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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20160906 Ver 2_R-4753 Permit Renewal Cover and Green Sheet_20181204 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: (828)586-2141 Fax: (828)586-4043 Customer Service: 1-877-368-4968 Website: www.ncdot.gov Location: NC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Division 14 253 Webster Road Sylva, North Carolina 28779 December 4, 2018 Ms. Crystal Amschler U. S. Army Corps of Engineers NCDOT Regulatory Project Manager 151 Patton Avenue, Room 208 Asheville, NC 28801-2714 Subject: Nationwide 404 Permit and Section 401 Water Quality Certification Renewal Application Improvements to NC 107 from just north of SR 1002 to NC 281; Jackson County; F.A. Project No. STP-107(10). TIP No. R-4753; $570.00 debit WBS No. 46125.1.1. Action ID SAW-2016-02128 DWR No. 2016-0906 Dear Ms. Amschler: The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is requesting reauthorization for unavoidable stream impacts, many of which have not been completed, for improvements to a section of NC 107 in Jackson County, NC. The project involves roadway widening, drainage improvements, and retaining wall construction along the Tuckaseegee river. The work will require stream impacts to accommodate fill slopes, culvert extensions, and stream bank stabilization or energy dissipator pads. Project Status This project began construction in early 2017, but the 404 and 401 permits expired before all work could be completed. Table 1 below summarizes the progress to date and remaining work necessary in waters of the United States, as permitted. In summary, the permanent impacts with exception of culvert outlet stabilization at site 4 has been completed at sites 1,4,7, and 8. The outlet at site 4 is currently not unstable and would be stabilized with rip rap, as needed, pending permit reissuance. The project is behind schedule due in large part due to contractor scheduling and project management delays. However, the ability to complete the unavoidable stream impacts also has been severely hampered by the need to maintain traffic and on-site detours on the high traffic-use R-4753 Jackson County Page 2 December 4, 2018 primary route. Completion of all work in jurisdictional areas will take multiple construction seasons. Moreover, the unanticipated need for a trout buffer variance and associated application of the October 15 to April 15 trout buffer moratorium on much of the retaining wall construction has further challenged the wall and roadway construction staging and sequencing. Table 1. Status of work in permitted areas and on retaining walls, R-4753. Yellow highlighted sites have all permanent impacts yet to be completed. Section 7 Informal consultation for this project was undertaken with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This consultation resulted in several project commitments. The green sheet for the project (included in R-4753 Jackson County Page 3 December 4, 2018 the 404 Verification) is attached to this letter and includes annotations noting each commitment and the compliance actions taken by NCDOT to date. Section 106 This project required preparation of an MOU due to impacts to historic properties. The MOU included several project commitments. The green sheet for the project (included in the 404 Verification) is attached to this letter and includes annotations noting each commitment and the compliance actions taken by NCDOT to date. WRC Special Condition Compliance The NC Wildlife Resources Commission provided comments on the permit application that were included as special conditions in the permit. This consultation resulted in several project commitments. The green sheet for the project (included in the 404 Verification) is attached to this letter and includes annotations noting compliance by NCDOT to date. Minor Changes to Impacts to Waters of the United States During construction, some minor discrepancies became apparent between permitted impacts for rip rap stabilization and/or energy dissipator pads and the drawings and/or details at three sites. At sites 2,5, and 8, rip rap stabilization was not permitted, but it was shown in either plans or plan details. Rip rap stabilization is needed at these locations. The requested impacts for these sites total 80 linear feet of impact and are included as additional impact in the ePCN 3. Stream Impact Table. Compensatory Mitigation and Plan Compensatory mitigation has already been provided for unavoidable permanent losses of stream for this project. We recommend that the added rip rap stabilization impacts outline above, if permitted, not mandate additional compensatory mitigation since they will not result in a loss of stream channels and help maintain stream function. Action Requested NCDOT hereby requests reauthorization under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act to proceed with the construction project outlined above. NCDOT requests reauthorization for the project under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Resources (DWR). Please contact me at (828) 586-2141 if you have any questions or need additional information to evaluate this request. We