CENAO-WR-R
January 21, 2015
NAO-2014-0751
FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
The District Commander has received a joint application for Federal and State permits as described below:
APPLICANT
Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)
Ms. Diana Sheesley
1601 Orange Road
Culpeper, Virginia 22701
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The project is located in headwater wetlands and streams of Rudasill Branch and Balds Run, northwest of the Town of Culpeper, in Culpeper County, Virginia.
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant proposes to construct a 2.2-mile two lane roadway (Route 784) with bike lanes, a multipurpose trail, a 5-foot-wide sidewalk, and stormwater facilities, on new location. The southern terminus will connect to the existing Route 522, and the northern terminus will connect to the existing Route 729. Improvements at the project termini along both of the existing roadways will be necessary to create adequate intersections with the new roadway. The project will impact a total of 1.33 acres of nontidal wetlands, including 0.36 acres of emergent, 0.55 acres of scrub/shrub, and 0.44 acres of forested wetlands, at 11 locations. It will also impact a total of 2,432 linear feet of stream at 10 locations.
Two other alternative alignments, Alternatives A and C, were previously considered by VDOT for this corridor. However, they were eliminated in part because both impacted more property owners, and more wetland and streams, than did the proposed alternative: Alternative A had 4.66 acres of wetlands and 4,236 linear feet of stream; and Alternative C had 1.54 acres of wetlands and 3,555 linear feet of stream. Bridges were also considered as an alternative to box culverts for the three largest stream crossings; however it was determined that that would increase the project cost by approximately $5.2 million, or 45.6%.
VDOT proposes to compensate for the wetland impacts through purchase of 2.04 acres of wetland mitigation credits from Blackjack Mitigation Bank, and for the stream impacts through a combination of purchase of 1828 stream mitigation credits from Cannon Regional Mitigation Bank, and 289 linear feet of onsite relocation of Balds Run through natural channel design.
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 (DEQ) assuring that 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 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 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 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 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) after conducting the NAO ESA Project Review Process, no listed/proposed/candidate species and/or designated/proposed critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act 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 Fish and Wildlife Service is required; and (3) no known properties eligible for inclusion or included in the National Register of Historic Places are in or near the permit area, or would likely be affected by the proposal; and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources has concurred with this finding. Additional information might change any of these findings.
COMMENT PERIOD: Comments on this project should be made in writing, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers (ATTN: CENAO-WR-R), 803 Front Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23510-1096, and should be received by the close of business on February 21, 2015.
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
Ms. Kathy Perdue at (757) 201-7218, or Kathy.S.Perdue@usace.army.mil.
Attachments: Vicinity Map, Drawings