FWS Letter.pdf

22001 Loudoun County Parkway Building E-2, Suite 200 Ashburn, VA 20147

Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division

SENT VIA ELECTRONIC CORRESPONDENCE

Mr. Lee Andrews Field Supervisor U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 446 Neal Street Cookeville, TN 38501

Subject: NP-FOOT 8G16, 8H10 Foothills Parkway Rehabilitation Blount County, Tennessee Request for Section 7 Concurrence

Dear Mr. Andrews:

The Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) previously requested your review of a project to perform preventative maintenance and pavement preservation on three sections of the Foothills Parkway in Blount and Cocke Counties, Tennessee (FWS# 20-I-1874). After receiving your letter dated September 25, 2020, in which concurrence with FHWA’s findings of “not likely to adversely affect” was provided; FHWA and the National Park Service decided to pursue rehabilitation of Parkway Sections 8G and 8H (milepost 55.27 to milepost 77.21) rather than pavement preservation. The work for Section 8A will continue as originally planned.

The rehabilitation would begin at the existing gate west of the interchange with connector roads to Route 73 (E Lamar Alexander Parkway) and end at the intersection with U.S. Route 129 (Calderwood Highway), and would include: full depth pavement reconstruction of the mainline, parking areas, and pull-offs; repairing drainage structures; installing riprap to repair scour at culvert inlets and outlets; replacing damaged sections of steel-backed timber guardrails;

repointing stone masonry; removing and resetting sidewalk and stone curb; stabilizing roadside ditches and reconstructing paved waterways; replacing signs and pavement markings; installing pavement markings, reseeding shoulders; bridge maintenance repairs, reconstructing accessibility ramps, and other miscellaneous work.

Although the rehabilitation work is more extensive that what was previously proposed, work would still occur within the existing road prism. In-water work is proposed at two locations:

milepost 56.192 to install riprap outlet protection; and, milepost 68.984 to remove the last detached section of the pipe at the outlet, construct a stone masonry headwall to anchor remaining outlet, and install riprap outlet protection. Best management practices, including temporary stream diversion, fiber roll, rolled erosion control product, temporary vegetative stabilization, and permanent vegetative stabilization would be implemented during construction

In Reply Refer to: HFPP-15 to minimize the potential for impacts from sedimentation. A topographic map identifying the project limits and culvert locations and photographs of the culverts are attached.

FHWA previously provided a determination of “may affect, not likely to adversely affect” for the Federally listed Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and designated critical habitat, northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), gray bat (Myotis grisescens), duskytail darter (Etheostoma percnurum), snail darter (Percina tanasi), spotfin chub (Erimonax monachus), yellowfin madtom (Noturus flavipinnis), Anthony's riversnail (Athearnia anthonyi), fine-rayed pigtoe (Fusconaia cuneolus), oyster mussel (Epioblasma capsaeformis), Cumberland bean (pearlymussel) (Villosa trabalis), Virginia spiraea (Spiraea virginiana), and spreading avens (Geum radiatum). The proposed rehabilitation work would occur within the existing road prism; however, minor tree clearing and the in-water work described above would be necessary to complete the repairs. The mitigation measures outlined in the attached Programmatic Categorical Exclusion would be implemented during construction. Implementation of the mitigation measures and the best management practices for erosion and sediment control and in-water work would minimize the potential for the proposed project to adversely affect Federally-listed species.

Therefore, FHWA has determined that the determination of “may affect, not likely to adversely affect” for the above Federally-listed species continues to remain valid for the proposed Foothills Parkway rehabilitation. The FHWA respectfully requests your review of the proposed project and your concurrence with this determination in accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. If you require any additional information, or have any questions, please contact Ms. Lisa Landers, Environmental Protection Specialist, at Lisa.Landers@dot.gov or

(571) 434-1592.

Sincerely, Kevin S. Rose Environmental Compliance Specialist

Attachments cc:

Mr. John Griffith, Transportation Biologist, Tennessee Field Office, USFWS Mr. Mike Tomkosky, Project Manager, DSC, NPS, Gatlinburg, TN Mr. Herb S. Kupfer, Project Specialist, DSC, NPS, Gatlinburg, TN