greatly appreciate your consideration of these requests and express our sincere regret for the project delays and oversights. Sincerely, Dave McHenry Division 14 Environmental Officer Attach: R-4753 “Green Sheet” with Dec 2018 updates to commitments 12/4/2018 R-4753 Jackson County Page 4 December 4, 2018 cc: Ms. Amy Chapman, Division of Water Resources, DEQ, Raleigh Ms. Kristie Lynn Carpenter, Division of Water Resources, DEQ, Raleigh Mr. Kevin Barnett, Division of Water Resources, DEQ, Asheville Ms. Marella Buncick, Biologist, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Asheville Mrs. Marla Chambers, Western NCDOT Coordinator, NCWRC Mr. Ted Adams, Division 14 Construction Engineer, NCDOT R-4753 Permit Green Sheet Page 1 of 8 November 2016 PROJECT COMMITMENTS: NC 107 Improvements From Just North of SR 1002 to NC 281 Jackson County Federal Project No. STP-107(10) WBS ELEMENT 39999.1.1 TIP Project No. R-4753 COMMITMENTS FROM PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN Roadway Design Unit NCDOT will provide 6-ft paved shoulders to accommodate bicycle traffic along NC 107 at the request of Division 14 and citizens from the first Informational Workshop. Six-foot paved shoulders are shown on project design plans. All Design Groups, Division 14 and Roadside Environmental Unit The NCDWQ and NCWRC have identified the Tuckasegee River and its associated tributaries in the project study area as trout waters. The Tuckasegee River along with its associated tributaries carries a Hatchery Supported Designated Public Mountain Trout Waters designation and trout moratoriums prohibiting in-stream work and land disturbances within the 25-foot trout buffer from October 15 to April 15 to protect the egg and fry stages of trout. The sedimentation and erosion control measures shall adhere to the Design Standards in Sensitive Watersheds. The proposed moratorium and sedimentation and erosion control measures will be implemented during project construction. Complied with. The use of temporary culverts to remain in place over winter for temporary detours at impact sites 3-8 was verbally coordinated on August 8, 2017 with Marla Chambers with NC Wildlife Resources Commission, Kevin Barnett with DEQ DWR, and Lori Beckwith USACE. The moratorium has also applied to include disturbance of all areas within 25’ of the stream, including the Tuckaseegee River, under trout buffer zone variance obtained from DEQ, Land Quality. Natural Environment Section and Division 14 Construction Construction authorization will not be requested until ESA compliance is satisfied for the Northern Long-eared Bat (NLEB) NCDOT has reviewed the project area and determined the proposed project is consistent with the final Section 4(d) rule for NLEB, effective February 16, 2016, and does not require separate consultation. NCDOT has fulfilled its responsibilities regarding NLEB under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. Hydraulics Unit, Roadside Environmental Unit and Division 14 Construction Due to the close proximity of this project to the Tuckasegee River and critical habitat for the federally-protected Appalachian elktoe, the following commitments will be implemented: 1. Special provisions for erosion control shall apply to this project during construction. These include, but are not limited to, a 10 acre maximum R-4753 Permit Green Sheet Page 2 of 8 November 2016 disturbed area limit, 25-year storm design capacity for controls, and incorporation of polyacrylamide flocculent with check dams and other structures.regard to applicability of NCDOT’s Memorandum of Agreement, or approval of a Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) and subsequent final Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) 2. To minimize times to final grade/ground cover reestablishment and ensure adherence with NCG-010000 General Construction Permit, a vegetation management plan will be provided by the contractor that will include procedures and a schedule of project area disturbance (including any issues caused by utility relocations). The plan will be reviewed regularly with the Resident Engineer and Area Roadside Engineer. 3. There will be a limit of two retaining walls under construction at any time. If construction delays are encountered, matting, fabric, or other nonvegetative ground covers will be used around disturbed wall construction areas that are near to the river. 4. There will be coordination requested with Duke Energy regarding major release events. 5. In addition to reforestation (outside of mowing patterns) of existing riparian areas that are cleared, reforestation of drainage easements will also be pursued with landowners. 6. Roadway storm drainage from approximately Stations 125+62 to 137+40 will be evaluated during construction to determine if an additional outlet is possible to reduce the concentrated drainage at the single outlet shown near Station 137+40. 