NAO-1998-02442 (Botetourt Center at Greenfield)

NORFOLK DISTRICT, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
Published March 9, 2022
Expiration date: 4/9/2022

March 9, 2022
CENAO-WRR                                
NAO-1998- 02442

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

APPLICANT
County of Botetourt
57 South Center Drive 
Daleville, Virginia 24083


PROJECT LOCATION:  The project is located in an un-named tributary to Tinker Creek, at 160 Preston Parkway, Daleville, Botetourt County, Virginia.

PROJECT SIZE: The Botetourt Center at Greenfield is a 598-acre recreation and industrial park located west of US Route 220 in Botetourt County near Daleville, Virginia The proposed crossing extension and upgrade will consist of tandem culverts with a length of  approximately 105 linear feet of stream impacts (including 73 linear feet of new stream impacts and 32 linear feet of existing impact.

NEAREST WATERWAY: Tinker Creek. 

LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE: 37.438694, -79.919667

PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE:  This proposed project is to widen and improve an approximately 1,000 foot access road of the Botetourt Center at Greenfield. The access road project will widen and improve an existing culverted crossing of an unnamed tributary to Tinker Creek. This crossing was originally installed prior to 1972. In 1998, VWP#98-0159 included this crossing as one of 10 to be permitted with the original development plans of the Botetourt Center submitted as part of a Wetland Mitigation Conceptual Plan in 1998 associated with the previous permit. The original overall project proposed to create a 17-acre stormwater pond with 4.4 acres of wetlands being created to off-set other impacts across the site (including 10 stream crossings, of which this crossing was identified as #5). There were also Army Corps of Engineers permits NAO-1998-02442 (98-v0159), and NAO-2004-02043 (04-V1788) associated with the project. Both permits have expired.

For the current project the applicant proposes to remove the old 32 foot long culvert crossing of the un-named tributary to Tinker Creek, replace it with a new upsized and extended culverted crossing in order to accommodate a larger service road. The proposed crossing extension and upgrade will consist of tandem culverts with a length of 105 feet (including rip-rap on ends of culvert). A total of approximately 105 linear feet of stream impacts (including 73 linear feet of new stream impacts and 32 linear feet of existing culvert) is anticipated specific to this project. Total aerial impacts are 244 square feet.

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION:  Due to site constraints created when the previous work was authorized avoidance of the stream is not possible, design of the proposed crossing has been kept to the minimum necessary given the engineering requirements for the access road. 

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION:

Compensatory mitigation credits will be purchased from the Virginia Aquatic Resources Trust Fund for the stream impacts.

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 (https://webapps.mrc.virginia.gov/public/habitat/getADD.php?id=152966). 

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:

No listed/proposed/candidate species and/or designated/proposed critical habitat under the ESA of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544, 87 Stat. 884), as amended, will be affected.  Based on this “no effect” determination, no further coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is required.

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.

No concurrence is required because the project is not located within Virginia’s Coastal Zone.

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 chester.c.bigelow@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 Thursday, April 8, 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. Chester Bigelow, chester.c.bigelow@usace.army.mil, 540-982-3841.