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DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
Wilmington District Corps of Engineers
Regulatory Division
69 Darlington Avenue
Wilmington, North Carolina 28403-1343
October 21, 2015
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office
SAW -2014-02004; SAW -2014-02005; SAW -2014-02006; SAW -2014-02007; SAW -2014-02009
Mr. Pete Benjamin, Field Supervisor
c/o: Ms. Kathryn Mathews, Fish and Wildlife Biologist
Raleigh Ecological Services Field Office
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Post Office Box 33726
Raleigh, North Carolina 27636-3726
Roy E. Crabtree, Ph.D, Administrator
Protected Resources Division
Southeast Regional Office
National Marine Fisheries Service
263 13' Avenue South
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
Dear Messrs Benjamin and Crabtree:
Reference is made to a Department of the Army permit application submitted by O'Brien and Gere
Engineers, Inc. on behalf of the Town of Emerald Isle, the Town of Topsail Beach, New Hanover County,
the Town of Holden Beach, and the Town of Ocean Isle Beach, to perform maintenance dredging of five
inlets on the southeast North Carolina coast. The five inlets are: Bogue, New Topsail, Carolina Beach,
Lockwoods Folly, and Shallotte River Inlet. The Proposed Action also includes the Atlantic Intracoastal
Waterway (AIWW) Crossing at each inlet. With the exception of Shallotte River Inlet, which is a
federally -authorized Coastal Storm Damage Reduction (CSDR) borrow area, these inlets are federally -
authorized shallow -draft inlets, and are referred to as "the SDI -5". The projects are located in waters of
the United States and have been assigned Action IDs:
SAW -2014-02004 Bogue Inlet
SAW -2014-02005 New Topsail Inlet
SAW -2014-02006 Carolina Beach Inlet
SAW -2014-02007 Lockwoods Folly Inlet
SAW -2014-02009 Shallotte River Inlet
Due to federal funding and dredge plant availability concerns, the applicants believe that the USACE
Wilmington District (District) may not be able to provide consistent navigation maintenance in these
inlets. In the event that funding or dredge availability precludes the District from conducting navigation
maintenance the applicants would like to reserve concurrent authorization to conduct the work
themselves. The proposed actions are not new development, are not an expansion of current Federal
actions, and all actions propose to maintain the exact scope as the currently federally authorized,
navigation projects. The applicants propose these actions as an alternative for local stakeholders to be
able to maintain the exact inlet templates should the Federal participation be discontinued or minimized.

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These proposed actions have been ongoing since at least 1982, and the environmental effects have
previously been considered by the District. Consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have previously been performed.
Maintenance dredging of the AIWW Crossings with beneficial placement of dredged material on the
adjacent beaches was evaluated by the USACE Wilmington District in 1997, and maintenance of the SDI -
5 using hopper and sidecast dredge plants was evaluated in 2004. The USACE Wilmington District
informally consulted with the USFWS and NMFS on both studies, and both actions were determined to
not likely to adversely affect listed species. However, the listing of additional species and critical habitats
since those studies were performed require a supplemental Biological Assessment (BA) be conducted to
support Formal Section 7 consultation between the USACE Wilmington District, USFWS, and NMFS on
the SDI -5 Permit Application.
Based on an evaluation of the project designs and locations, and additional information (including the
attached BA, EFH assessment, and other studies), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined the
effects from the projects on the following species protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA):
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Species: May affect, likely to
Piping plover Charadrius melodus Yes adversely affect (MALAA) All five inlets
Critical Habitat: MALAA
Red knot Calidris canutus rufa None MALAA r All five inlets
Roseate tern Sterna douaallii doupallii None No effect Bogue Inlet
On-Beach/In-Water: NLAA
Species: May affect, not likely
Yes Nesting Critical Habitat: NLAA
North Atlantic
Turtle
Nearshore Reproductive Critical
to adversely affect (NLAA)
Habitat: NLAA
Eubalaena glacialis
None
None On-Beach/In-Water: NLAA
All five inlets
right whale
None On-Beach/In-Water: NLAA
All five inlets
Proposed Critical Habitat: Not
Hawksbill sea Eretmochelys imbricate
None On -Beach: No effect
likely to adversely modify
turtle !
Humpback whale
Megaptera novaeangliae_
None
NLAA
All five inlets
Blue whale
Balaenoptera musculus
None
No effect
All five inlets
Finback whale
Bolaenoptera physalus
None
No effect
All five inlets
Sei whale
Balaenoptera borealis
None
No effect
All five inlets
Sperm whale
Physeter macrocephalus
None
No effect
All five inlets
West Indian
Trichechus manatus
None
NLAA'
All five inlets
manatee
Species: May affect, likely to
Piping plover Charadrius melodus Yes adversely affect (MALAA) All five inlets
Critical Habitat: MALAA
Red knot Calidris canutus rufa None MALAA r All five inlets
Roseate tern Sterna douaallii doupallii None No effect Bogue Inlet
On-Beach/In-Water: NLAA
Loggerhead sea Caretta caretta
Yes Nesting Critical Habitat: NLAA
All five inlets
Turtle
Nearshore Reproductive Critical
Habitat: NLAA
Green sea turtle Chelonia mydas
None On-Beach/In-Water: NLAA
All five inlets_
Leatherback sea
Dermochelyscoriacea
None On-Beach/In-Water: NLAA
All five inlets
turtle
Hawksbill sea Eretmochelys imbricate
None On -Beach: No effect
All five inlets
turtle !
In -Water: NLAA

