20071823 Ver 1_Public Notice Comments_20080519

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STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
MICHAEL F. EASLEY
GOVERNOR
March 18, 2008
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
P.O. Box 1890
Wilmington, North Carolina 28402
Attention: Richard Spencer
NCDOT Coordinator, Division 8
LYNDO TIPPETT
SECRETARY

Subject: Response to Public Notice Comments for Individual Section 404
Permit for US I widening, from SR 1528 in Richmond County to existing
multi-lanes north of the Moore County line, State Project No. 6.589009T,
TIP R-250213, Division 8
WBS No. 34438.1.1.
Dear Sir:
As you requested, I am writing to respond to concerns raised by Mr. Marsh Smith
in a request to you that a hearing be held on NCDOT's application for a Section 404
permit for TIP Project R-2502 in Richmond and Moore Counties (Corps Action ID
Number 1998-01941).
In his letter, Mr. Smith states "R-2502 has been improperly segmented from
NCDOT's long-standing plans to enlarge US 1 to a 4-lane facility across the breadth of
Richmond County..."
NCDOT disagrees that TIP Project R-2502 has been "improperly segmented."
Project R-2502 is a state-funded project and a state environmental assessment and state
finding of no significant impact have been prepared for the project. The state FONSI was
signed on February 25, 2005.
Mr. Smith also states "The federal environmental impact statement for the
southern segment of the US 1 4-laning (TIP # R-2501 across the breadth of Richmond
County remains incomplete..."
MAILING ADDRESS: TELEPHONE: [phone] or 919-715-1334 LOCATION:
NC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FAX: [phone] TRANSPORTATION BUILDING
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS 1 SOUTH WILMINGTON STREET
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT UNIT WEBSITE: WWW. NCDOT.ORG RALEIGH NC
1598 MAIL SERVICE CENTER
RALEIGH NC 27699-1598

The federal final environmental impact statement and record of decision for TIP
Project R-2501 are expected to be completed in December 2008 and March 2009,
respectively.
Mr. Smith also states "NCDOT's state EA for the segment presently requiring a
permit (R-2502) was published for comment solicitation in the year 2000 and, since that
time, the principal peak load traffic generator - the Rockingham Speedway - has closed,
calling into question the need for the project at all;..."
Traffic generated by events at the North Carolina Motor Speedway, which is
located on US 1 south of Project R-2502, were not included in average daily traffic
projections prepared for the project. Also, race traffic was not a basis for the need for the
project. The need for the project is based partly on the fact that predicted average daily
traffic for the design year (2025) will exceed the roadway's traffic carrying capacity.
Mr. Smith also states "NCDOT's state EA for R-2502 offered no analysis of the
secondary impacts to wetlands from the "sprawl" that the presence of a 4-lane highway
induces..."
The state FONSI for Project R-2502 discussed indirect and cumulative effects of
the project. The analysis indicated growth related to the project will be limited due to the
large amount of government land in the project area, environmental restrictions, the lack
of sewer service and the low current and forecasted growth rates for the area. Further,
NCDOT disagrees that widening a two-lane highway to four lanes will automatically
induce sprawl.
Mr. Smith also states "R-2502's direct impacts to public recreation land
comprising Sandhills Gameland, including high quality wetlands associated with
Drowning Creek, and other conservation holdings, including over 50 acres of wetlands
held by the Sandhills Area Land Trust, Inc..."
Project R-2502 will require approximately 30 to 40 feet of additional right of way
from the Sandhills Game Land on both sides of US 1. This additional right of way totals
approximately 5.1 acres of land from the Game Land. Approximately half of the land to
be acquired by NCDOT from the Game Land is from an approximately 115-foot wide
strip of land between existing NCDOT right of way and CSX Transportation railroad
right of way, separated from other portions of the Game Land by existing US 1. NCDOT
has coordinated with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission throughout
project development. In comments on the environmental assessment for the project, the
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission did not express any concerns regarding
the acquisition of property from the Sandhills Game Land. No wetlands or streams exist
in the proposed right of way to be acquired from the Sandhills Game Land.
The project will also require approximately 30 feet of additional right of way from
property owned by the Sandhills Area Land Trust, Inc. This additional right of way totals
approximately 0.96 acre of property which will be needed from this organization. In
addition, 0.75 acre of permanent drainage easement will be required. Most of the
permanent drainage easement is needed in order to build two hazardous spill catch basins.
The majority of the property to be obtained from the Sandhills Area Land Trust is
wetland, but not all of the wetlands on the proposed right of way will be impacted. As
you are aware, total wetland impacts of the project are approximately 5.18 acres.
And lastly, Mr. Smith states "since global warming has significant impacts on
wetlands and since well documented research shows that increases in highway lane-miles
inevitably leads to additional vehicle miles traveled, the recent U.S. Supreme Court
opinion in Massachusetts v. EPA requires USACE to consider the additional greenhouse
gas releases caused by R-2502 in deciding whether to issue a section 404 permit."
NCDOT disagrees that an increase in lane-miles "inevitably leads to additional
vehicle miles traveled." Further, the US Supreme Court in Massachusetts v.
Environmental Protection Agency did not hold that the USACE must consider
greenhouse gases when issuing a 404 permit. Rather, the Court held that the USEPA
does have authority under the Clean Air Act to establish motor vehicle emissions
standards for CO2 emissions. The USEPA is currently determining the implications to
national policies and programs as a result of the Supreme Court decision. However, the
Court's decision did not have any direct implications on requirements for developing or
permitting transportation projects.
NCDOT does not believe it is informative at this point to consider greenhouse gas
emissions at the project level. The climate impacts of CO2 emissions are global in
nature. This project would make a very small contribution, if any, to global climate
change.
The commenter provides no basis for his assertion that climate change has significant,
and presumably negative, impacts on wetlands. Even assuming that to be true, the
commenter provides absolutely no evidence that this project specifically would increase
the effects of climate change, and that such increase would have a negative impact on
wetlands in the project area or elsewhere.
Thank you for your assistance with this project. If you have any questions or need any
additional information about this project, please contact James Pflaum at [phone].
Sincerely, f
Greg ry J. horpe, Ph.D
Environmental Management Director, PDEA
Cc:Brian Wrenn, NC DWQ
Jay McInnis, PE, PDEA
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