha. J. Dai ley@usace. army. mi 1.
Sincerely,
,5;- -L)6�
Samantha Dailey
Regulatory Specialist
Raleigh Field Office
Copies Furnished:
Mr. Phillip May
Carolina Ecosystems, Inc.
3040 NC Highway 42 West
Clayton, North Carolina 27520
Mr. Todd Bowers
Permit Review Specialist
Wetlands Regulatory Section
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region IV
Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center
61 Forsyth Street, SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Ms. Karen Higgins
NCDENR — Division of Water Resources
Water Quality Programs
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617
Ms. Sue. Homewood
Division of Water Resources
North Carolina Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
450 W. Hanes Mill Rd, Suite 300
Winston Salem, North Carolina 27105
AN
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North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 9
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
MEMORANDUM
TO: David E. Bailey, Raleigh Regulatory Field Office
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
FROM: Shari L. Bryant, Western Piedmont Coordinator
Habitat Conservation Division
DATE: 31 May 2016
SUBJECT: Public Notice for Waste Industries High Point C&D Landfill, Guilford County, North
Carolina. Corps Action ID #: SAW -2014-01568.
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) have reviewed the
subject public notice. Our comments are provided in accordance with provisions of the Clean Water Act
of 1977 (as amended), Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 661-
667e), and North Carolina General Statutes (G.S. 113-131 et seq.).
Waste Industries proposes to permanently impact 394 linear feet of perennial streams and 0.60
acre of riparian, non-riverine wetland, and temporarily impact 10 linear feet of stream for expansion of an
existing C&D landfill located on a 153.8 -acre tract. The purpose of the project is to provide construction
and demolition waste capacity to serve growth and development over at least the next 20 years. The
proposed mitigation includes payment to N.C. Division of Mitigation Services.
An unnamed tributary to Richland Creek in the Cape Fear River basin flows through the site.
There are records for the state special concern Greensboro burrowing crayfish (Cambarus catagius) near
the project site.
We hesitate to concur with the piping of stream channels due to the potential for long-term and
cumulative impacts. Stream piping and placing fill in aquatic resources can alter hydrology, result in
significant negative impacts to downstream areas, and eliminate aquatic and terrestrial wildlife habitat.
Stream piping reduces the infiltration of stormwater and associated pollutants, as well as the dissipation of
stream energy. In addition, we hesitate to concur with the filling of wetlands due to their wildlife habitat
value and the well-known beneficial functions they provide for flood control and water quality protection.
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center o Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: (919) 707-0220 a Fax: (919) 707-0028
Page 2
31 May 2016
WI High Point C&D Landfill
Corps Action ID#: SAW -2014-01568
Should the permit be issued, we offer the following comments and recommendations to minimize
impacts to aquatic and terrestrial wildlife resources.
® Where feasible, relocate impacted stream channels using natural channel design methods. If the
streams cannot be relocated, then stream channels should be diverted to prevent surface waters
from contacting disposed waste materials.
• For any relocated streams or undisturbed streams remaining on the site, establish or maintain a
minimum 100 -foot undisturbed, native, forested buffer for perennial streams and a minimum 50 -
foot undisturbed, native, forested buffer for intermittent streams and wetlands. Maintaining
undisturbed, forested buffers along these areas will minimize impacts to aquatic and terrestrial
wildlife resources, water quality, and aquatic habitat both within and downstream of the site. In
addition, wide riparian buffers are helpful in maintaining stability of stream banks and for
treatment of pollutants associated with stormwater runoff.
• As development in the watershed occurs, the 100 -year floodplain elevation may change.
Construction of future phases of the landfill should avoid construction or fill in the 100 -year
floodplain. Construction or fill in the floodplain increases the potential for flooding and
interferes with the natural hydrologic process of the waterways. It also disrupts the continuity of
migration corridors for wildlife.
• Measures should be installed to prevent leachate from entering groundwater or surface waters.
We suggest periodic monitoring for waste pollutants in Richland Creek downstream of the
landfill. If waste pollutants are found downstream, then measures should be implemented to
identify the source and contain the pollutants.
• Where feasible, stockpile top soils for final site reclamation. However, excavated materials
should not be stockpiled where sediment will erode to surface waters.
