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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20160279 Ver 2_Other Agency Correspondence_20160808� �tAT OF ''Tares us P�' • • 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 Printed on Recycled Paper -2 - 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. Printed on ® Recycled Paper -3 - 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 Printed on® Recycled Paper 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 O � D 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 =t, c�. 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