NAO-2019-02026 (Dulles Toll Rd to GW Parkway improvement project)

Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Published April 1, 2022
Expiration date: 5/2/2022

April 1, 2022
NAO-2019-02026
CENAO-WRR

FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
The District Commander received a joint permit application for Federal and State permits as described below:

APPLICANT
The Lane Construction Corporation
14500 Avion Parkway, Suite 200
Chantilly, VA 20151

PROJECT LOCATION: From the current northern terminus of I-495 in the vicinity of the Old Dominion Drive overpass to the George Washington Memorial Parkway in the McLean area of Fairfax County, Virginia.

PROJECT SIZE: Proposed improvements encompass an approximate 3.5-milelong section of the I-495 corridor from Dulles Toll Road to the vicinity of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

NEAREST WATERWAY: Scotts Run

LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE: Northern terminus: 38.963, -77.181; Southern terminus: 38.935, -77.208

PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE: The I-495 Express Lanes Northern Extension is an extension of the 495 HOV/HOT Lanes (Express Lanes) in Fairfax County, Virginia. The proposed project is a public-private partnership (PPP) to construct improvements along I-495 to provide additional capacity in the corridor and provide a single, fully integrated express lane facility between the Springfield Interchange and the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

The purpose of this project is to reduce congestion, provide additional travel choices and improve travel reliability. The addition of the travel lanes will improve safety, increase travel speed, and reduce travel time for both the express and general-purpose lanes.

The project will require the require filling and relocation of 571 linear feet of a perennial stream to account for the new Dulles Toll Road Ramp E and sanitary sewer relocation. The existing location of the stream will be filled for the construction of the Dulles Toll Road Ramp E. To maintain hydrology the project proposes to relocate 544 linear feet, from the extension of the existing culvert under the DTR, to a constructed natural stream channel that will terminate at the existing culvert under the I-495 northbound lanes. A portion of another perennial stream channel (Impact 2) will be filled to construct the relocated stream channel; hydrology from the perennial stream will be diverted to the relocated channel.

The proposed work will result in permanent impacts to 2.30 acres of wetlands and 1,535 linear feet of streams. Temporary impacts to 0.10 acres of wetlands and 2,094 linear feet of streams.

Permanent impacts will result from the construction of the roadway, retaining walls, noise barriers, including necessary grading, and the development of stormwater management systems including a stormwater basin.

Temporary impacts will result from the construction activities associated with regrading, construction access, E&S control implementation, temporary stream relocation and constructing the roadway.

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The current design eliminated sixteen stormwater management facilities (SWM)/Best Management Practice Facilities (BMPs) from the original RFP design
-The project proposes two BMPs and one SWM to meet water quality and quantity
requirements
-The use of retaining walls at impact 17 and 17a reduced the roadway footprint by over 100’ resulting in a reduction of over 10,500 sq. ft. wetland impacts and 330 linear feet of stream impacts
-Incorporating a natural stream relocation in-lieu of culverting the perennial stream east of DTR Ramp E reduced permanent impacts by 544 linear feet
-Incorporating retaining walls along I-495 northbound reduced the roadway fill slope
resulting in reduction of 40,500 sq. ft of floodplain wetland impacts, 50 linear feet of stream impacts, and the need to relocation 930 linear feet of Scotts Run. Minor temporary impacts to Scotts Run in this area are need for Erosion and Sediment (E&S) control measures. The only permanent impact to Scotts Run is the extension of the existing triple 10’ box culvert under 495. In addition, improvements remain with the existing right of way.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: To mitigate for the unavoidable impacts the project will require 2.92 wetland mitigation credits and 951 stream compensation credits from wetland mitigation banks approved in the impact watershed.

In addition, the applicant must obtain an Individual Section 401 Water Quality Certification or waiver from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) assuring that applicable laws and regulations pertaining to water quality are not violated.

A copy of the joint permit application can be found on the Virginia Marine Resources Commission’s website:

HYPERLINK: https://webapps.mrc.virginia.gov/public/habitat/additionaldocs.php?id=20220664

AUTHORITY:
( ) Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403).

(X ) Sections 401 and 404 of the Clean Water Act (Public Law 95-217) and
Title 62.1 of the Code of Virginia.

( ) Section 103 of the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972
(33 U.S.C. 1413).

