PUBLIC NOTICE
The District Commander has received a permit application for work described below:
Chincoteague Inn Restaurant
c/o Raymond Britton
PO Box 909
Chincoteague, Virginia 23336
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The project is located in Chincoteague Channel, a tributary to the Atlantic Ocean, at 6262 Marlin Street, Chincoteague, Accomack County, Virginia.
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant proposes to use a modified floating structure for temporary restaurant seating. The structure is approximately 58 feet by 30 feet, will have a 40 seat capacity, and will be moored in an existing private boat slip. The existing hardened shoreline is farther channelward than the proposed structure. The structure will be used three days per week from May 15 through September 15 each year (during the tourist season), for seating at the adjoining restaurant. The structure has been approved by the Accomack County Health Department as part of the Chincoteague Inn Restaurant. The structure is self sufficient with quick disconnects for water and electric service. All other amenities are provided by the adjoining restaurant. Access to the structure will be provided by two hinged ramps. Adequate parking is provided. No fill is proposed and there is no hazard to navigation, therefore compensatory mitigation is not being proposed.
Project drawings are attached.
AUTHORITY: Permits are required pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403).
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 classification, 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 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 pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. 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 days of the date of this notice, stating specific reasons for holding the public hearing 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.
Preliminary review indicates that: (l) no environmental impact statement will be required; (2) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Official Species List indicates seven listed and one candidate species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (PL 93-205) may occur within the project limits. The Species Conclusion Table is attached for review and comment by Fish and Wildlife Service. Due to the small nature and limited impacts associated with the project no adverse effects to listed species is anticipated; and (3) the site is near the Main Street/Chincoteague Historic District (DHR ID 190-0009), however the remote location and view from the historical district is blocked so no impacts are anticipated. Additional information might change any of these findings.
We have not received a certification statement from the applicant prior to publication of this public notice. It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit a certification statement to the Office of Environmental Impact Review for concurrence or objection and proof of concurrence must be submitted to the Corps prior to final permit issuance. A template federal consistency certification statement can be found here:
http://www.deq.state.va.us/Programs/EnvironmentalImpactReview/FederalConsistencyReviews.aspx#cert.
For more information or to obtain a list of the enforceable programs of the VCP, contact the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental Impact Review at (804) 698-4330 or e-mail: elllie.irons@deq.virginia.gov.
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 National Marine Fisheries Service on all actions, or proposed actions, permitted, funded, or undertaken by the agency, that may adversely affect Essential Fish Habitat (EFH).
Chincoteague Channel contains Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for the life stages of seventeen species including: red hake (Urophycis chuss), winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus), windowpane flounder (Scopthalmus aquosus), Atlantic sea herring (Clupea harengus), bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), summer flounder (Paralicthys dentatus), scup (Stenotomus chrysops), black sea bass (Centropristus striata), king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla), Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus), cobia (Rachycentron canadum), red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), dusky shark (Charcharinus obscurus), sandbar shark (Charcharinus plumbeus), sand tiger shark (Odontaspis taurus), Atlantic sharpnose shark (Rhizopriondon terraenovae), scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) found in the subtidal water of this project. The proposed project is described in Proposed Work and Purpose, above. Our assessment of the project leads us to a preliminary determination that it will not have a substantial adverse effect on EFH and therefore expanded EFH consultation is not required. Our rationale for this preliminary determination is based on the expected short-term nature of the direct impacts, the absence of vegetated wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation, and anadromous fish spawning habitat. Based on comments from the National Marine Fisheries Service in response to this public notice, further EFH consultation may be necessary.
COMMENT PERIOD: Comments on this project should be made in writing, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers (ATTN: CENAO-WR-R), PO Box 125, Greenbackville, Virginia 23356, and should be received by the close of business on May 10, 2013.
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 or the permit process, contact Robert Cole at (757) 903-1562 or Robert.h.cole@usace.army.mil.
FOR THE DISTRICT COMMANDER:
Kimberly A. Prisco-Baggett, MBA
Chief, Eastern Virginia
Regulatory Section
Attachment: Drawings
Regulatory Report
Official Species List
Species Conclusion Table
Vicinity Map