Cover ImageDuke Power
Final Shoreline Management
Plan Update for the
Catawba-Wateree Hydro Project

(FERC No. 2232)

Appendix G


Submitted by:

Duke Power, A Division of
Duke Energy Corporation

Group Environment
Health & Safety
Lake Management

July 30, 2001

Prepared by:
The Louis Berger Group, Inc.
Needham, MA

I. Environmental
II. Natural
III. Impact Minimization Zones (IMZ)
IV. Commercial/ Non-residential
V. Commercial/ Residential
VI. Residential
VII. Business/ Industrial
VIII. Project Operations
IX. Public Recreation
X. Public Infrastructure
 

 

Appendix G

 

2000 Catawba-Wateree Shoreline Classifications

and

True Public Marina Requirements

The maps present the reclassification of the entire shoreline areas of the lakes of the Catawba-Wateree system using the shoreline classifications and associated lake use restrictions defined below. Section 3 of the SMP Update contains a map for each lake within the Catawba-Wateree system.

CLASSIFICATIONS AND LAKE USE RESTRICTIONS FOR THE 2001 C-W SMP MAP REVISIONS (Notes 1 and 4)

I. Environmental- Vegetated areas or cove heads with stream confluence- These types of shorelines exist where stable, emergent vegetation (any portion of which is at least 5 horizontal ft wide) composes > 50% of the area between full pond elevation and a minimum lakeward width of 5 horizontal ft for a minimum linear distance of 100 ft or where intermittent or permanent streams enter the upper ends (i.e. heads) of shallow coves (with or lacking vegetation). For cove heads with a stream but lacking emergent vegetation, the environmental classification extends to the edge of the established sedimentation delta plus 50 ft or, in the absence of an established delta, 50 ft on each side of the intersection of the stream centerline and the full pond contour. LAKE USE RESTRICTIONS - No construction, excavation or shoreline stabilization inside the project boundary.

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II. Natural- These areas have characteristics (i.e. shallow water, significant cultural resources or significant terrestrial habitat areas) that make most types of development inside the project boundary undesirable from an overall lake management standpoint. Specific Natural Areas include:

    1. Large areas (e.g. > 500 ft of continuous shoreline length) where water depth would be < 3 ft at a distance of 150 ft or more from the natural eroded shoreline with the lake level 3 ft below full pond, since extensive dredging would be needed to support private boating access.
    2. Important terrestrial habitat areas, particularly the island on Lake Norman that supports a large heron rookery, that warrant protection from activities that could limit the area’s ability to provide significant habitat important for wildlife.
    3. Significant cultural resource areas (i.e. areas within the project boundary known to include culturally significant artifacts) that warrant protection from activities that could alter the archaeological integrity of the site.

LAKE USE RESTRICTIONS - No construction or excavation inside the project boundary. (Note: Shoreline stabilization is allowed within the project boundary provided the stabilization adheres to the Shoreline Stabilization Technique Selection Process (see Attachment 1)).

III. Impact Minimization Zones (IMZ) (Note 2)- Project lands and waters that have specifically-identified importance on a given lake from a scenic, environmental, or cultural standpoint but protection of those important values does not necessarily preclude private, commercial, business or industrial access to the lake. Applicants must first try to avoid IMZs, but if complete avoidance is not a practicable alternative, then the following specific lake use restrictions will apply:

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    1. For areas identified in the SWFHS as having stable sand, gravel or cobble substrates on Lake James:
    • LAKE USE RESTRICTIONS - No boat ramps except those required for Public Recreation, no excavation and no Commercial/Non-res. or Commercial/Res. Facilities. Construction within these areas may have specific mitigation requirements imposed by the federal, state or local resource agencies. Shoreline stabilization within the project boundary adheres to the Shoreline Stabilization Technique Selection Process (see Attachment 1)).

