DECEMBER 10, 2009 ISSUE
Environmental Report on Planned Water Intake Published
Public Has Until January 4 To Submit Comments on Project
The proposed water intake facility for the Town of Boone would withdraw 4 million gallons per day from the New River in the Brownwood area. The pump station would be housed in a barn-like structure.The environmental assessment prepared for a planned New River water intake facility in the Brownwood area of Watauga County to serve the Town of Boone is now available for public review and comments.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had to review related documents, request changes and have questions addressed before the assessment, prepared by engineering firm W.K. Dickson & Company, could be made available for public comment. Comments should be made to the USDA Rural Development office in Jefferson by Monday, January 4, 2010—30 days after the December 3 publication of the assessment.
Once the comment period ends, the USDA could require the town to address issues raised by the public.
“There may be some comments that we have to address,” said Boone Town Manager Greg Young. “We hope, after the review and comment period, that we will have all issues resolved.”
The proposed water intake facility would draw 4 million gallons per day (mgd) from the South Fork of the New River. The current plan is for the intake to be located in the riverbed and under the river. The 30-by-50-foot raw water intake pump station would be constructed along the south bank of the river about a half-mile upstream from the Cranberry Springs Road Bridge. Raw water would then be pumped to an additional booster pump station located along Brownwood Road’s western edge and then transmitted by water lines to Boone’s water treatment plant on Deck Hill Road.
Boone’s wastewater treatment plant discharges treated wastewater back into the New River about 23 river miles upstream of the proposed intake site. The town already has one water intake site located on the New River.
In November 2008, Boone voters approved a $25 million bond referendum for a new water source along the South Fork of the New River. In May, the town announced it had entered into contract for purchase of 10 acres needed to construct the new water intake and pump station, which will be housed in a structure designed to look like a barn.
According to the assessment, the town currently supplies an average daily demand of 1.8 mgd to a population of about 16,400. The report said the average daily demand is expected to grow to 2.75 mgd by the year 2030, with an additional potential for 0.5 mgd to the Town of Blowing Rock through an emergency interconnection line and 1 mgd of unallocated reserve for unincorporated areas in the county. Therefore, the report said, the town should plan for an average daily demand of 4.25 mgd with a 6.8 mgd maximum.
The assessment’s executive summary states that no impacts are anticipated to federally protected species, historically significant resources or the viewshed in the Brownwood area. It identified the planned location as a potential habitat for several state endangered or threatened species, however, including the green floater, seep mudalia, mountain bittercress and long-stalked holly. Several federal and state species of concern could also be located in the area, according to the assessment.
The assessment said that a water intake located beneath the riverbed will not result in any permanent negative impacts to aesthetics, recreation or stream flow.
However, constructing a water intake in the riverbed requires state approval. Rep. Cullie Tarleton (D-93) introduced House Bill 972 in spring 2009 to allow Boone to construct the intake within the river. The bill passed the House but was referred to a Senate committee and did not reach a full Senate vote before the 2009 session ended. If the General Assembly does not approve the bill, the intake will have to be constructed on the bank of the river.
“We’re pursuing our options in what we can do,” Young said.
The assessment also includes a summary of the 27 alternatives evaluated for locating a new water source for Boone, including new sites along the Watauga River, Watauga Lake in Tennessee, the Yadkin River, lakes on federal land, increasing the town’s existing Winkler’s Creek reservoir capacity, building a new reservoir, wells, interconnections with other utilities and sites along the South Fork of the New River.
A group of citizens, many located in the Todd area, have expressed opposition to the proposed project based on a number of concerns, including the town’s inability to remove pharmaceutical waste from the treated wastewater it releases back into the New River.
Mia Hartsook, a Fleetwood resident opposed to the planned water intake project, emailed area media outlets and other parties with comments about the environmental assessment on December 7.
Because Boone is anticipating demand for water for Blowing Rock and other unincorporated areas, it is making a regional water decision, Hartsook said in the email, and therefore Ashe County residents should have a voice in the issue. Only one meeting has been held—on June 23—where Ashe County residents could ask public officials about the project, she said.
She also questioned the dismissal of wells as an alternative for Boone’s water needs.
“Many, even most, municipalities around the country do not rely on surface water, the ‘low lying fruit’ for their water needs, but derive them from groundwater aquifers,” she said in the email.
After the comment period is over, the town hopes the USDA will issue a Finding of No Significant Impact, Young said. If not, the town could be required to take additional steps or prepare additional documents, such as an environmental impact statement.
Comments should be made by Monday, January 4, 2010, to Sandra Lawrence at USDA, Rural Development at 134 Government Circle, Suite 201 in Jefferson, NC 28640. For more information, call 336-246-8818.
Copies of the environmental assessment will be available for review during normal business hours at the USDA Rural Development Office, located at 134 Government Circle, Suite 201 in Jefferson; at Boone Town Hall, located at 567 West King Street in Boone; and at Boone Public Utilities Department, located at 321 East King Street in Boone.
A .pdf version of the document can be downloaded by clicking to www.townofboone.net.
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