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Kemp's ridley sea Lepidochelys kempii None On-Beach/In-Water: NLAA All five inlets
turtle
FISH
Shortnose
sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum None
NLAA All five inlets
Acipenser oxyrinchus
Atlantic ,oxyrinchus None NLAA All five inlets
Seabeach , Amoranthus pumilus None NLAA All five inlets
amaranth
Based on the may affect, not likely to adversely affect determination(s) for those species identified
above, the Corps requests your concurrence pursuant to Section 7 of the ESA of 1973, as amended.
A description of the action being considered and a description of the specific area that may be affected by
the action can be obtained from the plans within the attached BA. As described in Section 5 of the BA,
the construction window for beneficial placement on beaches will be from November 16th to April 30th
to limit the potential effect on federally -managed species. During this time period, sea turtles and West
Indian manatees are not likely to be utilizing the inlets or beaches to breed, nest, migrate, or forage.
Additionally, this window would avoid the peak nesting season for listed bird species and would avoid
the peak seed production of seabeach amaranth, as well as the majority of its growing season.
Also, based on an evaluation of the project's design and location, and additional information
(including biological evaluations, environmental reports, or other studies), the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (Corps) has determined that these projects may affect, and are likely to adversely affect the
following species' and its critical habitat protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA):
® Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus).
® Rufa Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa).
This may affect, likely to adversely affect determination is based on the nature of the projects and their
potential to modify the critical habitat and impact individuals. By copy of this letter, we request the
initiation of formal consultation, pursuant to 50 C.F.R. part 402.14; and additionally request your
concurrence, pursuant to 50 C.F.R. part 402.12, on the findings made in the attached BA. Your
expeditious review and preparation of the Biological Opinion will be appreciated.
Furthermore, the Corps has determined that the projects would have no effect on any other federally
listed threatened or endangered species, and/or modify their designated critical habitat. As described in
more detail in Section 1.3.1 and 1.3.2 of the BA, the detailed Effects Assessment discussions are limited
to those species that warranted additional evaluation in the BA (as listed in Section 1.3.2). The other
species (listed in Section 1.3. 1) were excluded from further assessment because they had previously been
evaluated by the USACE Wilmington District for the Proposed Actions.

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If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Mr. Tyler Crumbley at the letterhead
address, by telephone at 910-251-4170, by fax at 910-251-4025, or by email at:
tyler. crumb leygusace. armymi 1.
Si erely
co 0. eLen n 4
Chief, Regulatory Division
Enclosure:
Biological Assessment
Copies Furnished (without enclosure):
O'Brien & Gere
Attn: Mr. Daniel Ramsey
3214 Charles B Root Wynd
Suite 130
Raleigh, North Carolina 27612
North Carolina Department of
Environmental Quality
Division of Water Resources
Attn: Ms. Karen Higgins
1650 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-8960
North Carolina Department of
Environmental Quality
Division of Water Resources
Attn: Ms. Joanne Steenhuis
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, North Carolina 28405
North Carolina Department of
Environmental Quality
Division of Water Resources
Attn: Mr. Chad Coburn
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, North Carolina 28405
North Carolina Department of
Environmental Quality
Division of Coastal Management
Attn: Mr. Doug Huggett
400 Commerce Avenue
Morehead City, North Carolina 28557-3421

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North Carolina Department of
Environmental Quality
Division of Coastal Management
Attn: Mr. Doug Huggett
400 Commerce Avenue
Morehead City, North Carolina 28557-3421
North Carolina Department of
Environmental Quality
Division of Coastal Management
Attn: Ms. Debra Wilson
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, North Carolina 28405
North Carolina Department of
Environmental Quality
Division of Coastal Management
Attn: Mr. Jason Dail
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, North Carolina 28405
North Carolina Department of
Environmental Quality
Division of Coastal Management
Attn: Ms. Heather Coats
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, North Carolina 28405
National Marine Fisheries Service
Habitat Conservation Division
Attn: Mr. Fritz Rohde
Pivers Island
Beaufort, North Carolina 28516
National Marine Fisheries Service
Habitat Conservation Division
Attn: Mr. Pace Wilber
219 Fort Johnson Road
Charleston, South Carolina 29412-9110
North Carolina Department of
Environmental Quality
Wildlife Resources Commission
Attn: Ms. Maria Duni, NE Permit Coordinator
943 Washington Square Mall
Washington, North Carolina 28479