20081734 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20081202

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 0
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
December 2, 2008
Ms. Loretta Beckwith
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
Ms. Cyndi Karoly
NCDENR, Division of Water Quality, 401 Unit
1628 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1628
SUBJECT: Nationwide Permit Application for Ms. Carolyn Love
Ponds, UT Cloer Branch and wetlands, Macon County
DWQ NO. 08-1734
Dear Ms. Beckwith and Ms. Karoly:
Ms. Carolyn Love requested a letter of concurrence from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission (Commission) for a 404 permit to fill 0.024 acre of wetlands and 74 feet of a tributary to
Cloer Branch for two ponds in the Diamond Falls Estates subdivision in Macon County. Comments from
the Commission are provided under provisions of the Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. 466 et. seq.)
and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 661-667d).
The streams on the property are probably too small for trout. However, Cloer Branch supports wild
brown trout downstream. This project may harm trout if it causes considerable sedimentation in Cloer
Branch during the spawning season.
The Commission is pleased that one pond will be constructed off-line to avoid stream habitat loss.
However, off-line ponds can harm stream habitat if their intakes, if applicable, divert too much stream
flow. Therefore, if pond intakes are used to supply the proposed ponds, then they should be constructed
so that they will not capture all stream flow. This may be accomplished by keeping the supply pipe invert
(i.e. bottom) elevated above the natural stream bed profile.
Mailing Address: Division of Inland Fisheries • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1 72 1
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]
Love
Macon
Page 2 December 2, 2008
The Commission has no objection to issuing a permit for this project provided:
1. No excavation or other work occurs in streams during the trout spawning moratorium (October
15 to April 15).
2. Pond intakes on streams, if applicable, are constructed so that they will not capture all stream
flow. This may be accomplished by keeping the supply pipe inverts (i.e. bottoms) elevated
above the natural stream bed profile.
3. Sediment and erosion control measures are used and maintained during construction. Exposed
soils are covered with erosion control matting and seeded as soon as possible following
construction. Tall fescue is not used for seeding.
4. Any concrete work is isolated from water because uncured concrete can kill aquatic life.
5. Rock, sand, or other materials are not excavated from stream channels or wetlands except in
permitted areas. Instream dredging has severe, adverse effects on aquatic life and disturbance of
the natural form of channels can cause erosion.
6. Removal of trees and other vegetation along streams is avoided as much as possible.
7. Trees are planted around the ponds to provide shade and reduce the stream warming caused by
the ponds.
8. A sleeved-standpipe is used so that outflow is drawn from near the pond bottoms (e.g. cool water
release, see below).
water level 111 / drainpipe
Darn
inflow
outflow
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project. The Commission may inspect the
work site during or after construction. If there are any questions regarding these comments, please
contact me at [phone] extension 24.
Sincerely,
Dave McHenry
Mountain Region Coordinator
Habitat Conservation Program
cc: Ms. Carolyn Love