20171171 Ver 1_Percussive Information_20170912

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
ROY COOPER JAMES H. TROGDON, III
GOVERNOR SECRETARY

Mailing Address:
NC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Division 14
253 Webster Road
Sylva, North Carolina 28779
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Customer Service: 1-877-368-4968

Website: www.ncdot.gov
Location:
NC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Division 14
253 Webster Road
Sylva, North Carolina 28779

September 12, 2017

Ms. Lori Beckwith, NCDOT Regulatory Project Manager
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, NC 28801-2714

Subject: Nationwide 3 Permit Application
Replace Bridge No. 17 on SR 1309 (Crawford Road) over Wayah Creek
Macon County
TIP No. B-4775, F.A. No. BRZ-1309(8)
State Project No. WBS 38546.1.1
(DWQ Minor Permit Fee $240.00)

Dear Ms. Beckwith:

Please accept this submittal of North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT)
proposal to replace timber bridge no. 17 over Wayah Creek in Macon County. The proposed
structure will be a 45’L x 27’W cored slab bridge built in the same location. An off-site detour
will be used to route traffic during construction.

Included are a PCN application, marked plan sheets showing the impact sites, a USGS quad map,
photographs, and other pertinent project information to assist in your consideration of this
request.

In Macon County, Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus), Spotfin
Chub (Erimonax monachus), Appalachian Elktoe Mussel (Alasmidonta raveneliana), Littlewing
Pearlymussel (Pegias fabula), Small Whorled Pogonia (Isotria medeoloides), Virginia Spiraea
(Spiraea virginiana), Rock Gnome Lichen (Gymnoderma lineare), and Northern Long-eared Bat
(Myotis septentrionalis, NLEB) are listed as either threatened or endangered and are known from
current records. Gray Bat (Myotis grisescens) and Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis) are listed species
that are likely to occur in Macon County.

Wayah Creek at the project site is too small for Appalachian Ektoe and Littlewing Pearly
mussels. These species are only found in Macon County in the Little Tennessee River several
miles downstream of the project area and Lake Emory, so this project will have no effect on these
mussels. Likewise, spotfin chub are only found in the Little Tennessee River and a few of its
tributaries several miles downstream of the project area and Lake Emory. Wayah Creek was
Macon 17 Replacement Page 2 September 12, 2017

surveyed on August 5, 2009 for spotfin chub, but none were found, so this project will have no
effect on this species.

The project area was surveyed for Virginia Spiraea and Small Whorled Pagonia on June 16, 2009,
but no specimens were found. Moreover, the construction will largely be restricted to the existing
bridge and roadway, so there should be only limited impact on forested habitats where Small
Whorled Pagonia could occur.

Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel and Rock Gnome Lichen are found in spruce-fir forests and
other isolated high elevation locations in western North Carolina. However, Rock Gnome Lichen
is an exception because it can occasionally be found at lower elevations in deep river gorges on
damp rock cliffs or boulders. The project area is much too low in elevation for these species, is
not in a gorge, and there is no suitable damp rock habitat present.

Gray Bats usually roost in caves or in/on structures year-round while Indiana Bats and NLEB
only winter in caves or mines with stable, but not freezing, cold temperatures. During warm
seasons Indiana Bats and NLEB usually roost on/in structures, under the shaggy bark of live trees
such as white oaks, sycamores, and hickories, or in cavities or under the loose peeling bark of
dead trees. This project should not require blasting, but it will require pile driving and the
removal of approximately 18 trees and demolition of an old timber bridge. The bridge was
surveyed for bats and evidence of bat roosting on August 2, 2017 and none were evident; absence
of bats and signs of bat usage will be confirmed prior to demolition. Therefore, the project
should have no effect on Gray Bats. The bridge is situated in a “red HUC” where known NLEB
maternity roosts and/or hibernacula are a concern, but it is over a mile from records for NLEB.
Therefore, the project is consistent with Section 4(d) rule, codified at 50 C.F.R. § 17.40(o) and
effective February 16, 2016. To protect Indiana bats, the obstructing trees will be removed from
October 15 to April 15 (winter clearing). With the enacted clearing restriction, a “may affect,
not likely to adversely affect” determination for Indiana bat has been routinely the call.

This project was reviewed by NCDOT’s Human Environment Unit in 2010 for potential affects to
historical architecture and archaeology. Surveys were conducted and it was determined that
historic properties were not present in the APE.

Impacts to Waters of the United States

Wayah Creek (DWQ Class: WS-III Tr) is shown on the USGS topographic map as a perennial
stream. It has a 30-40’ wide channel with a gravel, sand, and cobble bed. Wayah Creek flows to
Cartoogechaye Creek then on to the Little Tennessee River, which meets the definition of a
Traditional Navigable Water (TNW). For these reasons, we believe Wayah Creek is Relatively
Permanent Waters and under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In order to
construct the project, it will be necessary to impact waters of the United States in the Little
Tennessee River Basin (CU 06010202). Listed below is a summary of the proposed impacts:

Site No. Existing Condition Proposed Condition
Net
Impacts
(feet)
1
Timber on steel beam bridge,
concrete bridge footers, and
streambanks
45’L x 27’W cored slab bridge and
rip rap upstream, under, and
downstream of bridge
96
Macon 17 Replacement Page 3 September 12, 2017

1A Wayah Creek and banks Temporary dikes and dewatering
(partial channel) 125
2 Wayah Creek and Banks Rip rap embankment protection 16

Permits Requested

NCDOT is hereby requesting authorization under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act to proceed
with the construction project outlined above. We request that Ms. Marla Chambers, Western
NCDOT Review Coordinator, with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
(NCWRC) comment directly to you concerning the 404 Nationwide Permit action. I also request
authorization for the project under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act from Mr. Kevin Barnett
with the North Carolina Department of Environment Quality (DEQ), Division of Water
Resources (DWR).

Please contact me at [phone] or Mr. Josh Deyton, PE, at [phone] if you have any
questions about the application or project or need additional information. I greatly appreciate
your prompt attention to these requests.

Sincerely,

Dave McHenry
Division 14 Environmental Program Supervisor

Enclosures

cc: Amy Chapman, Division of Water Resources – DEQ, Raleigh
Kristi Carpenter, Division of Water Resources – DEQ, Raleigh
Kevin Barnett, Division of Water Resources – DEQ, Asheville
Marella Buncick, Biologist, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Asheville
Marla Chambers, Western NCDOT Review Coordinator, NCWRC
Joshua B. Deyton, PE, Division 14 Bridge Management Engineer, NCDOT
Reid Whitehead, Roadside Environmental Field Operations Engineer, NCDOT

9/12/2017