20081573 Ver 1_More Info Letter_20081118

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
November 18, 2008
DWQ# 08-1573
Ashe County
CERTIFIED MAIL: 7008 0150 0002 7876 7648
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Mr. Derek Goddard
Blue Ridge Environmental Consultants Inc
162 Helen Ct
Boone, NC 28607
Re: Section 401 Water Quality Certification application for North Fork Estates
Dear Mr. Goddard:
On October 15, 2008, the North Carolina Division of Water Quality (Division) received your "after the fact"
application for a 401 General Water Quality Certification to impact 40 linear feet of stream and to restore 0.42
acres of wetlands to develop property for the North Fork Estates Subdivision near Creston in Ashe County.
This application was submitted in response to a Notice of Violation issued to Mr. Christopher Barr on July 29,
2008. Additional information is required in order that we may determine your project's compliance with 15A
NCAC 2H .0500. The Division will require this information in order to process your application to impact
protected wetlands and/or streams on the subject property. Therefore, we will place this project on hold as
incomplete until we receive this additional information, and if we do not receive the additional information
requested below, we will have to move toward denial of your application as required by 15A NCAC 2H .0506.
Please provide the following information so that we may continue to review your project.
1. Your application indicates that Lot #3 may be inaccessible without crossing a stream channel.
Please provide documentation that additional jurisdictional impacts will not be necessary at a
later date in order to access this lot, or amend your permit application accordingly.
2. Please clarify whether the compacted road base will be removed throughout the wetland area in
order to re-establish hydric soils. It appears that the upper section of the wetland is proposed to
retain the road fill with the ditch-line refilled with hydric soils. The Division does not believe
that a wetland will re-establish within the compacted road base and therefore this does not
constitute an acceptable restoration plan.
3. Please clarify the wetland delineation lines and the wetland restoration area as separate areas.
Restoration should not be conducted in any areas with existing soils and/or vegetation.
NnCarolina
"os?e
Naturally
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. Derek Goddard
November 18, 2008
Page 2
4. Please provide a construction sequence that clearly details how the wetland restoration will
proceed. Discussions on site indicated that the wetland would be restored from the lower end to
the upper end so that further compaction of the restored soils would not occur. Please ensure
that this method of construction will be acceptable to the Division of Land Resources. If access
to sediment and erosion control measures will be necessary while vegetation is being
established this access must be identified on the plans.
5. Based on discussions on-site, as well as the site plan submitted with your application, it appears
that a "river access and scenic walkway" is being proposed within the restored wetland. You
must further specify the exact location and width of this walkway. Please also indicate whether
this walkway area will be restored with hydric soils and permanent woody vegetation, or rather
will be maintained as a permanent access with non-hydric soils and grass or gravel. If this
access is to be maintained as part of the restored wetland you must specify what legal measures
will be provided to permanently ensure this area will not be impacted by future maintenance of
this walkway.
6. Please note that the Division will require replanting of the entire restored wetland with woody
species. Herbaceous vegetation will be allowed only as a temporary ground cover. The
vegetation will require three years of monitoring for success.
Please respond in writing within 30 calendar days of the date of this letter by sending a copy of this information
to Sue Homewood at the address on this letterhead, and a copy to Ian McMillan N. C. Division of Water
Quality, Wetlands/401 Certification Unit, 1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1650. If you will not
be able to provide the requested information within that timeframe, please provide written confirmation that you
intend to provide the requested information, and include a specific timetable delineating when the requested
materials will be provided. If we do not hear from you in 30 calendar days, we will assume that you no longer
want to pursue this project and we will consider the project as returned.
This letter only addresses the application review and does not authorize any impacts to wetlands, waters or
protected buffers. Please be aware that any impacts requested within your application are not authorized (at
this time) by the Division. If you have any questions, please contact Sue Homewood, DWQ, Winston-
Salem Regional Office, at 336-771-4964 or [e-mail].
Sincerely,
r Steve W. Tedder
Regional Supervisor
DWQ Winston-Salem Regional Office
cc: Amanda Jones, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Asheville Regulatory Field Office
Chris Barr, Riverview Investment Group, 362 Ridge Dr., West Jefferson, NC 28694
DWQ Winston-Salem Regional Office
DWQ Wetlands/401 Unit
DWQ NPS Assistance and Compliance Oversight Unit NOV#2008-OP-0036