• Use seed mixtures (e.g., native warm season grasses) that are beneficial to wildlife in the re -
vegetation plan. An exact seeding mixture would need to take into account soil types, moisture,
pH, and degree of slope of areas to be stabilized. We refer the applicant to Jason Allen, District
Wildlife Biologist, at (336) 524-9801 or iason.allen@ncwildlife.orjZ for more information on a re -
vegetation plan.
• Sediment and erosion control measures should be installed prior to any land clearing or
construction. The use of biodegradable and wildlife -friendly sediment and erosion control
devices is strongly recommended. Silt fencing, fiber rolls and/or other products should have
loose -weave netting that is made of natural fiber materials with movable joints between the
vertical and horizontal twines. Silt fencing that has been reinforced with plastic or metal mesh
should be avoided as it impedes the movement of terrestrial wildlife species. These measures
should be routinely inspected and properly maintained. Excessive silt and sediment loads can
have numerous detrimental effects on aquatic resources including destruction of spawning
habitat, suffocation of eggs, and clogging of gills of aquatic species.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this project. If we can provide further assistance,
please contact our office at (336) 449-7625 or shari.bryantkncwildlife.org.
cc: Jennifer Burdette, NCDWR (DWR 420160279, V2)
�PPt,n°NT or
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44 i
� D
United States Department of the Interior
FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
Raleigh ES Field Office
Post Office Box 33726
Raleigh, North Carolina 27636•-3726
June 10, 2016
David Bailey
U:S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District
Raleigh Regulatory Field Office
3331 Heritage Trade Drive; Suite 105
Wtilce•_Forest, NC 2758.7
Re: Waste Industries high Point Landfill LLC / SAW -2014-61568/ Guilford County
Dear Mr. Bailey:
The US, Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has reviewed the project advertised in the above
referenced Public Notice. The project, as advertised in the Public Notice, is expected to have minimal
adverse impacts to.fsh and wildlife resources. Therefore, we have no objection to the activity as
described in the permit application.
In accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, (ESA) and based on the
information provided, and other available information, it appears the action is not Iilcely to adversely
affect federally listed species or their critical habitat as defined by the ESA. We believe that the
requirements of section 7 (a)(2) of the ESA have been satisfied for" this project. Please remember that
obligations under the ESA must be reconsidered if: (1) new information identifies impacts of this
action that may affect listed species or critical habitat in a manner not previously considered; (2) this
action is modified in a manner that was not considered in this review; or, (3) a new species is listed or
critical habitat determined that may be affected by the identified action.
For your.convenience a list of all federally protected endangered and threatened species in North
Carolina is nowavailable on our website at <http`//www.fws.gov/sleigh>. Our web page contains a
complete and updated list of federally protected species, and a list of federal species of concern
]mown to occur in each county in North Carolina.
The Service appreciates the opportunity to review and provide comments on the proposed action.
Should you have any questions regarding the project, please contact John Ellis at (919) 856-4520,
extension 26.
Sincerely,
Pal�lj a ill i 11,
Field Supervisor
cc: NMFS, Beaufort, NC.
EPA, Atlanta, GA
WRC, Raleigh
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r
Forth Carolina I<Department of Natural and Cultural Res�duvees�i�4` f
State Historic Preservation Office
Ramona M. Bartos, Administrator
Governor Pat McCrory
Secretary. Susan KJui(z
June 16, 2016
David Bailey
Raleigh Regulatory Field Office
3331 Heritage Trade Drive, Suite 105
Wake Forest, NC 27587
Office of Archives and History
Deputy Secretary Kevin Cherry
Re- Expand Waste Industries Construction & Debris Landfill, 582 Riverdale Drive, I-Egh Point,
SAW 2014-01568, Guilford County, ER 16-0870
Dear Mr. Bailey -
We have received a public notice concerning the above project.
We have conducted a review of the: project and are aware of no historic resources which would be affected
by the project. Therefore, we have no comment on the project as proposed.
The above comments are made pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and the
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's Regulations for Compliance with Section 106 codified at 36
CFR Part 800.
Thank you for your cooperation and consideration. If you have questions concerning the above comment,
contact Renee Gledhill -Earley, environmental reviewcoordinator, at 919-807-6579 or
env ironinental.revicwnncdce.gov. Iii all firture communication concerning this project, please cite the
above referenced tracking number.
Sincerely,
I 4-_�LL
�)I'Ramona M. Bartos
Location: 109 East Jones' Street, Raleigh NC 27601 flailing Address: 4617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-4697 7'elehoneTnx: (919) 807-6570/807-6599