APPENDIX A AGENCY COORDINATION

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1 APPENDIX A AGENCY COORDINATION

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3 Paul J. Diodati Director August 25, 2010 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Annisquam River Marine Fisheries Station 30 Emerson Ave. Gloucester, Massachusetts (978) fax (617) Susan McArthur Wetlands Permitting Supervisor Mass Department of Transportation, Highway Division Ten Park Plaza Boston, MA Deval Patrick Governor Ian A. Bowles Secretary Mary B. Griffin Commissioner RE: Proposed Fore River Bridge Replacement Project, Quincy and Weymouth, summary of recent correspondence and conference calls Dear Ms. McArthur, This letter is in response to our recent phone conversation on August 18, 2010 with reference to previous correspondence from Mass DOT on August 5, 2010 and from MarineFisheries on July 10, 2009 regarding the Fore River Bridge replacement project. On our recent phone call we discussed the time-of-year restriction (TOY) for in-water work recommended by MarineFisheries to protect fisheries species in the Fore River from project impacts. We also discussed the specific aspects of the proposed in-water work that would be considered silt-producing and warrant a TOY restriction or siltation containment. Fore River Sediment After review of the sediment grain size presented in the August 5, 2010 DOT letter (total average of all sites 43.45% sand and 39.57% fines), it appears that the area is defined by a relatively high percentage of fine grain sediments that may be re-suspended and result in elevated turbidity caused by in-water work. MarineFisheries recommended that DOT conduct a literature review of case studies that involved turbidity monitoring during the installation of sheet piling. The study presented in the August 5 th letter (Laughlin 2003) was at a site in Washington State characterized by larger grain size than the Fore River including sand, gravel and cobble substrate on the surface. It was not clear how many turbidity samples were taken in the Laughlin study and if the number would provide power to detect a significant difference. In addition, samples may have been subject to seasonal or climactic differences that may not have been accounted for. For these reasons it is not comparable to the Fore River. We continue to recommend further literature review as well as field sampling of existing and proposed projects in the region to better understand the impacts associated with cofferdam installation and removal. TOY recommendation Our TOY recommendation, as stated in our letter dated July 10, 2009, is no in-water, silt-producing work or work that will obstruct passage from February 15 through September 15. The specific species recommendations include protection of winter flounder spawning and juvenile development from February 15 to June 30, protection of diadromous passage from March 1 to June 30 and

4 protection of shellfish spawning from May 1 to September 15. Work that is considered siltproducing by MassDOT in Table 1 of the August 5 th letter, including all dredging, should be avoided during the entire TOY of February 15 through September 15. Work identified in the bottom section of Table 1, including activities such as driving sheet piling and drilled shafts, is expected to result in a more localized and temporary turbidity plume that will not likely impact upstream or downstream shellfish resources and therefore does not warrant the extended TOY. However, even a localized turbidity plume in the fine grained sediments of the Fore River may be an obstruction to migrating diadromous fish and may smother eggs and newly settled winter flounder larvae. Therefore, we continue to recommend a TOY for this portion of work, to avoid work in-water, unless it is contained by silt curtains, from February 15 to June 30 for the protection of winter flounder and diadromous species. In summary, drilled shafts and installation of cofferdams along with other non-silt producing activities in Table 1 can be performed throughout the year with the exception of the TOY restriction of February 15 through June 30 when siltation curtains must be used. Silt producing activities such as dredging the channel and other activities addressed in Table 1 cannot be performed within the TOY restriction of February 15 through September 15. Thank you for considering our comments. I am available to discuss the project and these comments if you have any further questions. Sincerely, N. Tay Evans cc: M. Ayer, DMF K. Ford, DMF K. Chin, DEP B. Boeri, CZM M. Furlong, MassDOT M.E. Schloss, Conservation Commission 2

