NAO-2014-00555/16-V0200

Published March 25, 2016
Expiration date: 4/27/2016

March 25, 2016
CENAO-WRR-N
NAO-2014-00555/16-V0200

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

APPLICANT
Prince William County
Department of Transportation
5 County Complex Court, Suite 290
Prince William, Virginia  22192

WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The project site contains Powell’s Creek and unnamed tributaries to Powell’s Creek and is located along a 2.1 mile section of Minnieville Road between its intersection with Dumfries Road (Route 234) and Spriggs Road in Prince William County, Virginia. 

PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant proposes improvements of approximately 2.1 miles of Minnieville Road between its intersection within Dumfries Road (Route 234) and Spriggs Road. The project consists of the widening of Minnieville Road from an existing two-lane road to a four-lane divided road with a raised median from Spriggs Road to Dumfries Road (Route 234), a sidewalk on the south side of the road, a shared use path on the north side of the road, thru-lanes with curb and gutter, four stormwater management ponds and a culvert replacement at Powell’s Creek.   

The purpose of the road project is to improve capacity, mobility, and safety for the County’s roadway system.  The existing four-lane roadway lacks the amenities to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists and does not adequately serve the existing traffic demand. Minnieville Road is an important commuter route.  Heavy traffic congestion along this road has been identified as an ongoing problem for Prince William County residents and visitors. The congestion has led to increased commuting times and safety risks, and decreased connectivity along minor roadways intersecting Minnieville Road. Improvements associated with the widening of Minnieville Road will help ease the heavy traffic volume and allow the road to operate at sufficient levels during peak times, and throughout the day. Traffic flow improvements anticipated from the proposed project would also alleviate congestion on minor arterial roadways that provide access between the northern and southern parts of the County. This is the last portion of the roadway in need of widening and improving.
                                                                                                               
The proposed project would temporarily and permanently impact jurisdictional wetlands and waters of the United States. Permanent impacts are to 0.569 acre of palustrine forested wetland (PFO), 0.108 acre of palustrine emergent wetland (PEM), and 1,263 linear feet of stream channel.  Permanent conversion impacts are to 0.198 acre of PFO. Temporary impacts are to 0.076 acre PFO, 3 square feet of PEM, and 138 linear feet of stream channels. 

The applicant proposes to mitigate these impacts offsite through the purchase of 1.44 wetland credits from the Northern Virginia Regional Bank – Peters Farm Site and 0.543 uncommitted wetland credits from the Woods at Warrenton Wetland Bank and the purchase of 1,289 stream credits from the Prince William Environmental Bank – James Long Regional Park Bank Site and Locust Shade Bank Site.   

In addition to the required Department of the Army permit, the applicant must obtain a Virginia Water Protection Permit/401certification from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality 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, there may be an affect to listed/proposed/candidate species and/or designated/proposed critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the Official Species List and Species Conclusion Table is attached for review and comment by Fish and Wildlife Service; and (3) based on review of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources’ Data Sharing System, archeological and architectural resources were found within and near the project limits. The sites are considered not eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and/or have been destroyed; therefore the project will have no effect on historic properties listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.  Additional information might change any of these findings. 

For compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, the applicant must certify that federally licensed or permitted activities affecting Virginia's coastal zone (Tidewater) will be conducted in a manner consistent with the Virginia Coastal Resources Management Program (VCP).  It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit a consistency certification 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 can be found here: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/EnvironmentalImpactReview/FederalConsistencyReviews.aspx#cert .  For more information or to obtain a list of the enforceable policies of the VCP, contact the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental Impact Review at (804) 698-4330 or e-mail: ellie.irons@deq.virginia.gov or john.fisher@deq.virginia.go

COMMENT PERIOD: Comments on this project should be made by email to theresita.m.crockett-augustine@usace.army.mil or in writing, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers (ATTN: CENAO-WR-R), 18139 Triangle Shopping Center, Suite 213, Dumfries, Virginia 22026 and should be received by the close of business on April 27, 2016.

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, please call: Ms. Theresita Crockett-Augustine at 703-221-9736 or email at theresita.m.crockett-augustine@usace.army.mil.

FOR THE DISTRICT COMMANDER:

Tucker Smith
Chief, Northern Virginia Regulatory Section

Enclosures