NAO-2014-01246

Published Oct. 22, 2014
Expiration date: 11/24/2014

The district commander has received a joint application for federal and state permits as described below:

APPLICANT
Freedom I-66 Land, LLC
Attn: Mark Hassinger
44330 Mercure Circle, Suite 160
Dulles, Virginia 20166

WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The approximately 84-acre site is located south of Interstate I-66, between Groveton Road (Route 622) and Old Compton Road, approximately 600 feet north of Balls Ford Road (Route 621) in Prince William County, Virginia.

PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The project combines the Alban parcel and the Prologis parcel. The Prologis parcel received and has a valid USACE 07-SPGP-01 permit, issued by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ). The applicant proposes to combine the two parcels in order to construct a cohesive industrial park, electrical substation and associated infrastructure.

The applicant is proposing to permanently impact 1.11 acre of palustrine forested wetland (PFO), 0.66 acre of palustrine emergent wetland (PEM) and 3,164 linear feet of intermittent (R4) stream channel and permanently convert 0.02 acre of PFO to PEM.  Impacts, included in the impact totals and currently authorized for the Prologis parcel, include 0.11 acre of PFO, 0.21 PEM and 901 linear feet of intermittent stream channel.

As compensation for impacts to waters and wetlands of the United States, the applicant is proposing a combination of wetland credit purchase, off-site permittee responsible mitigation and stream credit purchase. All wetland and stream credit purchase will completed at a COE wetland and stream mitigation bank.

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.

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 U.S. Army 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 U.S. Army 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 adversely  affected. Attached to this public notice are the Official Species List and Species Conclusion Table for review and comment by the US Fish and Wildlife Service; and (3) known properties eligible for inclusion or included in the National Register of Historic Places are in or near the permit area therefore the project will be coordinated directly with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources for a 30-day comment period and with the National Park Service for a 15-day comment period.

For compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended for projects located in Tidewater, 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 Coastal Zone Management Program (VCP) and obtain concurrence from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Office of Environmental Impact Review (OEIR). We have not received a certification from the applicant prior to publication of this public notice. 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.gov.

COMMENT PERIOD: Request for hard copies or comments on this project should be made in writing, addressed to the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ATTN:  Anna R. Lawston), PO Box 578, Amissville, Virginia 20106, or at anna.r.lawston@usace.army.mil, and should be received by the close of business on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014.

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. Anna R. Lawston via email at anna.r.lawston@usace.army.mil or via phone at 540-937-4197.