NAO-2008-01100 (Commonwealth Crossing Business Center, Henry County, Virginia)

June 6, 2023
CENAO-WRR
NAO-2008-01100

FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE

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

APPLICANT
Henry County Industrial Development Authority
P.O. Box 7
Collinsville, Virginia 24078

PROJECT LOCATION:  The Project is located off Commonwealth Crossing Parkway, just northeast of the intersection of U.S. Route 220 and Route 692 (Horse Pasture Price Road) along the North Carolina / Virginia state line. Most of the existing industrial park is located in Henry County, Virginia, with a small portion to the south located within Rockingham County, North Carolina.

PROJECT SIZE: The total area for the Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre (CCBC) is 765 acres of which this project will result in the disturbance of 150 acres.

NEAREST WATERWAY: Patterson Branch, Unnamed tributaries to Patterson Branch.

LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE: 36.550818°N, -79.906138°W

PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE:  The proposed project generally consists of the construction of a large pad site and installation of appurtenant utility connections. This project will result in a 150-acre pad site within the 765-acre CCBC with rail service and all utilities (electric, water, sewer, natural gas, fiber) extended to the site. The purpose of CCBC is to provide the infrastructure, transportation, and pad size necessary to attract a large user (or multiple large users) to the area.

Impacts associated with the Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre were previously permitted and taken under VWP IP#11-0838 and NAO-2008-1100 which have now expired. Previously authorized impacts are 0.259 acres of wetland and 8418 linear feet of stream. New impacts proposed for Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre - Lot 2 include a permanent loss of approximately 0.53 acres (22,875 square feet) of palustrine forested (PFO) wetlands and 5,379 linear feet of stream channel. An impact table is included below:

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The application states impact to Waters were avoided and minimized to the maximum extent practicable by incorporating resourceful site planning, including the utilization of the wetland delineation to adjust the layout to avoid and minimize impacts. However, as the project is limited to development land within CCBC, the project design has limited flexibility to avoid jurisdictional features. The proposed project requires a pad of 150 acres, thus impacts to jurisdictional features are unavoidable. Grading was designed to avoid all impacts to Patterson Branch and several contingent wetlands.  A delineation of all waters on site is included in the Joint Permit Application. Additionally, the selected alternative also utilizes an area that was previously permitted and impacted for the Press Glass Facility.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The Applicant proposes to provide compensatory mitigation for all unavoidable, permanent jurisdictional impacts; total compensatory mitigation credits needed are 1.06 wetland credits and 6962 stream credits. The applicant is proposing to obtain half of the needed credits by purchasing what is available in the market from an approved bank and/or purchasing from Virginia Aquatic Resources Trust Fund (VARTF); with the remainder compensated through permittee-responsible onsite and/or offsite in-kind mitigation. The applicant proposes that permittee-responsible in-kind mitigation will be accomplished through a combination of on-site and off-site stream preservation, not to exceed 20% of the total compensatory mitigation required. A conceptual plan has been developed utilizing three off-site, county owned, properties in combination with multiple on-site reaches. This mitigation strategy is consistent to the first phase of the project.

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/additionaldocs.php?id=20230846.

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 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: The Norfolk District conducted an Endangered Species Act (ESA) Project Review through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service IPAC system. One federal endangered species, and one proposed endangered species under the ESA of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544, 87 Stat. 884), as amended may occur in the project area.  The endangered northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) and the proposed endangered Tricolor Bat (Perimyotis subflavus) have the potential to occur in the Action Area. Based upon the results of this review and the Northern Long-eared Bat Rangewide Determination Key, the Corps has made the preliminary determination that the proposed activity may affect but is not likely to adversely affect this listed federal species which may be present in the area. Based on this determination, informal consultation will be initiated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for both species. The Roanoke Logperch (Percina rex) is listed for the watershed. However, the streams to be impacted are too small to support the logperch which prefers medium sized rivers and large streams. Prior surveys showed no logperch in the stream to be impacted.

Additional information might change any of these findings.

HISTORIC AND CULTURAL RESOURCES:

Per information provided by the applicant, and upon which the previous permit was based, a cultural resource survey was conducted by Circa~ Cultural Resource Management, LLC during the initial permitting efforts associated with CCBC. Based on that study, of the 11 resources identified during the surveys, only one property is considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, the Watkins House (DHR ID# 044-5454), However, the Watkins House is located on private property and will not be affected by the proposed development. Four cemeteries were also identified. One of these, the Payne Cemetery (DHR ID#044- 5184) has already been removed under a permit for the archaeological removal of human remains issued by DHR and the burials reinterred within the Watkins Cemetery (DHR #044-5188). The other two cemeteries, the Patterson (044-5182) and the Price (044-5183) Cemeteries are located on out parcels. DHR issued a letter on March 2, 2012, recommending a finding of No Adverse Effect on historic properties provided that the Watkins, Patterson and Price Cemeteries are avoided. A copy of that letter is provided in the application appendices. A review of the Virginia Department of Historical Resources (DHR) Virginia Cultural Resource Information System (V-CRIS) was performed for the Project Area and within a 0.25-mile radius of the Project Area to determine the effect, if any, that the Project may have on known cultural resources. After a review of this information the Norfolk District concludes the proposed project will not adversely affect historic or archeological resources.

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.

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 July 5, 2023.

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.

Attachments:
Endangered Species List
Species conclusion Table
USFWS NELB Concurrence Letter