FEDERAL EVALUATION OF APPLICATION: The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest. The decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits which reasonably may be expected from the proposal must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All of the proposal's relevant factors will be considered, including conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, cultural values, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, flood plain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, consideration of property ownership and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people. The Environmental Protection Agency's "Guidelines for Specification of Disposal Sites for Dredged or Fill Material" will also be applied (Section 404(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act).

The Corps of Engineers is soliciting comments from the public, federal, state, and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of this proposed activity. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps of Engineers to determine whether to issue, modify, condition, or deny a permit for this proposal. To make this decision, comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public interest factors listed above. Comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment and/or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. Preliminary review of the application indicates that no EIS will be required.
Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity. Anyone may request a public hearing to consider this permit application by writing to the District Commander within 30 days of the date of this notice, stating specific reasons for holding the public hearing. The District Commander will then decide if a hearing should be held.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: after conducting the Norfolk District Endangered Species Act (ESA) Project Review Process, the Corps has made the preliminary determination that:

The Northern long-eared bat may be affected, but the FWS Information and Planning and Consultation (IPaC) 4(d) determination key was completed and no further coordination with the FWS is required.

There may be an effect to listed/proposed/candidate species and/or designated/proposed critical habitat under the ESA of 1973. The IPaC Official Species List and Species Conclusion Table are attached for review and comment by the FWS and the NMFS.

Additional information might change any of these findings.

HISTORIC AND CULTURAL RESOURCES: No known Historic Resources eligible for inclusion or included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) are in or near the Corps permit area or would likely be affected by the proposal.

Additional information may change any of these findings.

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, as amended by the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-267), requires all Federal agencies to consult with the NMFS on all actions, or proposed actions, permitted, funded, or undertaken by the agency, that may adversely affect Essential Fish Habitat (EFH).

There is no EFH in the Corps area of responsibility.

VIRGINIA’S COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM: For compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended for projects located in Virginia’s Coastal Zone, the applicant must certify that federally licensed or permitted activities affecting Virginia's coastal uses or resources will be conducted in a manner consistent with the Virginia’s Coastal Zone Management Program (Virginia CZM Program), and obtain concurrence from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Office of Environmental Impact Review (OEIR). It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit a consistency certification to the OEIR for concurrence or objection, and proof of concurrence must be submitted to the Corps prior to final permit issuance. A template federal consistency certification can be found in the Federal Consistency Manual here: https://www.deq.virginia.gov/permits-regulations/environmental-impact-review/federal-consistency . For more information or to obtain a list of the enforceable policies of the Virginia CZM Program, contact the DEQ-OEIR at (804) 659-1915 or e-mail: bettina.rayfield@deq.virginia.gov.

The applicant has submitted concurrence.

VIRGINIA’S SECTION 401 WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION PROGRAM: The applicant must obtain, from the Virginia DEQ, a Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification for any federal license or permit that authorizes an activity that may result in a discharge into waters of the U.S. (40 CFR Part 121). As the Certifying Authority, the Virginia DEQ may grant, grant with conditions, or deny a certification request. Alternatively, the Virginia DEQ may waive, expressly or implicitly, its authority to act on a certification request. In either case, a written notice of waiver from DEQ (expressly waived) or from the Corps (implicitly waived), satisfies the project proponent’s requirement to obtain certification.

Pursuant to 33 CFR 325.2(b)(1)(i), this Public Notice serves as the Corps’ CWA § 401(a)(2) notification to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Pursuant to 40 CFR 121.11-13, the EPA shall notify the Corps, the Virginia DEQ, and the applicant, within 30 days of receipt of the application and certification, if the Regional Administrator determines that the proposed discharge may affect the quality of the waters of any neighboring jurisdiction.

COMMENT PERIOD: Comments on this project should be in writing and can be sent by either email to robert.a.berg@usace.army.mil, or by regular mail, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers (ATTN: CENAO-WRR), 803 Front Street, Norfolk, VA 23510-1011, and should be received by the close of business on May 2, 2022.

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY: Comments and information, including the identity of the submitter, submitted in response to this Public Notice may be disclosed, reproduced, and distributed at the discretion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Information that is submitted in connection with this Public Notice cannot be maintained as confidential by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Submissions should not include any information that the submitter seeks to preserve as confidential.

If you have any questions about this project or the permit process, contact Mr. Robert Berg at (757) 201-7793 or via email at robert.a.berg@usace.army.mil.

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