20061250 Ver 2_Other Agency Comments_20081022

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FMA
NCDENR
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Division of Coastal Management
Michael F. Easley, Governor James H. Gregson, Director William G. Ross Jr., Secretary
October 20, 2008
CERTIFIED MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Bogue Watch LLC
c/o John Netherton
5511 Capital Center Drive, Suite 105
Raleigh, NC 27606
Dear Sirs:
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O C T 2 2 2008
UENR . WATER QUALITY
WETLANDS AND STORMWATER BRANCH
This letter is in regard to your application request under the Coastal Area Management
Act (CAMA) and the State Dredge and Fill Law to construct an upland basin, construct 9 boat
slips, and perform both new and maintenance excavation within the waters of Bogue Sound, in
Carteret County. Processing of the application, which was received by the Division of Coastal
Management's Morehead City office on April 11, 2007, is now complete. Based on the state's
review, the Division of Coastal Management has made the following findings:
1) The proposed project represents a Major Modification request to CAMA Permit No. 141-
06. CAMA Permit No. 141-06 authorized the construction of a 287-lot subdivision on
+/- 195 acres of land.
2) The original major modification request involved the construction of a proposed upland
basin and a 29-slip marina. On September 3, 2008, your authorized agent modified the
major modification proposal by reducing the number of requested slips to 9. This slip
reduction was done to address inconsistencies with the 1996 Carteret County Land Use
Plan, which was certified by the Coastal Resources Commission on November 19, 1999.
3) The proposed project involves both maintenance excavation of approximately 590 linear
feet of a previously excavated navigation channel, as well as new excavation of
approximately 40 linear feet of shallow bottom habitat between where the existing
navigation channel ends and the current shoreline. At the time of its original
construction, the navigation channel ended in close proximity to the shoreline. However,
since that time the shoreline has eroded landward approximately 40 feet, resulting in a 40
foot gap of shallow bottom habitat between the end of the navigation channel and the
existing shoreline.
400 Commerce Avenue, Morehead City, North Carolina 28557
Phone: [phone] FAX: [phone] Internet: www.nccoastaimanagement.net
An Equal Opportunity 1 Affirmative Action Employer - 50% Recycled 110% Post Consumer Paper
Bogue Watch LLC
October 20, 2008
4) The waters of Bogue Sound within the proposed area of excavation are designated as a
primary nursery area (PNA), so designated by the Marine Fisheries Commission to afford
such areas special protection.
5) During the course of the joint state and federal review of the application, the Division of
Marine Fisheries, by way of a memo dated October 15, 2007, commented that "....the
DMF continues to object to this proposal for new dredging because it is prohibited by
rule of the Coastal Resources Commission but removes its concern about significant
adverse impacts."
6) Based upon the findings outlined above, the excavation of the +/- 40 foot shallow bottom
habitat between the end of the existing navigation channel and the existing shoreline has
been determined to be inconsistent with the following Rule of the Coastal Resources
Commission:
15ANCAC 07H.0208(b)(1), which states "Navigation channels, canals, and boat
basins shall be aligned or located so as to avoid primary nursery areas highly
productive shellfish beds, beds of submerged aquatic vegetation, or significant areas
of regularll or irregularly flooded coastal wetlands."
Given the prec,;ding findings, it is necessary that your request for issuance of a CAMA
Major Modification to Permit No. 141-06 be denied. This denial is made pursuant to N.C.G.S.
113A-120 (a)(8), whi, -h requires denial for projects inconsistent with the state guidelines for
Areas of Environmentril Concern or local land use plans.
If you wish to ?ippeal this denial, you are entitled to a hearing. The hearing will involve
appearing before an Administrative Law Judge who listens to evidence and arguments of both
parties and then makes a recommendation to the Coastal Resources Commission. Your request
for a hearing must be in the form of a written petition, complying with the requirements of
§15013 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, and must be filed with the office of
Administrative Hearings, 6714 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-6714, [phone],
within twenty (20) days from the date of this letter. A copy of this petition should be filed with
this office. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact Mr. Doug Huggett
at [phone].
Sincerely,
-, 4
James H. Gregson,
cc: Colonel Jefferson Ryscavage - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington, NC
Mr. David Kennedy, Director - OCRM/NOAA, Silver Spring, MD