Biological assessment
CUMULATIVE IMPACTS-APPALACHIAN ELKTOE
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- DIRECT IMPACTS-CRITICAL HABITAT
CUMULATIVE IMPACTS-APPALACHIAN ELKTOEWater and sewer services are planned for extension from Burnsville to Spruce Pine along US 19E and from Micaville to Bakersville along NC 80. The extension of these services could lead to development of residential communities. Within the Cane River watershed, a 300-unit private Mountain Air Country Club was built off of Phipps Creek Road just west of the Cane River, and a proposed 40-unit affordable housing development is proposed on the north side of US 19 E in Burnsville near Mt. Heritage High School. In Mitchell County approximately 2,000 to 5,000 acres (809 to 2023 hectares) owned by Penland Bailey Corporation just north of Spruce Pine is planned to be divided into 0.5 to 2 acre (0.2 to 0.8 hectare) lots. This area is within the North Toe River drainage. Another development patterned after the Mountain Air Country Club is proposed near Altapass in Mitchell County, also within the North Toe River watershed. Based on interviews with local officials, both residential developments are long-term projects, and are not expected to be built-out in the next 20-25 years (HNTB North Carolina 2004). The construction of residential developments of this nature has the potential to adversely affect water quality in a variety of ways. Houses, driveways, and access roads increase the amount of impervious surface area within a watershed. Applications of pesticide and fertilizer to lawns can ultimately reach waters. The East Yancey Water and Sewer District has applied for an NPDES permit to develop a facility to discharge 0.125 million gallons per day (mgd) (0.473 million liters per day) of treated domestic wastewater into the South Toe River (draft permit # NC0087891). This application states an anticipated need for future increase of the discharge of treated domestic wastewater at this facility as part of the county plans to extend water and sewer services to accommodate anticipated development. Other adverse impacts to the Appalachian elktoe population in the Nolichucky River Basin have occurred in the past and will continue to occur. These types of impacts are difficult to identify or quantify, but may include sedimentation/erosion impacts from agricultural and residential land use; water quality impacts from agricultural and residential sources (fertilizers, pesticides, etc); small-scale littering into the river; and impacts from recreational uses of the river (e.g. fisherman stepping on individual mussels, using mussels as bait, and the riding of all terrain vehicles (ATVs) in river). All of these activities and other unidentified actions, could adversely impact individual mussels or habitat. Potential impacts are expected to be localized and small in size and their cumulative effect is not likely to be large enough to cause serious declines to the overall population. The combined effect of past and future actions addressed above may lead to significant, but localized, adverse impacts to the Appalachian elktoe and its Critical Habitat. Improved land-use practices, development controls, and protection of habitat could provide beneficial impacts that would help offset adverse cumulative effects. The proposed conservation and protection of riparian habitats in the watershed will help to alleviate some of the cumulative impacts affecting this species (See Conservation Measures-Proposed Measures to Offset Impacts). The proposed action(s) will result in adverse impacts to the Appalachian elktoe (discussed above). Existing and future residential and commercial developments, along with foreseeable infrastructure projects (water and sewer extensions) within the action area could potentially result in other adverse impacts to the Appalachian elktoe. Other small-scale impacts to the species may also occur within the project action areas. These impacts are difficult to predict or quantify but may include sedimentation/erosion impacts from agricultural and residential land-use, localized water quality impacts from agricultural and residential lands, small-scale littering into the river, impacts from recreational uses of the river (fisherman stepping on individual mussels or using mussels as bait, etc.) and other unforeseen impacts, all of which could adversely impact individual mussels or habitat. Generally, any potential impacts are expected to be localized and small in size, but when added together may cause localized declines in the population. However, the overall population has expanded in recent years (see above) and any cumulative impacts are not expected to significantly alter this trend. Conservation and protection of riparian habitats in the watershed (See Conservation Measures-Proposed Measures to Offset Impacts) will help to alleviate some of the effects of potential cumulative impacts within the project action areas. DIRECT IMPACTS-CRITICAL HABITATThe permanent and temporary loss of habitat discussed above occurs within habitat occupied by the Appalachian elktoe. Additionally, the temporary loss of habitat from construction causeways at the South Toe River crossing occurs in Designated Critical Habitat (Unit 6). This combined loss of habitat (permanent and temporary for both bridges) is relatively small compared to the amount of available habitat occurring in the 69.4 river miles (111.1 km) comprising Unit 6. This loss of habitat is not expected to impact the Critical Habitat for the Appalachian elktoe to the point that conservation values are compromised, nor will it eliminate the primary constituent elements from the impacted river reaches. Project-related erosion and sedimentation coming from the multiple tributary crossings could potentially impact Critical Habitat in the Cane, South Toe, and North Toe rivers. The potential for this type of impact decreases with increasing distance of the tributary to the receiving river. Erosion control standards will be strictly enforced by NCDOT to ensure that these potential impacts are minimal. The enforcement of the stringent erosion control measures proposed for this project will minimize the potential for these impacts to occur. Enforcement will involve various levels of quality control above and beyond what is implemented on standard NCDOT projects (See Conservation Measures And Proposed Measures to Offset Impacts Section 7.0). 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