EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT NORTH SHORE ROAD ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT SWAIN COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA January 2004 Existing Conditions Report North Shore Road Environmental Impact Statement Swain County, North Carolina Contract No. DTFH71-02-D-00004 Task Order 0002 Prepared for: National Park Service and Federal Highway Administration Prepared by: ARCADIS G&M of North Carolina, Inc. 801 Corporate Center Drive Suite 300 Raleigh North Carolina 27607 Tel 919 854 1282 Fax 919 854 5448 Our Ref.: NC603001.0000 Date: January 2004 Existing Conditions North Shore Road 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Report Purpose 1 1.2 Study Area Description 1 1.3 Project Purpose and Need and the 1943 Agreement 2 1.4 North Shore Road History 2 1.5 Great Smoky Mountains National Park History 3 2. Existing Roadway and Traffic Conditions 4 2.1 Roadway and Trail Conditions 4 2.1.1 Roadways 4 2.1.2 GSMNP Trails and Old Roadbeds 7 2.1.3 Tunnel and Bridge Conditions 8 2.2 Existing Traffic Conditions 11 2.2.1 System Linkage 11 2.2.2 Transportation Plans 12 2.2.3 Historic Traffic Growth 13 2.2.4 2003 Traffic Surveys 14 2.2.5 Roadway Capacity 15 2.2.6 Speed Study 19 2.3 Accident Analysis 20 2.3.1 Conclusion 25 3. Existing Environmental Conditions 26 3.1 Land Use (Existing and Future) 26 3.1.1 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 26 3.1.2 Nantahala National Forest 28 3.1.3 Swain County 30 3.1.4 Graham County 30 i Existing Conditions North Shore Road 3.1.5 Bryson City 30 3.1.6 Tennessee Valley Authority 32 3.2 Socioeconomic and Community Features 35 3.2.1 Demographic Profile of the Project Study Area 35 3.2.2 Environmental Justice 47 3.2.3 Community and Social Features 52 3.2.4 Economy and Employment 56 3.3 Cultural Resources 60 3.3.1 Archaeological Sites 61 3.3.2 Historic Structures and Other Aboveground Resources 64 3.3.3 Cemeteries 67 3.3.4 Traditional Cultural Properties 69 3.3.5 Other Cultural Resources 70 3.3.6 Summary 71 3.4 Parklands and Recreational Facilities 71 3.4.1 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 72 3.4.2 Appalachian National Scenic Trail 75 3.4.3 Nantahala National Forest 76 3.4.4 Other Study Area Parks and Recreational Facilities 76 3.5 Topography, Geology, and Soils 78 3.5.1 Topography 78 3.5.2 Regional Geology 78 3.5.3 Local Geology 79 3.5.4 Mineral Resources 84 3.5.5 Structural Geology 85 3.5.6 General Geotechnical and Geologic Design Considerations 86 3.5.7 Soils 90 ii Existing Conditions North Shore Road 3.6 Water Resources 94 3.6.1 Surface Waters 94 3.6.2 Wild and Scenic Rivers 98 3.6.3 Water Quality 99 3.6.4 Sole Source Aquifiers 110 3.6.5 Wellhead Protection Program 110 3.6.6 Groundwater Recharge Areas 110 3.7 Wetlands 111 3.7.1 Regulatory Requirements 111 3.7.2 Mitigation 113 3.7.3 Wetlands in the Project Study Area 114 3.7.4 Navigable Waters 116 3.8 Floodplains 116 3.9 Biological Resources 117 3.9.1 Vegetative Communities 117 3.9.2 Terrestrial Wildlife 130 3.9.3 Aquatic Wildlife 143 3.9.4 Invasive Exotic Species 146 3.9.5 Protected Species 147 3.10 Aesthetics and Viewsheds 169 3.10.1 Scenic Byways 171 3.11 Air Quality 171 3.11.1 Regulatory Status 171 3.11.2The Clean Air Act and Class 1 Areas 173 3.12 Noise 174 3.12.1 Characteristics of Noise 174 3.12.2 Noise Abatement Criteria 179 iii Existing Conditions North Shore Road 3.12.3 Ambient Noise Levels 180 3.12.4 Summary 180 3.13 Hazardous Material and Waste Sites 181 3.14 Utilities 186 3.14.1 GSMNP 186 3.14.2 TVA’s Fontana Reservoir 186 3.14.3 Remaining Study Area Utilities 187 3.15 Public Projects in the Vicinity of the Study Area 187 3.15.1 NCDOT Transportation Improvement Program Projects 188 3.15.2 Thoroughfare Plans 188 3.15.3 GSMNP Projects 189 3.15.4 Wilderness Designation 191 3.15.5 Fontana Dam Project 191 3.16 Private In-Holdings 191 4. References 193 Tables 1 Primary Bridges and Culverts on State Routes 2 Structures Within Great Smoky Mountains National Park Study Area 3 Intersection Level of Service – Unsignalized (Year 2003) 4 Intersection Level of Service – Signalized (Year 2003) 5 Mainline Levels of Service (2003) 6 Speed Study (2003) 7 Intersection Accident Data (Fall 1999 through Fall 2002) 8 Mainline Accident Data (Fall 1999 through Fall 2002) 9 Corridor Accident Rates 10 Intersection Accident Rates iv Existing Conditions North Shore Road 11 1990-2000 Population Growth for State, County, Place, Census Tract, and Block Group 12 Ethnicity and Race by State, County, Place, Census Tract, and Block Group for 1990 13 Ethnicity and Race by State, County, Place, Census Tract, and Block Group for 2000 14 Income Levels and Poverty Status for Households in the Study Region for 1999 15 Housing Units for 2000 16 Housing Tenure