20180609 Ver 1_B4932 NMFS Concurrence Letter_20180503

Mr. Philip S. Harris III, P.E., CPM, Unit Head
Environmental Analysis Unit
North Carolina Department of Transportation
1598 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1598
Dear Mr. Harris:
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE
Southeast Regional Office
26313th Avenue South
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701-5505
http:l/sero.nmfs.noaa.gov
MAY $ � �►��
F/SER46:DR
This letter responds to your request for consultation with us, the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the following
action.
SER Number Pro'ect T e
SER-2017-18937 North Carolina Highway 42 (NC 42) Tar River Bridge replacement
Consultation History
We received your letter requesting consultation and a completed ESA Section 7 checklist on
October 12, 2017. We requested additional information on February 1, 2018. We received a
response on March 16, 2018. NMFS staff had a conference call with staff from the North
Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and the North Carolina Wildlife Resource
Commission (NCWRC) on April 5, 2018, to discuss finding in-water work moratorium windows
and noise protection measures that would be suitable for all parties involved. We sent an email
to NCDOT staff outlining the proposed measures to protect Atlantic sturgeon (based on the
conference call discussions) on April 6, 2018, and requested their concurrence with the use of
those measures. We received a final response agreeing to the measures on April 20, 2018, and
we initiated consultation that day.
Project Location
' Address
NC 42 Tar River Bridge, Edgecombe
North Carolina
Latitude/Longitude
35.790534°N, 77.550389°W
(North American Datum 1983
Water b�
Tar River

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Existing Site Conditio�is
The existing NC 42 Bridge spans the Tar River in Edgecombe County, approximately 12 miles
northwest of Greenville, North Carolina. The NC 42 Tar River Bridge is located approximately
77.5 river iniles upstream of mouth of the Tar River where it meets Pamlico Sound.
Under typical conditions the width of the river at the bridge is about 188.5 feet (ft). Water
depths at the project location range from 0.5 to 4 ft deep. Bottom sediments at the project site
consist of course sand and pebbles. Water quality is considered good.
Project Description
The NCDOT proposes replacing the existing 2-lane, 605-ft-long bridge with a new 2-lane 610-ft-
long concrete fixed span bridge. The new bridge will be 37.25 ft wide with an overwater area of
7,022 square feet (ft2), and the bridge will be approximately 29 ft above the river's mean water
elevation. The new bridge will be built slightly north of the existing (old) bridge. Upon
coinpletion of the new bridge, traffic will be routed onto the new bridge and the old bridge will
be demolished.
In-water and over-water construction and demolition worlc will be accomplished froin temporary
wark bridges. The use of barges is not anticipated. As with siinilar bridge and transportation
projects, it is expected that heavy equipment such as cranes, trucks, and bulldozers will be used
to accomplish demolition and construction activities. It is esti�nated that demolition of the old
2

bridge and construction of the new bridge will take 27 months to complete. Pile driving
operations are expected to take about 60 days to complete for the new bridge and work bridges
(includes both in-water and land pile driving). Removal of the old bridge is estimated to take 60
days to complete. The new bridge will be supported by 39 steel pipe piles with diameters of 36
inches (in) that will be installed by impact hammer. Ten of these piles will be installed within
the Tar River. The temporary bridges may require impact hammer installation of up to 120 steel
piles, that may be H piles or 30-in pipe piles.
The demolition of the old bridge is expected to involve sawing the superstructure into
manageable pieces that would be removed by crane for appropriate upland disposal. The use of
jack hammers and/or hoe rams may be required to demolish the other portions of the bridge. The
substructural elements (e.g., piles) are typically removed using a crane possibly in association
with a vibratory device. Some parts of the substructure demolition may use sawing or shattering
equipment as well. The use of explosives is not anticipated as part of the demolition process.
The construction of the new bridge will require the installation of 2 concrete bridge bents in the
Tar River. Each bent will be supported by 5 steel pipe piles that have 36-in diameters (a total of
10 in-water pipe piles for the new bridge). About 6-10 piles may be driven each day. Based on
data for past projects involving the impact driving of 36-in pipe piles, it will take up to 675
hammer strikes to install each pile resulting in up to 6,750 total strikes per day. It will take up to
1 week to install all 10 in-water bridge pipe piles. The 10 bridge pipe piles will displace about
70.7 square feet (ft2) of river bottom.
The construction of the temporary work bridges will require the installation of steel H or pipe
piles. About 6-10 piles may be driven each day. Based on data for past projects involving the
impact driving of 30-in pipe piles, it will take up to 114 hammer strikes to install each pile
resulting in up to 1,140 total strikes per day. It will take up to 20 days of impact driving to
install up to 120 in-water temporary bridge piles. The temporary bridge pipe piles will
temporarily displace up to 589 ft2 of river bottom.
Pile Installation
Pile type Number of Piles Installation Confined Space or
Method O en Water
Steel pipe piles 10 in the river Impact Open water
(36-in diameter) hammer
Steel H piles or 30-in Up to 120 in the river Impact Open water
diameter steel pipe piles hammer
Construction Conditions
The contractor will comply with NCDOT's Best Management Practices. The NCDOT has
agreed to provide an additional measure of protection by requiring in-water construction
activities to stop if a sturgeon is spotted within 50 ft of operations. No in-water work will be
allowed in the Tar River between February 15 and June 30 based on the NCWRC's designation
of this portion of the Tar River as an Inland Primary Nursery Area for juvenile anadromous fish.
The NCWRC's principal concern is preventing the potential disruption of shad and herring
spawning in the river, but the February 15-June 30 moratorium period would also protect a

spring spawning run by Atlantic sturgeon and the resulting downstream movement of larval and
small juvenile sturgeon shortly thereafter. An additional in-water work moratorium will start on
August 15 and end on October 31 to prevent the disruption of a possible fall spawning migration
by Atlantic sturgeon and the subsequent downstream movement of larval and small juvenile
sturgeon produced by the spawning event. Because of the lack of data on Atlantic sturgeon in
the Tar River, NMFS is basing the in-water work moratoria on data from other river systems in
the southeast, including the Roanoke River in North Carolina, where Atlantic sturgeon are
known to spawn. All in-water work done during the allowed time periods (i.e., November 1-
February 14 and July 1-August 14) will occur during daytime hours only.
Before the start of each day's full-force, in-water impact driving of piles (during the available in-
water work windows), some form of low-level in-water noise will be generated that is loud
enough to cause Atlantic sturgeon to leave the project area, but not loud enough to cause harm to
the sturgeon (options include ramp-up, dry firing, or airguns). The low-level noise technique
would be conducted for 5-10 minutes prior to full-force impact pile driving to allow animals the
opportunity to leave the area. The chosen technique would be done before the beginning of the
day's in-water impact driving, but would need to be repeated if a break in impact pile driving
lasted more than 1 hour. Ramp-up involves slowly increasing the power of the impact hammer,
and the noise it produces, over a pre-determined period of time. Dry-firing involves the raising
and dropping of the impact hammer, but without any compression on the piston. Airguns are
devices that produce in-water noise when they rapidly release pressurized air into the water
column. The amount of noise produced by an airgun can be controlled based on pressure of the
air that is released (i.e., higher air pressures produce louder noises).
Effects Determinations for Species the Action Agency or NMFS Believes May Be Affected
the
Atlantic
E = end;
osed Action
Critical Habitat
Species
i (Carolina DPS)
NLAA = may affect, not
ESA
Listing
Status
Fish
�
;lv to advers
Action Agency
Effect
Determination
NLAA
affect
NMFS Effect
Determination
.�.
The project is located in Atlantic sturgeon critical habitat Carolina Unit 2(Tar-Pamlico Unit).
The physical and biological features (PBFs) of the critical habitat are described in the table
below. We believe the proposed action may affect the salinity gradient and soft substrate,
unobstructed water of appropriate depth, and water quality PBFs.
�

Atlantic Stur eon Critical Habitat PBFs and their Pur ose/Function
PBF Pur ose/Role of PBF
Hard bottom substrate (e.g.,
Hard rock, cobble, gravel, Necessary for settlement of fertilized eggs, refuge, growth, and
Substrate limestone, boulder, etc.) in development of early life stages
(PBF 1) low salinity waters (i.e., 0.0-
0.5 parts per thousand range)
Aquatic habitat with a gradual
Salinity downstream salinity gradient
Gradient of 0.5 up to as high as 30
and Soft parts per thousand and soft Necessary for juvenile foraging and physiological development
Substrate substrate (e.g., sand, mud)
(PBF 2) between the river mouth and
spawning sites
Necessary to support:
• Unimpeded movement of adults to and from spawning sites;
Water of appropriate depth , Seasonal and physiologically-dependent movement of juvenile
Unobstructe and absent physical barriers to
d Water of passage (e.g., locks, dams, Atlantic sturgeon to appropriate salinity zones within the river
Appropriate thermal plumes, turbidity, estuary; and
Depth sound, reservoirs, gear, etc.) ' Staging, resting, or holding of subadults or spawning condition
(PBF 3) between the river mouth and adults. Water depths in main river channels must also be deep
spawning sites enough (at least 1.2 meters) to ensure continuous flow in the
main channel at a11 times when any sturgeon life stage would
be in the river
Necessary to support:
• Spawning;
• Annual and inter-annual adult, subadult, larval, and juvenile
survival; and
Water quality conditions, • Larval, juvenile, and subadult growth, development, and
especially in the bottom meter recruitment. Appropriate temperature and oxygen values will
Water vary interdependently, and depending on salinity in a
uali of the water column, with the
Q � appropriate combination of particular habitat. For example, 6.0 mg/L dissolved oxygen or
(PBF 4) temperature and oxygen greater likely supports juvenile rearing habitat, whereas
values dissolved oxygen less than 5.0 mg/L for longer than 30 days is
less likely to support rearing when water temperature is
greater than 25°C. In temperatures greater than 26°C,
dissolved oxygen greater than 43 mg/L is needed to protect
survival and growth. Temperatures of 13 to 26 °C likely to
support spawning habitat.
Analysis of Potential Routes of Effects to Species
Atlantic sturgeon may be affected by (1) the potential risk of injury from direct impact by
construction machinery and associated in-water activities (e.g., crane and impact hammer
operations), (2) the risk of exposure to noise or turbidity from in-water demolition and
construction activities, (3) the effects of temporarily avoiding the project site due to construction
activities, and (4) noise related to in-water pile driving. We believe these effects are
discountable due to the complete moratorium on in-water work from February 15-June 30 and
August 15-October 31. Because of the moratoria, Atlantic sturgeon (adult, larval, and small
juvenile sturgeon ) will not be exposed to the risk of injury because they are extremely unlikely
to be in the action area.
5

The permanent installation of 10 in-water steel pipe piles (36-in diameter) will result in the
permanent loss of 70.7 ft2 of unvegetated river bottom (i.e., course sand and pebbles) where
sturgeon might forage for invertebrate prey. In addition, up to 589 ft2 of river bottom will be
temporarily displaced by the piles (up to 30-in diameter) installed for the temporary work
bridges. We believe the effects on sturgeon caused by the loss of river bottom due to this project
will be insignificant. Because sturgeon are opportunistic feeders and forage over large areas,
they would be able to locate prey beyond the immediate area of the piles. The temporary work
bridge piles will be removed once the new bridge is built and demolition of the old bridge is
completed. Additionally, 440 ft2 of river bottom will be once again made available for use by
sturgeon when the old bridge's substructural elements (i.e., piles) are removed during the
demolition process. Invertebrates, which are prey for Atlantic sturgeon, will quickly recolonize
this river bottom upon removal of these substructures.
Analysis of Potential Routes of Effect to Critical Habitat
The project may affect aquatic habitat with a gradual salinity gradient and soft substrate (PBF 2)
by covering soft substrate with new bridge piles and temporary work bridge piles. However, we
believe this effect to PBF 2 will be insignificant. The soft substrate in the river bottom
surrounding the bridge piles will continue to support juvenile foraging and development.
Similarly, once the temporary work bridge piles are removed those areas of soft substrate will
immediately become accessible again as foraging or developmental habitat. Also, more soft
substrate will become available when the old bridge's substructural elements are removed from
the river bottom during demolition. The project's demolition and construction activities will
have no effect on the salinity gradient in the project area.
Unobstructed water of appropriate depth (PBF 3) that supports staging, resting, holding, or
movement of various life stages of Atlantic sturgeon may be affected by the installation of steel
piles. We believe the obstructions created by the installation of piles will have an insignificant
effect on PBF 3 because the new bridge will have fewer supports (i.e., structures in the water)
than the existing bridge. Additionally, the temporary work bridge piles and permanent new
bridge piles will only affect small portions of the main channel. The temporary work bridge
piles will be removed at the end of the project's construction and demolition activities, and the
old bridge's in-water piles will be removed as part of the demolition process. The project's
demolition and construction activities will have no effect on the water depth in the project area.
Water quality (PBF 4) supporting important life functions, such as growth and reproduction, of
various life stages of Atlantic sturgeon may be affected by temporary and highly localized
turbidity and associated effects on suitable water temperature and oxygen values caused during
installation of piles for the temporary work bridges and the new bridge, and demolition activities.
However, we believe the effects to PBF 4 will be discountable because all work will be
completed from November 1-February 14 and July 1-August 14, to prevent adult, larval, and
small juvenile sturgeon from being exposed to elevated turbidity levels during times of the year
when they might be present in the project area.
Conclusion
Because all potential project effects to listed species were found to be discountable, insignificant,
or beneficial, we conclude that the proposed action is not likely to adversely affect listed species
0

under NMFS's purview. This concludes your consultation responsibilities under the ESA for
species under NMFS's purview. Consultation must be reinitiated if a take occurs or new
information reveals effects of the action not previously considered, or if the identified action is
subsequently modified in a manner that causes an effect to the listed species or critical habitat in
a manner or to an extent not previously considered, or if a new species is listed or critical habitat
designated that may be affected by the identified action. NMFS's findings on the project's
potential effects are based on the project description in this response. Any changes to the
proposed action may negate the findings of this consultation and may require reinitiation of
consultation with NMFS.
We have enclosed additional relevant information for your review. We look forward to further
cooperation with you on other projects to ensure the conservation of our threatened and
endangered marine species and designated critical habitat. If you have any questions regarding
this consultation, please contact Dr. Dave Rydene, Consultation Biologist, at [phone], or
by email at [e-mail].
Sincerely,
�
Roy E. Crabtree, Ph.D.
Regional Administrator
Enc.: 1. PCTS Access and Additional Considerations for ESA Section 7 Consultations
(Revised March 10, 2015)
File: 1514-22.L.1
