20171446 Ver 1_Macon 308 Cover Letter_20171109

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTIV�NT OF TRANSPORTATION
ROY COOPER
GOVERNOR
November 8, 2017
Ms. Lori Beckwith, NCDOT Regulatory Project Manager
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, NC 28801-2714
JAMES H. TROGDON, III
SECRETARY
Subject: Nationwide 14 Permit Application
Replace Bridge No. 308 on SR 1500 (Watauga Road) over Watauga Creek
Macon County
State Project No. 17BP.14.R.48
(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. 308 over Watauga Creek in Macon County. The proposed
structure will be a 42.5'L x 16'W x 4'3" H aluminum box culvert with 8'W x 0.5' D notched sills
and a mid-culvert baffle. The culvert will replace the bridge in the same location using a
temporary on-site detour 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.
Watauga Creek at the project site is too small for Appalachian Ektoe and Littlewing Pearly
mussels. These species are found in Macon County in the Little Tennessee River about 3.5 miles
downstream of the project area, so this project should have no effect on these mussels. In
October 2016, NCDOT biologists sampled Watauaga Creek for Spotfin Chub near Bridge No. 64
(recently issued a 404 Permit for its replacement) and approximately 1 mile upstream near the US
Mailing Address.• Telephone.• [phone] Location:
NC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Fax: [phone] NC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Division 14 CustomerService: 1-877-368-4968 Division 14
253 Webster Road 253 Webster Road
Sylva, North Carolina 28779 Website: www.ncdot.Qov Sylva, North Carolina 28779

Macon 308 Replacement Page 2 November 9, 2017
441 crossing (approximately 2 miles downstream of Bridge No. 308). Spotfin Chub were
observed near Bridge No. 64 but not further upstream at US 441. Therefore, with the use of
effective erosion controls and best management practices, this project should have no effect on
Spotfin Chub.
The construction will largely be restricted to the existing bridge, roadway, maintained yards and
road shoulders with no disturbance of forested areas There are no scour zones or gravel bars in
Watauaga Creek that could provide habitat for Virginia Spiraea. The project area was surveyed
for Virginia Spiraea and Small Whorled Pagonia on June 25, 2013 and no speciemens were seen.
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 or pile driving and only require the removal
of 1 tree and demolition of an old timber bridge. The bridge was surveyed for bats and evidence
of bat roosting on June 25, 2013 and none were evident; absence of bats and signs of bat usage
will be confirmed prior to demolition. Therefore, the proj ect 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 actual records for NLEB records. Therefare, the project
is consistent with Section 4(d) rule, codified at 50 C.F.R. § 17.40(0) 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 2011 for potential affects to
historical architecture and archaeology. No survey was necessary for historic architecture and no
significant archaeological resources were found from surveys of the APE.
Impacts to Waters of the United States
Watauga Creek (DWQ Class: C Tr) is shown on the USGS topographic map as a perennial
stream. It has a 8-10' wide channel with a gravel, sand, and cobble bed. Watauga Creek flows to
the Little Tennessee River, which meets the definition of a Traditional Navigable Water (TNW).
For these reasons, we believe Watauga 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 st�mmary of the proposed impacts:

Macon 308 Replacement Page 3 November 9, 2017
Net
Site No. Existing Condition Proposed Condition Impacts
(feet)
Timber on steel beam bridge, 42.5'L x 16'W x 4'3" H aluminum
1 concrete bridge footers, and 42.5
streambanks box culvert
2 Watauga Creek and banks Temporary dikes and dewatering 80
(partial channel)
3 Watauga Creek and banks Rip rap embankment protection 15
4 Watauga Creek and banks Rip rap embankxnent protection 10
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.
S�i�j�l by:
����� 11/9/2017
8B673FBE42E5415...
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