20080793 Ver 1_Approval Letter_20081021

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Michael F. Easley, Governor
William G. Ross Jr., Secretary
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Coleen H. Sullins, Director
Division of Water Quality
October 21, 2008
DWQ# 08-0793
Ashe County
Mr. Glen Grubb
Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation
PO Box 112
Lenoir, NC 28645
APPROVAL of 401 Water Quality Certification with Additional Conditions
Dear Mr. Grubb:
You have our approval, in accordance with the attached conditions, to place permanent fill in 142 linear feet of stream
and to temporarily impact an additional 8 feet of stream, in order to construct industrial facilities and adjacent parking
lot and other essential ammenities located on Highway 163 in West Jefferson, NC in Ashe County, as described in your
application received by the Division of Water Quality (Division) on May 8, 2008 and additional information received
August 12, 2008, September 4, 2008, October 10, 2008 and October 20, 2008. After reviewing your application, we
have determined that this fill is covered by General Water Quality Certification Number 3705, which can be viewed on
our web site at ht!p://www.ncwatergualiiy.orjzjwetlands.html. This Certification allows you to use Nationwide Permit
Number 39 when it is issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In addition, you should secure any other applicable
federal, state or local permits before you proceed with your project, including (but not limited to) those required by
Sediment and Erosion Control, and Water Supply Watershed regulations. Also, this approval will expire when the
accompanying 404 permits expire unless otherwise specified in the General Certification.
This approval is valid only for the purpose and design that you have described in your application. If you change your
project, you must notify us in writing, and you may be required to send us a new application for a new certification. If
the property is sold, the new owner must be given a copy of the Certification and approval letter and is thereby
responsible for complying with all conditions. If total wetland fill for this project (now or in the future) exceeds one
acre, or total fill to perennial streams equals or exceeds 150 linear feet, additional compensatory mitigation may be
required as described in 15A NCAC 2H .0506 (h). FOR THIS APPROVAL TO BE VALID, YOU MUST
FOLLOW THE CONDITIONS LISTED IN THE ATTACHED CERTIFICATION, AS WELL AS THE
ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS LISTED BELOW:
The following impacts are hereby approved as long as all other specific and general conditions of this
Certification are met. No other impacts, including incidental impacts, are approved:
Identifier Stream Impact length feet
1 UT to Beaver Creek 142 permanent
8 temporary
Total 150
None Carolina
Ntarally
North Carolina Division of Water Quality 585 Waughtown Street Phone [phone] Customer Service
Winston-Salem Regional Office Winston-Salem, NC 27107 Fax [phone]
Internet: www.ncwaterquality.org
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer- 50% Recycled/10% Post Consumer Paper
Mr. Glen Grubb
October 21, 2008
DWQ # 08-0793
Page 2
2. In stream work and land disturbance within the 25-foot wide buffer zone are prohibited during the brown and
brook trout spawning season of October 15 through April 15 to protect the egg and fry stages of trout from off-
site sedimentation during construction. Due to stream conditions, a waiver of the trout moratorium is acceptable
providing land disturbing work is completely segregated from stream waters.
3. The final, written stormwater management plans (including a signed and notarized Operation and
Maintenance Agreement) submitted to the Division October 10, 2008 (with modifications submitted
October 20, 2008), must be implemented and the stormwater management facilities shall be constructed
and operational before any permanent building is occupied at the subject site. The structural stormwater
practices as approved by this Office as well as drainage patterns must be maintained in perpetuity. No
changes to the structural stormwater practices shall be made without written authorization from the
Division of Water Quality.
4. Upon finishing the project, the Applicant shall fill out and return the enclosed "Certificate of Completion"
to notify NCDWQ when all work included in the §401 Certification has been completed. This certificate
should be returned to the Winston-Salem Regional Office of the NCDWQ at the address listed on the form.
If you do not accept any of the conditions of this certification, you may ask for an adjudicatory hearing. You
must act within 60 days of the date that you receive this letter. To ask for a hearing, send a written petition
which conforms to Chapter 150B of the North Carolina General Statutes to the Office of Administrative Hearings, 6714
Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-6714. This certification and its conditions are final and binding unless you
ask for a hearing.
This letter completes the review of the Division of Water Quality under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. If you
have any questions, please contact Sue Homewood in the DWQ Winston-Salem Regional Office at 336-771-4964 or at
[e-mail].
Sincerely,
Coleen H. Sullins, Director
Division of Water Quality
cc: Amanda Jones, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Asheville Regulatory Field Office
Miles Wright, Wright & Associates, 4190 Hwy 16 South, Newton, NC 28658
DWQ Winston-Salem Regional Office
DWQ Wetlands/401