20190844 Ver 1_SR 1345 North Mills Pipe NWP Cover letter_20190623

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Roy COOPER
GOVERNOR
June 23, 2019
Ms. Crystal Amschler
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
NCDOT Regulatory Project Manager
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, NC 28801-2714
JAMEs H. TROGDON, III
SECRETARY
Subject: After -the -Fact Nationwide Permit 3 Application
SR 1345 (North Mills River Road) 1@60'Lx24" Corrugated Metal Pipe
Replacement
UT Mills River, Henderson County, NC
State Project No. 14.204411
Dear Ms. Amschler:
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is requesting after -the -fact
authorization for replacement of 1@60'Lx 24" diameter corrugated metal pipe (cmp) that carries
a UT to Mills River (WS-II Tr HQW) under SR1345 in Henderson County, NC. A project of this
scope would normally be considered exempt from permitting, however, the site is only about 0.05
mile upstream of the Mills River in a reach where Appalachian elktoe (Alasmidonta raveneliana)
mussels are known to occur or once occurred. For work like this in waters, a "may affect not
likely to adversely affect" determination is often applied to potential effects to federally listed
aquatic species that may be within 0.5 mile downstream.
This is a state funded project.
Section 7
Carolina northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus), gray bat (Myotis grisescens),
northern long-eared bat (NLEB, Myotis septentrionalis), Appalachian elktoe mussel (Alasmidonta
raveneliana), swamp pink (Helonias bullata), small whorled pogonia (Isotria medeoloides),
bunched arrowhead (Sagittaria fasciculata), mountain sweet pitcher plant (Sarracenia jonesii),
and white irisette (Sisyrinchium dichotomum) are the federally listed species that have current
records or that are suspected to be present in Henderson County.
The Mills River which supports (or at one time did support) Appalachian elktoe mussels is only
0.05 mile downstream of the site. Although a "may affect not likely to adversely affect" for
this species may apply to this instream work, it is unlikely that the work had measurable effects
Mailing Address: Telephone: [phone] Location:
NC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Fax: [phone] NC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Division 14 Customer Service: 1-877-368-4968 Division 14
253 Webster Road 253 Webster Road
Sylva, North Carolina 28779 Webstte: www.ncdot.gov Sylva, North Carolina 28779

SR 1345 Henderson County Page 2 June 23, 2019
on the river due to the scope of the proposed work and with the use of a temporary flow bypass to
work in the dry.
Carolina northern flying squirrel is a species that requires very high elevation habitats that are not
found at the site.
The construction did not affect forested habitats where small whorled pagonia could be found.
Swamp pink, bunched arrowhead, and mountain sweet pitcher plants are found in some saturated -
soil wetlands in Henderson County, but there are no boggy areas or other wetlands in the project
footprint.
White irisette is only found in some extreme eastern portions of Henderson County where soils
and topography are markedly different that at the project site.
The project did not require tree removal. The culvert is too small and short to serve as a bat
roost. The work did not disturb structures or caves that could be suitable as roosts or hibernacula
for bats. And, construction did not require percussive activities or night-time disturbance on a
large river corridor proper. For these reasons, the project should have had no effect on NLEB or
gray bats. Any incidental take of NLEB would be consistent with the 4d Rule as there are no
known hibernacula or maternity roosts in this part of Henderson County and the site is several
miles from any known hibernacula or maternity roost.
Section 106
The project is not in a Western NC Water and Corridor specified by 2.8 of the NWP Final
Regional Conditions. This project should have had no effect on significant architectural or
archaeological resources since all work was undertaken within an existing stream channel and
banks and disturbed right-of-way. The project has been pre-screened for cultural resources in
accordance with the NCDOT's Programmatic Agreement with the NC Historic Property Office.
Impacts to Waters of the United States
The UT Mills River has a well-defined channel and bank. This stream flows downstream to the
Mills River which then flows to the French Broad River which meets the definition of a
Traditional Navigable Water. Therefore, we believe the affected stream is under the jurisdiction
of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In order to construct the project, it was necessary to impact
waters of the United States in the French Broad River Basin (HUC 060101050200). Impacts
are listed in the PCN and summarized in the table below. A PJD has not been prepared in
accordance with prior Corps guidance since only one potential WOUS feature will be affected.
Drawings and plans for this type of routine maintenance work are typically not prepared and have
not been prepared in this situation. Note however, that the new culvert was placed in accordance
with invert burial requirements (20% of culvert diameter) specified by the NWP Final Regional
Conditions.
Site
Pre -Existing
Im act
New Permanent Impact
1
1 @60'Lx24"
1 @60'Lx36"
0

SR 1345 Henderson County Page 3 June 23, 2019
Compensatory Mitigation and Plan
Compensatory mitigation is not proposed since there were no permanent stream losses from the
work and there were no more than minimal impacts to aquatic environments.
Permits Requested
NCDOT hereby requests after -the -fact authorization under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act to
authorize the construction work. Due to the streams classification, this work requires written
certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act from the North Carolina Department of
Environmental Quality, Division of Water Resources (DWR). The project area is within a
"designated trout watershed" (as described in the Nationwide Regional Permit Conditions) and
we would welcome comments on this request from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.
Please contact me at [phone] if you have any questions or need additional information to
evaluate this request. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Ged by%:
I"�"++ 74L2.V— 6/23/2019
E8B673FBE42E5415
Dave McHenry
Division 14 Environmental Officer
Enclosures
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. Claire Elwanger, Biologist, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Asheville
Mrs. Marla Chambers, Western NCDOT Coordinator, NCWRC
Mr. Ben Williams, Division 14, Transylvania County Maintenance Engineer, NCDOT