CENAO-WR-OT

LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The Back River Navigation Channel an estuarine inlet of the Chesapeake Bay is located between the cities of Hampton and Poquoson, Virginia. 

PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE:  The purpose of this project is dredging of the Back River Channel with dredged material transport and placement at Norfolk Ocean Disposal Site (NODS) located approximately 17-miles east of the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in Federal waters of the Atlantic Ocean.  Joint Base Langley-Eustis (JBLE-Langley) needs to perform maintenance and new work dredging of the Back River Channel to maintain safe navigation for its vessels.  This channel provides access and safe navigation in support of national defense to the JBLE-Langley located in Hampton, Virginia from the Chesapeake Bay. 

SCOPE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

Under the requirements of Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), this proposed project constitutes a major Federal action, and an Environmental Assessment is therefore required.  This EA has been prepared pursuant to NEPA and its implementing regulations.  

The purpose of this Environmental Assessment is to evaluate the direct and indirect impacts associated with the transport and placement of dredged material at the NODS.  This document identifies and evaluates the potential environmental effects associated with the Proposed Action. 

The draft Environmental Assessment is being coordinated with the following agencies:  

• JBLE-Langley

• City of Hampton

• City of Poquoson

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

• U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)

• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

• Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency (USFWS)

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

• NOAA - National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)

• Virginia Department of Aviation (VDOAV)

• Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (VDCR)

• Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ)

• Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF)

• Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF)

• Virginia Department of Health (VDH)

• Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR)

• Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)

• Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC)

• Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)  

Comment Period: Comments on this draft Environmental Assessment should be by email (Shannon.J.Reinheimer@usace.army.mil) or in writing, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers (ATTN:  CENAO-WR-OT (Reinheimer), 803 Front Street, Norfolk, Virginia  23510-1096, and should be received by the close of business on November 1, 2017.  

PRIVACY & 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, contact Shannon Reinheimer at Shannon.J.Reinheimer@usace.army.mil or call 757-201-7074.