April 9, 2019
CENAO-WR-R
NAO-2018-00563 19-V0116
FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
The district commander has received a joint application for federal and state permits as described below:
APPLICANT
HHHunt Mosaic LLC
Attn: Mr. Jonathan Ridout
800 Hethwood Blvd.
Blacksburg, VA 24060
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The project site is about 176 acres and located south of Tuckahoe Creek Parkway, west of Capital One Drive and east of Hockett Road in Goochland County, Virginia. The project site is located within West Creek Business Park and drains into Broad Branch, a tributary to Tuckahoe Creek, which drains into the James River.
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant proposes to discharge fill material in 3.81 acres of forested wetlands, 78 square feet of scrub-shrub wetlands and 0.13 acres of emergent wetlands to permanently convert 0.1 acres of forested wetlands to emergent wetlands and impact 2,205 linear feet of stream channel for the purpose of constructing Phase II of a residential development known as Mosaic. Proposed impacts are for the construction of roads, utilities, associated erosion and sediment-control measures, and lots. Phase II of the project will include about 148 townhouses and 239 single-family homes.
The applicant indicated wetland impacts have been avoided and minimized by designing roads to cross streams and wetlands at narrow locations and as perpendicularly as possible. To mitigate the proposed impacts, the applicant has proposed to purchase 7.86 wetland credits and 2,926 stream credits from a mitigation bank allowed to sell them within the 02080205 hydrologic unit code.
Total cumulative impacts for West Creek Business Park, authorized and proposed, are approximately 14.8 acres of wetlands and 4,157 linear feet of streams.
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 assuring 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 a probable-impact evaluation, 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 that 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, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, property ownership and, in general, the people's needs and welfare. 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 other public interest factors listed above. Comments are used in the preparation of an environmental assessment and/or environmental impact statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. They are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and 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 this notice date, stating specific reasons for holding the public hearing. The district commander will then decide if a hearing should be held.
Preliminary review indicates: (1) no environmental impact statement will be required; (2) after conducting the NAO ESA Project Review Process, there may be an effect on the listed Northern long-eared Bat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the Official Species List and Species Conclusion Table are attached for review and comment by the Fish and Wildlife Service; 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. Additional information might change any of these findings.
COMMENT PERIOD: Comments on this project should be in writing. They can be sent by email to Silvia.B.Gazzera@usace.army.mil or regular mail, addressed to: Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers (ATTN: CENAO-WR-R), 803 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510-1011. All comments should be received by close of business May 5, 2019.
PRIVACY & CONFIDENTIALITY: Comments and information, including the submitter's identity, submitted in response to this public notice may be disclosed, reproduced and distributed at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers discretion. Information 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 the submitter seeks to preserve as confidential.
If you have any questions about this project or the permit process, contact Silvia Gazzera at Silvia.B.Gazzera@usace.army.mil or 804-212-6817.
Attachment: drawings, Species Conclusion Table, Official Species List