20190353 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20190308

❑ North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission ❑
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
March 8, 2019
Mr. David Brown
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: Snowhill Falls POA Pond Dredging
Wests Branch, Macon County
Dear Mr. Brown:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to dredge sediment from a 1 -acre pond on Wests Branch in Macon County. Our
comments on this application are offered for your consideration under provisions of the Clean
Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. 466 et. seq.) and Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401,
as amended; 16 U.S.C. 661-667d).
There are Rainbow Trout in Wests Branch, and project activities should be avoided during the
trout moratorium of January 1 to April 15. In addition, the site is upstream of Cowee Creek,
which is part of the Little Tennessee (Lower) Aquatic Habitat, a natural area rated as Exceptional
by the NC Natural Heritage Program for the richness of rare species it supports, including
Spotfin Chub (Erimonax monachus, US and NC Threatened), Sicklefin Redhorse (Moxostoma
sp., NC T), Olive Darter [Percina squamata, NC Special Concern (SC)], and Eastern Hellbender,
(Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, NC SC). It is extremely important to minimize any sediment
loss from the project to protect these rare animals.
The pond was constructed off-line and adjacent to Wests Branch, but the stream does enter the
pond now to the east. During the project, stream flow will be pumped around the pond area or
otherwise isolated from the pond. The pond will be dewatered by pumping the water with a 2 -in
semi -trash pump into the stand pipe, draining the pond at 1 ft/day. Logging mats will be used to
support heavy equipment, and sediment will be dredged mechanically, taken off-site to an
adjacent property for disposal. Little information on erosion and sediment control management
of the sediment disposal site is provided.
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

Snowhill Falls Pond Dredging Page 2 March 8, 2019
Wests Branch, Macon County
We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to fish and wildlife:
1. Project activities should be accomplished as quickly as possible and vigilance used in
sediment and erosion control during site preparation, construction, and clean up.
2. Disturbed areas should be seeded, mulched and/or matted as soon as possible. Any erosion
control matting used should be free of plastic or nylon mesh, as this type of mesh netting
frequently entangles wildlife and is slow to degrade, resulting in a hazard that may last for
years.
3. It is essential to keep the pond isolated from Wests Branch during dewatering, dredging, and
refill. Effective erosion and sediment control should be used to stabilize the sediment
deposition area, including silt fence and seed/straw at the very least.
4. Work should be avoided between January 1 and April 15 to minimize impacts to Rainbow
Trout spawning and egg development.
5. The pond should be dewatered via pump from the water's surface, making sure that bottom
sediment and/or turbid water is not released downstream.
6. Minimum flows should be maintained in the receiving stream during pond refill. At a
minimum, 50% of the streamflow should be maintained within the stream.
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project. Please contact me at
[phone] if you have any questions about these comments.
Sincerely,
Andrea Leslie
Mountain Region Coordinator, Habitat Conservation Program
ec: David Peacock, Peacock Property Solutions
Kevin Mitchell, NC Division of Water Resources
Byron Hamstead, US Fish and Wildlife Service