20170216 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20170314

� North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 9
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
March 14, 2017
Mr. William Elliott
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: Grassy Knoll Lower Pond Renovation
UT Middle Fork South Fork New River, Watauga County
Dear Mr. Elliott:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to remove a small 50 x 85 -ft pond and restore a stream channel within the former
pond on an unnamed tributary (UT) to Middle Fork South Fork New River in Watauga 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).
Project activities should not impact wild trout, and activities do not need to be avoided during the
trout moratorium.
The pond will be dewatered with a pump through silt bags. The pump -around will be continued
during construction. A stream channel will be constructed within the pond bed, with most of the
channel at a I% slope. A rock -lined plunge pool will be constructed at the pond inlet to dissipate
energy, and flat stones will be used to step down the channel at the former dam and within the
channel where needed. The pond bed will be graded and planted with native wetland plants.
We support the removal of the impoundment and the establishment of a channel within the old
pond bed. We are concerned about the stability of the channel within the pond bed sediments,
and we encourage the applicant to use grade control measures such as vanes and sills to maintain
grade if needed; this is especially important at the downstream end of the project and we
recommend that a true grade control measure be used at this location, consisting of a stone
structure backed with fabric. In addition, the old pond bed sediments outside the channel must
be quickly stabilized with temporary seed and straw.
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

Grassy Knoll Lower Pond Renovation Page 2 March 14, 2017
UT Middle Fk S Fk New River, Watauga Co
We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to the aquatic and terrestrial
resources:
1. Special care should be taken to ensure that the new constructed channel is stable over the
short and long-term; instream grade control structures may be needed. In particular, we
recommend that a true grade control structure be used at the downstream end of the project,
backed with fabric.
2. Sediments should be allowed to dry out before construction activities begin in the pond.
3. Work be accomplished as quickly as possible and vigilance used in sediment and erosion
control during site preparation, construction, and clean up. Disturbed areas and pond
sediments should be seeded, mulched and/or matted as soon as possible.
4. Any erosion control matting used should be free of plastic or nylon mesh, as this type of
mesh netting frequently entangles wildlife and is slow to degrade, resulting in a hazard that
may last for years.
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: Ron Small, Reedy Fork Environmental
Sue Homewood, NC Division of Water Resources