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0 <br /> CENTER for BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY Because life is good. <br /> December 5, 2020 <br /> Orange County Board of County Commissioners <br /> 300 West Tryon Street <br /> P.O. Box 8181 <br /> Hillsborough,NC 27278 <br /> Re: Buc-ees Efland Station Re-Zoning Proposal <br /> Dear Commissioners, <br /> I am writing on behalf of my organization to request that the Board of County Commissioners <br /> vote to deny Buc-ees' re-zoning proposal for the proposed Efland Station development. The Center for <br /> Biological Diversity has significant concerns about the water quality, water quantity, and water <br /> temperature impacts of this historically large, 104-acre mega-development on several imperiled aquatic <br /> species downstream. <br /> If built, the proposed Efland Station's significant water pollution runoff would empty into <br /> Sevenmile Creek. In and of itself, Sevenmile Creek is worthy of protection. Fortunately for water <br /> quality and wildlife habitat, Sevenmile Creek enjoys a relatively intact riparian(streamside)tree <br /> canopy. Sevenmile provides clean water for the 7,300 residents of Hillsborough and for three native <br /> species facing the imminent prospect of extinction. North Carolina designated Sevenmile a"High <br /> Quality"waterbody, and it is also designated a"Nutrient Sensitive Water." Sevenmile Creek is also a <br /> part of the Upper Eno Protected Watershed. <br /> What's more, Sevenmile Creek empties into a section of the Eno River that has recently been <br /> proposed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service ("Service")to be designated as critical habitat <br /> for three native, imperiled North Carolina species. The affected stretch of the river is well over 20 <br /> miles long, and is home to the Carolina madtom (Noturus furiosus), the Neuse River waterdog <br /> (Necturus lewisi), and the Atlantic pigtoe (Fusconaia masoni). <br /> Carolina madtom (Noturus furiosus) <br /> The Carolina madtom is a small but feisty catfish whose scientific name translates to "the <br /> furious madtom," for the painful sting the fish can deliver to predators with the spines on its pectoral <br /> fins. The Carolina madtom is only found in the Neuse and Tar River basins in the Piedmont and <br /> Coastal Plain of North Carolina. The madtom has declined severely in the Neuse River watershed <br /> (home to Sevenmile Creek and the Eno River), and it is also in significant decline within the Tar River <br /> watershed. The fish has been wiped out from more than half of its range, and experts estimate its <br /> populations have declined by up to 75 percent from historical levels. Last year, the Service proposed <br /> Alaska •Arizona • California - Minnesota - Nevada •New Mexico • New York- North Carolina •Oregon • Washington, DC <br /> P.O. Box 6414•Asheville, NC 28816 tel:(828)252-4646 fax:(828)S37-4289 www.BiologicalDiversity.org <br />