7. The five-foot x ten-foot RCBC proposed in John Brown Branch will be evaluated for placement with its invert at stream grade rather than recessed due to recent issues encountered with some RCBC’s in steep gradient cobble-bed streams. Please see Commitments from Permitting Project Development and Environmental Analysis Unit As required by conditions to satisfy de minimis, NCDOT/PDEA will hold another Citizens Informational Workshop where the public will be given the opportunity to review and comment on the future effects this project will have on the activities, features, and attributes of the East LaPorte River Access Area. NCDOT/PDEA held a second Citizens Informational Workshop on March 15, 2012 to inform the public of the future effects this project will have on the East LaPorte River Access Area, and the public was given the opportunity to comment. No comments have NCDOT PDEA/ FHWA FHWA will be formally consulted by NCDOT, in the form of a Right of Way consultation, to conclude Section 4(f) compliance prior to commencing R/W acquisition R-4753 Permit Green Sheet Page 3 of 8 November 2016 for the project, regardless of the time elapsed from the approval of the CE to the pursuit of acquiring R/W for the project. A Right of Way consultation was completed, in coordination with FHWA, in September 2014. Division 14/ Right of Way/ Construction Concerning the East LaPorte River Access Area, NCDOT will maintain the entrance to the park during construction and continuous public access will be maintained during the normal park operating hours throughout the duration of the transportation project. NCDOT will compensate the property owner for the removal, relocation and replacement (if damaged) of the fencing located within the temporary construction easement once all construction operations have been completed in this area. Access to the park will be maintained during construction and the property owner will be compensated for removal, relocation or replacement of the fencing within the temporary construction easement following completion of construction. Access has been maintained during construction and the fence has not been damaged. Geotechnical Unit NCDOT will conduct further studies if the proposed project impacts Underground Storage Tanks (UST). Site assessments were conducted for the project prior to right of way acquisition. PDEA, Historic Architecture Division 14 Construction and Roadside Environmental Unit The Federal Highway Administration along with NC-HPO and NCDOT determined that the proposed alternatives would have an Adverse Effect on the Dr. John R. Brinkley House (JK 394). NCDOT will publish a Notice of Adverse Effects to identify interested parties and garner feedback from the public. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) will be pursued with NC-HPO, FHWA, and other concurring parties such as TVA, as appropriate. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was developed in consultation with the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the other consulting parties. It was signed in January 2016. The FHWA and NCDOT will ensure that the following measures are carried out: 1. Documentation of the Dr. John R. Brinkley House (JK0394) Prior to the initiation of construction, NCDOT will photographically record the existing condition of the Dr. John R. Brinkley House, its associated outbuildings and its surroundings in accordance with the Historic Structures and Landscape Plan. Copies of the documentation will be deposited in the files of the State Historic Preservation Office and the NCDOT Historic Architecture Section. Documentation has been prepared and will be submitted in 2019. 2. Access to the Dr. John R. Brinkley House NCDOT shall provide the Owners of the Dr. John R. Brinkley House vehicular R-4753 Permit Green Sheet Page 4 of 8 November 2016 access to their property during construction. Complied with. 3. Staging Areas near the Dr. John R. Brinkley House NCDOT shall restrict staging areas for storage of construction materials and equipment within the boundary of the Dr. John R. Brinkley House and ensure that in those areas there is no impact to historic structures, particularly the rock retaining wall. Complied with. 4. Landscape Replacement for the Dr. John R. Brinkley House Within the historic boundary, NCDOT will replace ornamental plantings removed for construction of the temporary alignment. Replacement plantings will be placed in accordance with NCDOT’s Guidelines for Planting within Highway Right-of-Way. Preliminary Post-Construction Landscape Design plans will be provided to SHPO and the Owners for their review and comment. All new plant materials will be warranted for two growing seasons and replaced by NCDOT, if they fail within that time period. No impacts have occurred to date. 5. Fencing around the Dr. John R. Brinkley House The rock retaining wall along the front of the Dr. John R. Brinkley House is a contributing recourse to the historic significance of the property. Temporary orange fencing will be erected along base of rock wall during construction to protect it from damage. Complied with. 6. Treatment of Guardrail Around Stone Wall Permanent guardrail will be placed in front of the stone retaining wall in front of the Dr. John R. Brinkley House. Guardrail on both sides of NC 107 shall be weathered rather than plain galvanized. In the event of replacement(s), weathered guardrail shall be used. The end treatment of the guardrails shall be square deflectors. The face of the guardrail shall be no closer than 6.5 feet to the rock wall on the house side of the road. The back of the posts shall be than 5 feet from the rock wall. The construction plans will be clearly marked to show the above restrictions. Not yet installed. Guardrail subcontractors will be installing this guardrail and bulk of remaining guardrail nearer to project completion. 