NAO-2021-01244

Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Published Jan. 18, 2022
Expiration date: 2/27/2022

January 18, 2022
CENAO-WRR
NAO-2021-01244                                                                      

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

APPLICANT
A&P Associates, LLP
c/o Patrick Barber, Acer Environmental, LLC
813 Diligence Drive
Newport News, Virginia 23606

PROJECT LOCATION:  The project is located west of the intersection of Atkinson Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue at 13101 Jefferson Avenue, in Newport News, VA.

PROJECT SIZE: 7.22 Acres

NEAREST WATERWAY: Stoney Run

LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE: 37.159872°, -76.537725°

PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE:  To construct a car dealership within a 7.22-acre project area, including parking spaces, a 40,000 square foot detention facility, and a 28,000 square foot building to be used as a show room, office space and repair facility. The project will result in permanent impacts to 3.82 acres of forested wetlands and 3.4 acres of scrub shrub wetlands.

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION:  In order to meet the applicant’s minimum requirements for the development of an expanded car dealership to replace their current facility, the project was designed to impact only a 7-acre portion of a larger tract while still meeting the necessary design criteria to construct an adequately sized building, parking spaces and stormwater management facility.  The applicant proposes to offset all impacts to wetlands on the property as outlined in their compensatory mitigation plan.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: To offset the 3.6 acres of forested wetland impacts and 3.4 acres of scrub shrub wetland impacts, mitigation will be provided at a 2:1 ratio for forested wetland impacts and 1.5:1 ratio for scrub shrub wetland impacts with the purchase of 12.74 wetland mitigation credits from the Chesapeake Mitigation BankIn addition, there is an existing 30-foot-wide conservation easement along Jefferson Avenue and Atkinson Boulevard that will be removed.  To off-set the removal of the conservation easement, the applicant is willing to place a new conservation easement on the remaining undisturbed 37 acres north of the terminus of Atkinson Boulevard  at Jefferson Boulevard which is outside of the project footprint.

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.  

The applicant must obtain a permit from the Newport News Wetlands Board.

A copy of the joint permit application can be found on the Virginia Marine Resources Commission’s website (https://webapps.mrc.virginia.gov/public/habitat/getPDF.php?id=20211803).

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.

Additional information might change any of these findings.

HISTORIC AND CULTURAL RESOURCES:

Historic Resources eligible for inclusion or included in the 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) 698-4204 or e-mail: bettina.rayfield@deq.virginia.gov.

The applicant has not 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.

COMMENT PERIOD:  Comments on this project should be in writing and can be sent by either email to nicole.l.woodward@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 February 17, 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

Ms. Nicole Woodward at 757-201-7122 or nicole.l.woodward@usace.army.mil.

Attachments: