20041507 Ver 2_Other Agency Comments_20090629

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
69 DARLINGTON AVENUE
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28403-1343
REPLY TO June 25, 2009
ATTENTION OF:
Regulatory Division
Action ID. 200420055
Mr. Michael Benteen
North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission
5031 Cambridge Oaks Dr.
Matthews, North Carolina 28104
Dear Mr. Benteen:
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JUN > 9 2000
WETLANDS AND WATER f KQUALI
U'ER RANCH
Reference the Department of the Army (DA) permit issued on June 7, 2006, to the
North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission for impacts associated with the Weldon
boat ramp facility. The site is located south of the US Highway 301 Bridge over the
Roanoke River, at 1090 Rockfish Lane, in Weldon, Halifax County, North Carolina.
Coordinates (in decimal degrees) for the site are 36.5938 'North, 77.5908 ° West. The
site is adjacent to the Roanoke River in the Roanoke River Basin (8-Digit Cataloging
Unit 03020102). The modification is to 21 cubic yards of fill below the ordinary high
water mark of the Roanoke River that was previously authorized for the expansion of the
existing boat ramp.
Permanent impacts authorized by this permit totaled 21 cubic yards of fill material
below the ordinary high water mark (OHWM) of the Roanoke River, impacting 0.095
acre of jurisdictional waters of the United States associated with the expansion of an
existing boat ramp at the Weldon Boating Access. No mitigation was required for this
proposal.
Also reference a meeting on April 2, 2009, between Mr. Michael Benteen of the
North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission (WRC), Mr. James Lastinger, and Mr.
Thomas Brown of the Corps of Engineers (Corps) to discuss a potential modification to
the permit for changes to the existing boat ramp. The changes include the installation of
a gabion wall for bank stabilization, boulder removal that is currently hazardous for boat
launching, additional widening of the existing boat ramp from 23 feet to 42 feet, and the
installation of a permanent 8 foot abutment for temporary floating docks during high
traffic boating/fishing seasons. Total permanent impacts associated with this permit
modification are 187 linear feet below the OHWM of the Roanoke River and temporary
impacts to 75 linear feet below the OHWM of the Roanoke River. At the time, the
applicant was instructed that this should be a simple modification to the plans attached to
the Individual Permit. The official correspondence requesting this modification was
received by the Corps on May 5, 2009.
No additional mitigation was proposed by the applicant, since their bank
stabilization activities are self-mitigating because they will stop the sloughing off of
approximately 50 cubic yards of sediment into the Roanoke River.
The Corps has completed the evaluation of your request and concurs with your
request for a change in impacts associated with your referenced DA permit including the
change to plans discussed during the April 2, 2009, meeting. No additional mitigation is
required for this modification.
All conditions attached with the original Department of the Army permit issued
on June 7, 2006, still apply to this permit modification.
Special Condition: All recommendations in the attached letter from the North Carolina Wildlife
Resource Commission dated. May 29, 2009, are hereby incorporated as special conditions of this
permit.
Please note that this permit modification is not valid until receipt of a modified
401 permit as issued from the North Carolina Division of Water Quality. Should you
have questions, contact Mr. James Lastinger, Raleigh Regulatory Field Office at
telephone [phone], Extension 32.
Sincerely,
Nq-? '?? I R????
Jefferson M. Ryscavage
Colonel, U. S. Army
District Commander
Enclosures
Copy Furnished:
Ms. Cyndi Karoly
NC Division of Water Quality - 401 Unit
2321 Crabtree Boulevard, Suite 250
Raleigh, North Carolina 27604
Mr. Justin McCorcle
US Army Corps of Engineers,
Wilmington District
69 Darlington Avenue
Wilmington, North Carolina 28403
2
® North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
MEMORANDUM
TO: James Lastinger
US Army Corps of Engineers
FROM: Maria T. Dunn, Northeast Coastal Region Coordinator
Habitat Conservation Program
DATE: May 29, 2009
SUBJECT: Comments on Public Notice for North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission,
Halifax County, North Carolina.
Corps Action ID # SAW-2004-20055
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed the public notice
with regard to impacts on fish and wildlife resources. This modification request is to the permit associated
with the expansion and renovation of the Town of Weldon WRC boat ramp, Halifax County, North
Carolina. Our comments are provided in accordance with provisions of the Fish and Wildlife
Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.) and Sections 401 and 404 of the
Clean Water Act (as amended).
The Wilmington District, Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received an application for a modification to an
existing permit from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, seeking Department of the
Army authorization to permanently impact 187 linear feet of the Roanoke River below the ordinary high
water mark (OHWM) for bank stabilization through the installation of a 166 linear foot gabion wall, 19
linear feet from the expansion of the existing boat ramp, and 8 feet for the installation of a permanent
concrete abutment for the attachment of temporary floating docks, and temporarily impact 75 linear feet
below the ordinary high water mark of the Roanoke River through the installation of a temporary
causeway for the removal of boulders which are currently a boating hazard.
The NCWRC has reviewed the public notice and does not object to permit issuance. The Roanoke River
at this location functions as a primary nursery area (PNA). PNAs are defined as those areas inhabited by
the embryonic, larval or juvenile life stages of marine or estuarine fish or crustacean species due to
favorable physical, chemical or biological factors. This stretch of river is an important spawning and
Mailing Address: Division of Inland Fisheries • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]
Page 2
nursery area to several species of anadromous fish. Therefore, we request an in-water work moratorium of
February 15 - September 30 be included as a permit condition to minimize impacts to these fish species.
We appreciate the opportunity to review and comment on this permit application. If you need
further assistance or additional information, please contact me at [phone].