7. Treatment of Railing on top of Retaining Wall across NC 107 from the Dr. John R. Brinkley House The retaining wall on the opposite side of the road from the Dr. John R. Brinkley House will be topped with weathered guardrail only. There will be no concrete barrier. In the event of replacement(s), weathered guardrail shall be used. Not yet installed. Guardrail subcontractors will be installing this guardrail and bulk of remaining guardrail nearer to project completion. Roadway Design, PDEA, Archaeological Group A set of right-of-way plans will be submitted to the NCDOT Archaeology Group to review the proposed construction activities and possible effects on archaeological sites 31JK164 and 31JK487. R-4753 Permit Green Sheet Page 5 of 8 November 2016 Avoidance of Sites 31JK164 and 31JK487 has been recommended; however, if avoidance is not possible, the NCDOT, or a consultant of our choice, may conduct Data Recovery investigations once Right-of-Way (ROW) is acquired and prior to construction activities. No construction activities will occur within the site(s) boundaries until the field investigations are complete. Should Data Recovery efforts become necessary, they will be facilitated by the drafting of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), as well as site-specific Data Recovery Plans (DRP), in consultation with North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office (NC-HPO), FHWA, and other Federal entities such as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Historic Preservation Office (EBCI THPO), and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), as appropriate. A copy of the environmental planning document was submitted to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Historic Preservation Office (EBCI THPO). Impacts to Sites 31JK164 and 31JK487 could not be avoided. A Notification of Adverse Effects was issued in 2012. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), signed in January 2016, and site-specific data recovery plans were developed in consultation with the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, Federal Highway Administration, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, the United Keetowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Mr. Thomas Beutell (property owner) and other consulting parties. Data recovery efforts at both Sites 31JK164 and 31JK487 are currently underway. On-site consultation regarding the discovery of human remains will take place with all appropriate parties. Complied with. In part, remains still on site were covered with steel grate/s prior to replacement of soil covering to warn of location. Roadside Environmental Unit and Construction Unit This project is upstream of both the Western Carolina University and Tuckasegee Water Plant intakes. The sedimentation and erosion control measures shall adhere to the Design Standards in Sensitive Watersheds. This commitment will be implemented during project construction. Measures have been implemented and maintained. Hydraulics Unit The Hydraulics Unit will coordinate with FPM (Floodplain Mapping Program), the delegated state agency for administering FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program, to determine the status of the project with regard to applicability of NCDOT’s Memorandum of Agreement with FPM, or approval of a Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) and subsequent final Letter of Map Revision (LOMR). Division 14 This project involves construction activities on or adjacent to FEMA-regulated streams (fill in the floodway). Therefore, the Division shall submit sealed as-built construction plans to the Hydraulics Unit upon completion of project construction, certifying that the drainage structures and roadway embankment that are located within the 100-year floodplain were built as shown in the construction plans, both horizontally and vertically. This commitment will be implemented following completion of project construction. Will be completed following construction. R-4753 Permit Green Sheet Page 6 of 8 November 2016 Structure Design– TVA Permit The proposed project is located in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Land Management District. Any new stream crossings would likely require approval under Section 26a of the TVA Act. TVA shall be included as a cooperating agency if the project involves any work in streams. This commitment will be implemented, as appropriate. Not required by TVA. COMMITMENTS FROM PERMITTING Division 14 Construction/Natural Environmental Section Project specific conditions from the 404 Permit issued October 31, 2016: 1) All conditions (identified by numbers 1-12) supplied by the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission within the attached letter (attached in 404 permit) dated October 25, 2016, are hereby incorporated as conditions of this permit. Complied with. The use of temporary culverts to remain in place over winter for temporary detours at impact sites 3-8 was verbally coordinated on August 8, 2017 with Marla Chambers with NC Wildlife Resources Commission, Kevin Barnett with DEQ DWR, and Lori Beckwith USACE. The moratorium has also applied to include disturbance of all areas within 25’ of the stream, including the Tuckaseegee River, under trout buffer zone variance obtained from DEQ, Land Quality. 