B. For areas identified in the SWFHS as having stable sand, gravel or cobble substrates on all other C-W lakes:

    • LAKE USE RESTRICTIONS - No boat ramps except those required for Public Recreation and no excavation. Construction within these areas may have specific mitigation requirements imposed by the federal, state or local resource agencies. Shoreline stabilization within the project boundary adheres to the Shoreline Stabilization Technique Selection Process (see Attachment 1)).

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IV. Commercial/Non-residential (Note 3) - Project lands and waters where boats can be launched, retrieved or moored, and where provisions for food services, convenience retailing including petroleum dispensing, wet and dry storage of watercraft and other activities customarily associated with marinas, private recreation areas and yacht clubs take place. LAKE USE RESTRICTIONS - Per the SMG- New Commercial/Non-residential facilities will not be authorized in areas within a half-mile radius of an existing Commercial/Non-residential facility nor areas where more than fifty percent of the shoreline within a half-mile radius is residentially developed. (Note: This does not preclude expansion of existing facilities identified as True Public Marina (TPM). Expansion of existing TPM's may be exempted from adhering to certain requirements limiting expansion of existing commercial facilities. True Public Marinas may be considered for expansion even if the facility: 1) is behind a constriction point of 200 feet or less; 2) expansion would exceed the maximum of 200 boatslips; and 3) expansion is within the 200 feet setback from the outermost projectfront property corners or from any privately-owned inholdings. Additionally, existing Commercial/Residential facilities may be converted to Commercial/Non-residential Use only if the facility qualifies as a True Public Marina. All expansions are subject to local, state and federal resource agency review).

V. Commercial/Residential (Note 3) - Project lands and waters where boats can be launched, retrieved or moored for the purpose of providing private access to the lake for specific residential properties including:

    1. Multi-family dwellings (e.g. apartments, townhouses, condominiums).
    2. Long-term campgrounds (typically those that lease campsites for more than 14 consecutive days)
    3. Subdivision access lots that provide boating access for owners of any residential lots that don’t have project frontage.

LAKE USE RESTRICTIONS - No Commercial /Non-res. Facilities.

VI. Residential (Note 3) - Project lands and waters occupied by private facilities for project-front landowners, none of which can have multi-family dwellings. This classification may include, among other things, piers, boathouses, boatshelters, boat docks, floats, and boat ramps. LAKE USE RESTRICTIONS - No Commercial/Non-res. or new Commercial/Res. Facilities.

VII. Business/Industrial- Project lands and waters that are used by private businesses but which have little to no effect on boating. LAKE USE RESTRICTIONS - No facilities that have an appreciable effect on boating (e.g. No Commercial facilities).

VIII. Project Operations (Note 2) - Project lands and waters associated with hydro power production including but not limited to- dams, dikes, powerhouses and other hydro plant properties. Downstream Clear Zones (DCZ) are also part of this classification and they include project lands and waters immediately downstream of all operating hydro stations that are potentially subject to rapid and significant variations in flow rates based on plant operations. As a minimum, DCZs will extend 1000 ft downstream from the dam, to the downstream edge of the hydro plant property or to a bridge crossing that is within 2500 ft of the dam, whichever provides for a greater distance. DCZs extend beyond this minimum downstream length where deemed necessary by the Duke Power - Power Generation Department. DCZs are identified on the Final Draft SMP maps by cross-hatches. (Note that DCZs are not established in downstream areas that are outside the project boundary (e.g. riverine sections below the plant property boundary at Lake James, Lake Hickory, Lake Wylie and Lake Wateree) or areas below the retired hydros (i.e. Gunpowder II, Rink dam, Icard dam). LAKE USE RESTRICTIONS - No new or expanding Commercial/Res., Commercial/Non-res. or Residential Facilities. (Note: Any existing facilities within the DCZ will be considered for potential rebuild applications, provided that no other practicable alternative exists).

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IX. Public Recreation (Note 3) - Project lands and waters occupied by facilities supporting various public recreational amenities. Examples of the public recreation classification include Duke-owned public access areas, and state, district, county and city parks that adjoin the project boundary. LAKE USE RESTRICTIONS - No non-project uses, except Public Infrastructure. (Note: Any lake use that is necessary to maintain or enhance the public recreation facilities is considered a project use.)

