March 3, 2010
CENAO-REG
NAO-2006-07115
(VMRC 06-2365)
15 DAY FEDERAL
PUBLIC NOTICE
The District Commander
has received a request for the modification of the Department of the Army Permit
2006-07115 (VMRC 06- 2365), Ocean View Beach Nourishment and Dune Restoration,
as described below:
APPLICANT
City of
Mr. Stanley
Stein, Assistant City Manager
Office of the
City Manager
1101
WATERWAY
AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: Ocean
View and Willoughby Spit shoreline in
PROPOSED
WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant
proposes to restore up to 6,000 LF of dune along the
This
modification proposes the addition of three new Borrow Areas:
Three
areas along Willoughby Spit are designated as borrow sources for the dune
restoration requested under this modification. They include areas on both the
east and west side to the Willoughby Spit Terminal Groin (Borrow Areas A and
B), and an area landward of the 800 Block breakwaters (Borrow Area C). These
sites are selected because they accreted during the storm event as sand was
eroded from the dune system and transported both along the shore face to
offshore and to the west along the terminal groin. The excavated area will
allow "sinks" where sand can again collect through normal alongshore
coastal processes. Borrow Area A, to the west of the terminal jetty, will be mechanically
dredged to -5 feet NAVD88, while Borrow Areas B and C will be mechanically dredged
to a depth of -3 feet NAVD88. Approximately 43,400 yd3 of sand from
these borrow areas will be used to restore the dune along the most critical
areas of shoreline. The material from these sources is recently deposited wind
and wave deposited sands.
Project
drawings are attached.
In
addition to the required Department of the Army permit, the applicant must
obtain a Virginia Water Protection Permit/401 certification 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 Section 10
of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), Sections 401 and 404 of
the Clean Water Act (Public Law 95-217) and
Title 62.1 of the Code of
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 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) Most of the Eastern Seaboard
is habitat range for the following endangered or threatened sea turtles: green
turtle (Chelonia mydas),
hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata),
Kemp's ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta). As the
City of
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).
The Willoughby Shoreline in Ocean View contains Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for the life stages of 11
species including: windowpane flounder (Scopthalmus
aquosus) bluefish
(Pomatomus saltatrix),
Atlantic butterfish (Peprilus triacanthus),
summer flounder (Paralicthys dentatus),
black sea bass (Centropristus striata),
king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla), Spanish
mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus),
cobia (Rachycentron canadum),
red drum (Sciaenops occelatus),
dusky shark (Charcharinus obscurus),
sandbar shark (Charcharinus plumbeus),
and Habitat Areas of Particular
Concern (HAPC) for the sandbar shark (Charcharinus
plumbeus). The habitat that this project would
affect consists of shallow water and intertidal non-vegetated areas. 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; minimal increases in turbidity, changes
in water temperature or salinity caused by the proposed work; the absence of
vegetated wetlands and submerged aquatic vegetation. 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-REG Tucker Smith),
If
you have any questions about this project or the permit process, please call
Tucker Smith at (757) 201-7320, or by email at tucker.smith@usace.army.mil.
FOR
THE DISTRICT COMMANDER:
Audrey
Cotnoir
Acting
Chief,
Regulatory
Section
Attachments:
Drawings1, Drawings2