NAO-2016-00681

Published July 3, 2019
Expiration date: 7/28/2019

July 3, 2019
CENAO-WR-R
2016-00681, 18-V1703, 16-V1806

FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
The district commander has received a joint application for federal and state permits as described below:

APPLICANT
BWS Enterprises LLC
Mr. Sean Sayer
4426 Tidewater Trail
Jamaica, Virginia 23079

WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF PROPOSED WORK: The project contains about 49 acres of land and is located on the south line of U.S. Route 60, east of Wallingham Drive in Chesterfield County, Virginia. The site drains into Michaux Creek, a tributary to the James River.

PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant proposes to adversely affect 5.63 acres of palustrine forested wetlands and 760 linear feet of ditch to construct a multiuse development that includes both retail and multifamily units and associated roads, parking lots, utilities, stormwater-management facilities and certain amenities. The project was previously reviewed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and resource agencies, and a public notice was issued Jan. 30, 2017. Project authorization was postponed until the zoning case was processed. The applicant recently obtained multiuse zoning to develop his revised site proposal. The applicant indicated that wetland impacts have been avoided and minimized (from 10.63 to 5.63 acres of wetland fill) by reducing the project’s scope. He originally proposed to construct retail units, 250 multifamily units and 144 townhouse units, thereby impacting 10.63 acres of wetlands. He reduced the project scope to construct 236 multifamily residential units, 126 townhouses and retail units for the purpose of providing housing and commerce. To mitigate for unavoidable adverse impacts to 5.63 acres of palustrine forested wetlands and 760 linear feet of ditch, the applicant proposes to purchase 11.26 wetland credits (2:1 compensation ratio) and 493 stream credits (for impacts to 760 linear feet of ditch) from an appropriate mitigation bank to assure the individual and cumulative project effects are not significant on the environment.

In addition to the required Department of the Army permit, the applicant must obtain a Virginia Water Protection Permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, assuring applicable laws and regulations pertaining to water quality are not violated. Project drawings are attached.

AUTHORITY: Permits are required pursuant to Sections 401 and 404 of the Clean Water Act (Public Law 95-217) and Title 62.1 of the Code of Virginia.

FEDERAL EVALUATION OF APPLICATION: The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on a probable-impact evaluation, including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest. It will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits that 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, fish, wildlife and flood-plain values; flood hazards, land-use classification, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation; water supply, conservation and quality; energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, property ownership and, in general, the people’s needs and welfare. The Environmental Protection Agency’s “Guidelines for Specification of Disposal Sites for Dredged or Fill Material” will 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 other public-interest factors listed above. Comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment and/or Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. They are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and 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 this notice date, stating specific reasons for holding it. The district commander will then decide if a hearing should be held.

Preliminary review indicates: (1) no Environmental Impact Statement will be required; (2) after conducting the NAO ESA Project Review Process, there may be an effect to the listed northern long-eared bat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The Official Species List and Species Conclusion Table are attached for review and comment by the Fish and Wildlife Service; and (3) no historic resources are within the project limits. Additional information might change any of these findings.

For compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended for Tidewater projects, 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 Coastal Zone Management Program and obtain concurrence from the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental Impact Review. The Corps has not received applicant certification prior to this public notice’s publication. It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit a consistency certification to the Office of Environmental Impact Review for concurrence or objection, and proof must be submitted to the Corps before final permit issuance. A federal consistency certification template can be found at www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/EnvironmentalImpactReview/FederalConsistencyReviews.aspx#cert. For more information or to obtain a list of the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program’s enforceable policies, contact the Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of Environmental Impact Review at 804-698-4330 or email bettina.sullivan@deq.virginia.gov or john.fisher@deq.virginia.gov.

COMMENT PERIOD: Comments on this project should be in writing. They can be sent by email to elaine.k.holley@usace.army.mil or regular mail, addressed to: Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers Richmond Field Office, 9100 Arboretum Parkway. All comments should be received by close of business July 28.

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

If you have questions about this project or the permit process, contact Elaine Holley at 804-323-3781 or elaine.k.holley@usace.army.mil.

Attachment: Drawings, Official Species List, Species Conclusion Table