X. Public Infrastructure (Note 2) - Project lands and waters occupied by public, non-recreational facilities supporting regional needs. This type of facility may include but is not limited to- overhead transmission line corridors; submarine utility line corridors (water, sewer, gasoline, natural gas, oil, phone, electric, etc.); public power supplies (fossil, nuclear, etc.); rights-of-way for public bridges, causeways, roads, water intakes, effluent discharges, etc. Public infrastructure applicants/permittees normally have the power of eminent domain. LAKE USE RESTRICTIONS - No new or expanding Commercial/Res., Commercial/Non-res. or Residential Facilities. (Note: Any existing facilities within the Public Infrastructure right-of-way will be considered for potential rebuild applications, provided that no other practicable alternative exists).

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Notes

  1. Public-need projects where the applicant has the power of eminent domain can be exempted from the listed lake use restrictions provided there is no other acceptable alternative (similar to practicable alternative, except it allows more consideration for economics of alternatives and desires of the applicant). Also note that the shoreline classifications and associated lake use restrictions are considered to apply to the project boundary line and the area extending lakeward and perpendicular to the shoreline for a minimum distance of one-third the cove width. Where restrictive classifications (e.g. Environmental, Natural, Impact Minimization Zones, etc.) wrap around the heads of coves, the lake use restrictions will also apply to the entire cove width in the wrapped area.

  2. An alternative is not considered practicable if choosing it over the desired option would result in any of the following:
    1. Violation of any applicable permitting criteria or lake use restriction.
    2. Requiring the applicant to dredge the lake bed in order to use the requested facility, whereas dredging would not be required if some allowance were made for crossing into the restricted area.
    3. Modification of the desired facility to the point that the resulting structure would be of very limited usefulness.
    4. Elimination of the desired type of lake access
  1. Final Draft SMP maps include an Existing Use and Future Use classification for the Commercial/Non- residential, Commercial/Residential, Residential and Public Recreation classifications. The appropriate Future Use classification is applied to all undeveloped shoreline not included in one of the Existing Use classifications.
  2. Cultural resource data is included in a data layer that is not visible in the final 2001 SMP maps provided to entities outside the parties to the Cultural Resources PA. This is necessary because of the sensitive nature of the data and the need to protect the integrity of these sites as required by the PA between the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the ACHP and the North Carolina and South Carolina SHPOs. Lake use permitting activities not specifically exempted in the PA that may potentially impact these sites require consultation with the appropriate SHPO. Lake use permitting activities may have additional mitigation requirements or the activity may not be allowed.

TRUE PUBLIC MARINA REQUIREMENTS

 

The following information will be used to determine the classification of marinas at the projects. To be classified as a true public marina, the facility must meet all of the requirements in sections 1 and 2. Section 3 identifies the application fee and security deposit to be paid.

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  1. No predetermination of user groups for any of the existing or proposed land or water based facilities.
    1. No commercial/residential (existing or proposed)
    2. No membership requirements
    3. Transient services do not require wet or dry storage rental
  1. Existing and/or proposed facilities will provide land and water based recreation services for transient users at less than or equal to a reasonable and customary fee.
    1. Services are available for transient users
    2. Offers services for lake and land based users
  1. Application filing fee and security deposit reductions
    1. If adding only the following type of facilities; courtesy dock, hiking trail, wildlife viewing , gas dock, fishing pier, boat ramp, swimming area, beach, boat repair/servicing, public restrooms or any other truly public service, then the application fee and security deposit will be reduced by 100%.
    2. If adding facilities that will be rented for greater than 14 days, but less than or equal to 365 days, there will be a 50% reduction in the application fee and security deposit.
    3. If the plan is the same as b., but also includes adding more types of items in 3 a., then the application fee and security deposit will be reduced by 100%.

The same criteria will be used to determine if a true public marina will be listed on the new recreation map booklet.

 

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