October 6, 2017
CENAO-WR-R
NAO-2016-00992
FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
The District Commander has received a joint application for Federal and State permits as described below:
APPLICANT
Faulconer Construction Company, Inc.
ATTN: Mr. F. A Burke, III, Executive Vice President
2496 Old Ivy Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The project is located in Big Creek and Mud Run and other tributaries to the James River, on Route 220, in Botetourt County, Virginia.
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant proposes to upgrade Route 220 (Botetourt Road) from approx. 0.129 miles south of Route 43 (Narrow Passage Road) north to the intersection with Route 727 (Fork Farm Road), for a total length of 8.56 miles of work along a 9.65‐mile section of Route 220. The proposed improvements include additional passing zones; turn lanes at intersections as appropriate; improved travel lane and shoulder widths; improvements to drainage and culvert/bridge structures; addition of centerline and edge‐line rumble strips, raised centerline pavement markers, and paved shoulders. The proposed project will result in 0.74 acres of permanent impacts and 0.31 acres of temporary impacts to wetlands, and 4,133 linear feet of permanent impacts and 357 linear feet of temporary impacts to streams.
The applicant’s stated purpose is improve safety, because this section of Route 220 exhibits numerous substandard geometric elements which include the typical section, intersection sight distance, stopping sight distance, horizontal and vertical alignments and a general lack of clear zone and/or recoverable areas resulting in serious safety issues.
To avoid and minimize impacts to aquatic resources, the application states that the following measures were incorporated: follow the original line and grade of the existing Route 220 corridor for lane and shoulder widening; retain the two‐lane roadway improvements as opposed to incorporating a median or adding additional travel lanes; exclude bridge crossings over larger streams and rivers so these waterways will not be impacted by the project; realign one segment to minimize impacts to Mud Run; and place stormwater management facilities outside of jurisdictional areas. The application also lists location specific avoidance and minimization measures incorporated along the project.
To compensate for unavoidable impacts to wetlands and streams, the applicant proposes the purchase of credits from one or more mitigation banks and credits from the Virginia Aquatic Resources Trust Fund if needed.
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 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 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: NOTE--Federal funds are being used for the project, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is the lead Federal agency. (l) FHWA prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in 2002, and a NEPA Reevaluation in 2016. No environmental impact statement will be required; (2) the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), acting on behalf of FHWA, coordinated with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544, 87 Stat. 884, as amended). FHWA/VDOT concluded that the project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect the James spinymussel (Pleurobema collina), the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalist), and the Northern long-eared bat (M. septentrionalis). VDOT coordinated these effect determinations using the USFWS Online Project Review system in March 2016; and (3) in 2016 VDOT and FHWA signed a Programmatic Agreement (PA) with the Virginia State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) outlining the process for treatment of two archaeological sites in order to mitigate the adverse effect. VDOT has carried out the pre-construction mitigation commitments stipulated in the PA. Additional information might change any of these findings.
COMMENT PERIOD: Comments on this project should be in writing and can be sent by either email to alice.w.allen-grimes@usace.army.mil, or by regular mail, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers (ATTN: CENAO-WR-R), 803 Front Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23510-1011, and should be received by the close of business on November 6, 2017.
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.
Drawings for this project are best viewed on-line: http://www.nao.usace.army.mil/Media/Public-Notices/
If you have any questions about this project or the permit process, or to request copies of the drawings, you may contact Alice Allen-Grimes at the email address above or at 757-201-7219.
Attachment: Location Map