20171266 Ver 1_Percussive Information_20171006

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

October 6, 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. 314 on SR 1152 (Belden Circle) over Cartoogechaye Creek
Macon County
State Project No. 17BP.14.R.154

Dear Ms. Beckwith:

Please accept this submittal of North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT)
proposal to replace concrete bridge no. 314 over Cartoogechaye Creek in Macon County. The
proposed structure will be a 100’ concrete girder bridge built in the same location, but with no
instream bent. 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.

Cartoogechaye Creek may be suitable habitat, but Appalachian Ektoe and Littlewing Pearly
mussels have never been found in the Little Tennessee River drainage upstream of Lake Emory.
The project location is several miles upstream of Lake Emory, so this project should 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, so this
project will have no effect on this species.

Macon 314 Replacement Page 2 October 6, 2017

The project area was surveyed for Virginia Spiraea and Small Whorled Pagonia on August 24,
2016, but no suitanble habitat or specimens were found.

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, hammering,
and the removal of approximately 6 large trees. The bridge was surveyed for evidence of bat
roosting during bridge scoping and no evidence was noted; 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 routinely been the call.

This project was reviewed by NCDOT’s Human Environment Unit in 2016 for potential affects to
historical architecture and archaeology. It was determined that surveys for historic
properties/resources were not necessary.

Impacts to Waters of the United States

Cartoogechaye Creek (DWQ Class: B Tr) is shown on the USGS topographic map as a perennial
stream. It has a 50’ wide channel with a gravel, sand, and cobble bed. Cartoogechaye Creek
flows on to the Little Tennessee River, which meets the definition of a Traditional Navigable
Water (TNW). For these reasons, we believe Cartoogechaye 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 Cartoogechaye Creek
Temporary Impacts for Work Pads
(if needed) and Imperbvious Dikes
for Bridge Demolition
63

Macon 314 Replacement Page 3 October 6, 2017

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.

Mr. Kevin Barnett with the North Carolina Department of Environment Quality (DEQ), Division
of Water Resources (DWR) has been supplied a courtesy copy of this request since a written
certification is not required.

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: 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

10/6/2017