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11 file://c:\documents and Settings\palmerm\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\A7L... Page 1 of 1 7/26/2010 From: Christopher.Boelke [Christopher.Boelke@Noaa.gov] Sent: Friday, May 28, :41 AM To: Remillard, Erin (DOT) Subject: Re: Quincy-Weymouth, Fore River Bridge Attachments: Christopher_Boelke.vcf Hi Erin - Thank yopu for resending this information regarding the. I apologize for not responding to this letter in a timely fashion. Dave Tomey was (since retired) the head of our NEPA office, however, that office focuses on internam NOAA NEPA dociumetn sonly. In the future, please send to Assistant Regional Administrator for Habitat Conservation, and Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected Resources as we are the offices that deal with environmental impact review. While we do get involved in the state level process on occasion, NMFS generally focuses our review on the Corps of Engineers process due to the federal requirements for EFH consultation and Section 7 consultation. Having said that, I have reviewed the MA Division of Marine Fisheries letter for the Route 3A bridge replacement over the Fore River, and concur with the recommendations provided. Please feel free to give me a call if you would like to discuss further Thanks, Chris On 5/27/ :15 AM, Remillard, Erin (DOT) wrote: Chris, I am ing you regarding a project we have in Quincy/Weymouth - the bridge replacement of Route 3A over the Fore River. Correspondence was initially sent to David Tomey at NOAA on June 16, 2009 (see attached letter). This letter requested information regarding potential protected species and their habitats, any time of year considerations, any Essential Fish Habitat concerns, and any other marine resource and commercial/recreational fishing concerns. We also have a response from Tay Evans at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (see attached) noting the presence of winter flounder and soft shell clam. This letter recommends containing all silt-producing work. If a silt containment method is not feasible, an avoidance of in-water, silt-producing work is recommended from February 15 to September 15. I am ing to see if you concur with the response from DMF or if you might have recommendations of your own regarding this project area. Thank you, Erin Erin Remillard Environmental Analyst MassDOT, Highway Division 10 Park Plaza, Room 4260 Boston, MA (617) <<Mass DMF letter pdf>> <<NOAA-NMFS letter pdf>>

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15 Paul J. Diodati Director Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Annisquam River Marine Fisheries Station 30 Emerson Ave. Gloucester, Massachusetts (978) fax (617) Memorandum Deval Patrick Governor Ian A. Bowles Secretary Mary B. Griffin Commissioner To: J. Mark Ennis, P.E. Project Coordinator From: Tay Evans, Marine Fisheries Biologist and Technical Review Coordinator Date: July 10, 2009 RE: MassHighway Proposed Fore River Bridge Replacement Project, Quincy and Weymouth Thank you for your June 15, 2009 request for fisheries information concerning work related to the construction of the new Fore River Bridge, as part of the MassHighway Accelerated Bridge Program. The proposed project requires in-water work to include excavation and pier installation in the vicinity of the bridge footprint. Below we provide a brief overview of the fisheries resources at the project site as well as recommendations to avoid and minimize any impacts to those resources. The Fore River serves as migratory and spawning habitat for several species of anadromous and estuarine-spawning finfish, including winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) and tomcod (Microgadus tomcod); and is also significant for the migration, spawning and development of diadromous fish, including rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis). Upstream of the project site are extensive mudflats containing soft shell clam (Mya arenaria) resource and habitat. Commercial and recreational fishing activity in the project area includes the following: o Striped bass are seasonally targeted by both recreational and commercial anglers, both shore-side and on boats in the area. o Bluefish are seasonally targeted by recreational anglers o American lobster are recreationally and commercially fished in the Fore River and near the Fore River Bridge. o Winter flounder and rainbow smelt are also harvested at certain times of year in the Fore River and vicinity. Given the need to avoid and/or minimize impacts to these sensitive marine fisheries resources, we recommend containing all silt-producing work within bottom anchored silt-curtains and cofferdams where feasible. Should a containment method not be feasible at this site, we recommend avoiding in-water, silt-producing work from February 15 through September 15 for the protection of the above mentioned fisheries species, specifically, winter flounder (February 15 to June 30) and soft shell clam (June 15 to September 15) spawning activity and larval &

16 juvenile development; and to protect the movements and spawning of anadromous fish, (March 1 to June 30). Thank you for considering our comments. Please contact me at x. 168 or tay.evans@state.ma.us if you have any questions about this review. cc: M. Ayer, DMF K. Chin, DEP B. Boeri, CZM M.E. Schloss, Conservation Commission 2

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23 United States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE New England Field Office 70 Commercial Street, Suite 300 Concord, New Hampshire u.s. FISH "'WILDLIFE SERVICE ~ ~O"T... II January 2, 2009 To Whom It May Concern: This project was reviewed for the presence of federally-listed or proposed, threatened or endangered species or critical habitat per instructions provided on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's New England Field Office website: ( Based on the information currently available, no federally-listed or proposed, threatened or endangered species or critical habitat under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) are known to occur in the project area(s). Preparation of a Biological Assessment or further consultation with us under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act is not required. This concludes the review of listed species and critical habitat in the project location(s) and environs referenced above. No further Endangered Species Act coordination of this type is necessary for a period of one year from the date of this letter, unless additional information on listed or proposed species becomes available. Thank you for your cooperation. Please contact Mr. Anthony Tur at if we can be of further assistance. Sincerely yours, Thomas R. Chapman Supervisor New England Field Office

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