for 2000 17 Housing Values (Owner-Occupied) for 2000 18 Population Change Between 1900 and 2000 19 Workforce by Industry 20 Largest Manufacturers in Graham and Swain Counties 21 Fontana Lake Classification of Designated Use and NCDWQ Stream Index Number, Graham and Swain Counties, North Carolina 22 Stream Segments on the National Rivers Inventory Within the Project Study Area 23 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit Holders Within the Project Study Area 24 Summary of Hazel Creek Water Quality Data, Sampling from 1994-2002 25 Comparison of Selected Water Quality Parameters for Fontana and Hazel Creek Mines 26 Area and Description of NWI Mapped Wetlands and Deepwater Habitat Within the Project Study Area 27 Cross-Reference of Vegetative Communities Found Within the Project Study Area 28 Federally Protected Species Known from Graham and Swain Counties, North Carolina 29 Federal Species of Concern Known from Graham and Swain Counties, North Carolina 30 State Species of Concern Known from Swain and Graham Counties, North Carolina v Existing Conditions North Shore Road 31 Element Occurrences of Protected, Endangered, Threatened, and Sensitive (PETS) Species in Graham and/or Swain County, North Carolina 32 NAAQS and Monitored Concentrations for Criteria Pollutants 33 Dominating Noise Sources (30-Minute Reading Sites) 34 Dominating Noise Sources (24 Hour Reading Sites) 35 Typical Human Hearing Levels 36 Noise Abatement Criteria 37 Hazardous Material and Waste Sites Identified by EDR 38 Hazardous Material Waste Sites (Orphan Sites) Figures 1 General Vicinity Map 2 Great Smoky Mountains National Park Trails, Old Roadbeds and Railroad Beds 3A Proposed Roadway Improvements 3B Proposed Roadway Improvements 4A Traffic Data and Capacity Analysis – Intersection Reference Map 4B Traffic Data and Capacity Analysis – Intersection Peak Hour Volumes 5 Land Use 6 General Management Plan (GMP) Proposed Management Zoning 7 Census Boundaries 8 Study Area Development 9 Major Employers 10 Recreational Amenities and Facilities 11 Mineral Resources and Geology 12 Soil Associations 13 Water Resources 14 Wetlands vi Existing Conditions North Shore Road 15 Floodplains 16 Terrestrial and Aquatic Habitats – General Categories Vegetation Map 17A Terrestrial and Aquatic Habitats – National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Map 17B Terrestrial and Aquatic Habitats – United States Forest Service (USFS) Vegetation Map 17C Terrestrial and Aquatic Habitats – North Carolina Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCCGIA) Vegetation Map 18 Potential Threatened and Endangered Species Habitats 19 Ambient Noise Levels 20 Hazardous Waste Sites 21 Utilities 22 Private In-Holdings Appendices A Memorandum of Agreement of October 8, 1943 B Stream Classifications vii Existing Conditions North Shore Road 1. Introduction 1.1 Report Purpose The purpose of this report is to document the existing conditions of the study area, including the cultural, natural, and human aspects of the environment. Other existing conditions include the transportation network, air quality, ambient noise levels, and hazardous material and waste sites. A summary of this report will be used in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This report will provide the groundwork for developing alternatives and analyzing the anticipated impacts. Data for the report were collected by researching applicable literature and websites, conducting interviews with local authorities and field specialists, reviewing historical information relating to the project, performing site inspections of the study area, and reviewing public comments. 1.2 Study Area Description The study area, shown in Figure 1, is in western North Carolina, in portions of Swain and Graham counties. It extends from just west of Fontana Village to the eastern municipal limits of Bryson City, covering an area of roughly 120,000 acres (48,562 hectares [ha]). Fontana Lake divides the study area into halves to include land south and north of the lake. The southern limits of the study area parallel just south of NC 28 and US 19/US 74 while the northern limits follow an arc that includes the majority of land transferred in the October 8, 1943, Memorandum of Agreement (1943 Agreement). The 1943 Agreement, included in Appendix A, is explained in more detail in Section 1.3 of this report. In order to provide the full range of study alternatives Fontana Lake and thorough analyses that are required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the EIS study area covers a large expanse of land. Specifically, the inclusion of land south of Fontana Lake is necessary to evaluate the existing roadway network, the area’s transportation needs, and potential access options across Fontana Lake.