October 1, 2019
CENAO-WR-R NAO-2008-03101
FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
The District Commander has received a joint application for Federal and State permits as described below:
APPLICANT
Monroe Development Owner, LLC
Attn: Tim Feron Equus Capital Partners
3843 West Chester Pike Newtown Square, PA 19073
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The project is located in along a tributary to Speights Run, north of Route 58 and west of Kenyon Road in Suffolk, Virginia.
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: On June 4, 2010, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorized CenterPoint Properties to discharge dredged and/or fill material into waters of the U.S. for the purpose of constructing an intermodal terminal on a parcel located north of Route 58 and west of Kenyon Road in Suffolk, Virginia. The permit was subsequently modified on July 19, 2011, January 9, 2014 and March 11, 2015, resulting the authorization of permanent impacts to a total of 7.66 acres of nontidal wetlands (2.18 acres of these impacts are to non-jurisdictional isolated wetlands) and 48 linear feet of stream, and temporary impacts to 1.66 acres of nontidal wetlands and 92 linear feet of stream. On July 22, 2019, the permit was transferred from CenterPoint Properties to Monroe Development Owner, LLC as the applicant.
Monroe Development Owner, LLC proposes to modify the current Individual Permit to include additional impacts to 1.11 acres of nontidal, forested wetlands to accommodate a road crossing to access Lot 4A, and rail spurs associated with a Commodity Terminal Operation. In addition, the applicant proposes to install an elevated pedestrian trail to access a preserved Civil War trench, however, the proposed boardwalk structure will not result in a discharge of fill material within jurisdictional wetlands or waters and will not require additional Corps authorization. The applicant has also requested a 5 year extension to authorized timeframe to construct the remaining authorized impacts, in addition to the proposed modifications, resulting in the permit authorization being valid until June 4, 2025.
To ensure that individual and cumulative effects of the project modification result in minimal environmental consequence and the wetland impacts are compensated, an additional 2.22 credits of nontidal wetland mitigation credits are proposed to be purchased by the applicant. This will result in a total of 13.02 credits that will be debited from the approved wetland mitigation bank for the project.
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 and a permit from the Suffolk Wetlands Board. 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, 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. Anycomments 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 effect 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)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.
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: bettina.sullivan@deq.virginia.gov or john.fisher@deq.virginia.gov.
COMMENT PERIOD: Comments on this project should be in writing and can be sent by either email to nicole.l.woodward@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 October 30, 2019.
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 Nicole Woodward at 757-201-7122 or nicole.l.woodward@usace.army.mil.
Attachment: Drawings