20160742 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20160919

El North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 9
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
September 1, 2016
Mr. David Brown
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: Duke Energy Cedar Cliff Development Auxiliary Spillway Upgrade Project
East Fork Tuckasegee River, Jackson County
Dear Mr. Brown:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed the
individual 404 permit application for Duke Energy's Cedar Cliff auxiliary spillway upgrade
project on the East Fork of the Tuckasegee River in Jackson County. Our comments on this
application are offered for your consideration under provisions of the Clean Water Act of 1977
(33 U.S.C. 466 et. seq.) and Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401, as amended; 16
U.S.C. 661-667d).
The application proposes to modify the auxiliary spillway and main dam berm on the Cedar Cliff
reservoir in order to safely pass the Probable Maximum Flood, defined as the Inflow Design
Flood, without overtopping the dam. In order to achieve this, the spillway discharge capacity
would need to be increased by at least 112,000 cfs. Multiple alternatives were considered, and
that chosen involves the expansion of the auxiliary spillway channel width and depth,
construction of a 11 -ft high concrete parapet on the dam's crest, and the addition of 25,000 yd
of rock spoil at the downstream face of the rockfill dam.
The chosen alternative also involves the disposal of 316,600 yd of rock as permanent fill in
Cedar Cliff Lake within a 9.6 -acre area, which consists of 3% of the lake's surface area. In order
to perform the construction work, the lake will be drawn down 30 feet for 14-16 months, limiting
fishing access to the lake during that time. In addition, a submerged rock weir will be
constructed at the upstream end of the lake at the Bear Creek powerhouse.
The chosen alternative will allow Duke to minimize impacts to streams and wetlands; however,
it will impact the public's use of Cedar Cliff Lake. NCWRC and Duke Energy have discussed
options to offset impacts to angling due to lake drawdown and loss of lake acreage. The permit
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

Duke E Cedar Cliff Auxiliary Spillway Page 2 September 1, 2016
E Fork Tuckasegee River, Jackson County
application proposes installing fish attractors. In lieu of fish attractors, NCWRC has proposed
that Duke Energy renovate the public access area on Cedar Cliff Lake in order to reduce erosion
at the site and improve public access. Duke Energy and NCWRC are currently in discussions to
accomplish this alternative.
As the lake will be drawn down 30 feet for a considerable period of time, we recommend that
Duke Energy assess the need for erosion control measures after the lake has been drawn down
and install remediation measures as needed.
There is no information provided in the permit application on lake drawdown and refill methods.
According to Duke Energy staff, agencies will be consulted before they file a drawdown plan
FERC.
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project. Please contact me at
[phone] if you have any questions about these comments.
Sincerely,
Andrea Leslie
Mountain Region Coordinator, Habitat Conservation Program
ec: Eric Mularski, HDR
Steve Johnson, Duke Energy
Tim Fox, NC Division of Water Resources
Bryan Tompkins, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Chris Goudreau & Powell Wheeler, NCWRC