2) The permittee shall fully implement the Memorandum of Agreement between the Permittee, the North Carolina State Preservation Officer, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Federal Highway Administration which is incorporated herein by reference (attached in 404 permit). See preceding. 3) In order to compensate for impacts associated with this permit, mitigation shalle be provided in accordance with the provisions outlined in the most recent version of the attached Compensatory Mitigation Responsibility Transfer Form. The requirements of this form, including any special conditions listed on this form, are hereby incorporated as special conditions of this permit authorization. Done 4) All conditions supplied by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service within the attached letter dated October 28, 2016, are hereby incorporated as conditions of this permit. 1. A Service representative to will be notified of the pre-construction meeting for this project. Service was notified but could not attend due to short notice. Dave McHenry, Division 14 DEO, covered the permit requirements in the preconstruction meeting. 2. Special provisions for erosion control shall apply to this project during construction. These include, but are not limited to, a 10 acre maximum disturbed area limit, 25-year storm design capacity for controls, and R-4753 Permit Green Sheet Page 7 of 8 November 2016 incorporation of polyacrylamide flocculent with check dams and other structures. Complied with. 3. The Service will be notified if there is a large rain event that causes erosion- control devices to fail. An erosion control failure was documented and coordinated with USFWS representative Marella Buncick and DEQ, DWR representative Kevin Barnett on October 9, 2017. Minor loss of sediment to tributary to the Tuckaseegee River was subsequently removed manually. The contractor also was shut-down earlier on July 20, 2017 when there was a minor loss of sediment from incorrect temporary pipe placement. That sediment was removed from the stream. 4. To minimize times to final grade/ground cover reestablishment and ensure adherence with NCG-010000 General Construction Permit, a vegetation management plan will be provided by the contractor that will include procedures and a schedule of project area disturbance. The plan will include clearing associated with utility relocations. The plan will be reviewed regularly with the Resident Engineer and Area Roadside Engineer. Plan was prepared and submitted to Marella Buncick with USFWS on May 4, 2017 and is currently being revised to reflect construction sequence changes in coordination with project managers. 5. There will be a limit of 2 retaining walls under construction at any time. If construction delays are encountered, matting, fabric, or other non-vegetative ground covers will be used around disturbed wall construction areas that are near to the river. Complied with. Coordination was undertaken with Marella Buncick on August 10, 2018 and verification received that non-ground disturbing activity (in reference to wall 7 cap pouring and sheet pipe driving) could continue with ground disturbing work on two other walls.. 6. Coordination with Duke Energy regarding major release events will be requested. Done 7. In addition to reforestation (outside of mowing patterns) of existing riparian areas that are cleared, reforestation of drainage easements will also be pursued with landowners. Several drainage easements, including relatively large areas downstream of Impact Sites 1, 7 and 8 will be reforested in winter 2018 or fall 2019 following construction disturbances. 8. Roadway storm drainage from approximately 125+62 to 137+40 will be evaluated during construction to determine if an additional outlet is possible to reduce the concentrated drainage at the single outlet shown near 137+40. This possibility has been discussed with Marella Buncick (on-site in 2017) and is being further evaluated but may not be possible due to wall conflicts. Further evaluation in ongoing. This roadway section has not been worked on yet. 9. The 5 x 10 RCBC proposed in John Brown Branch will be evaluated for placement with its invert at stream grade rather than recessed due to recent issues encountered with some RCBCs in steep gradient cobble-bed streams. R-4753 Permit Green Sheet Page 8 of 8 November 2016 After additional coordination with Ms. Buncick, this RCBC was placed with bottom at 1’ recess below stream grade in accordance with Regional NWP Conditions. It is currently holding bedload and performing well thus far, likely due to the relatively coarse bedload size.