NAO-2016-01943

Norfolk Distict, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Published Oct. 17, 2019
Expiration date: 11/16/2019

October 17, 2019

CENAO-WR-R
NAO 2016-01943

FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
The District Commander has received a joint application for Federal and State permits as described below:

APPLICANT Harbor Station Communities, LLC
C/o Mr. Andrew Wagner
2392 Morse Avenue
Irvine, California 92641

WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The project is located as part of an extension to Potomac Shores Parkway from the terminus at Harbor Station Boulevard to the intersection of the U.S. Route 1 and Route 234 (Dumfries Road) in Prince William County, Virginia. The proposed project is located within Cherry Hill Point Peninsula and Quantico Creek and the 8-digit USGS Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) 02070011.

PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant proposes to construct an extension of Potomac Shores Parkway to U.S. Route 1, improvements to the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and Route 234 (Dumfries Road), as well as improvements to an existing commuter lot to alleviate traffic congestion along a busy travel corridor in Prince William County, Virginia. . The proposed project will 0.69 acre of permanent impacts to jurisdictional wetlands and open water and 2,848 linear feet (0.90 acre) of impacts to stream channel. These impacts consist of 0.18 acre of palustrine forested (PFO) wetland, 0.46 acre of palustrine scrub shrub (PSS), 0.04 acres of palustrine emergent (PEM), 0.01 acre of palustrine open water (POW), and 0.13 acre (1,040 linear feet) of non-tidal intermittent stream channel, 0.77 acre (1,769 linear feet) of non-tidal perennial stream channel, and <0.01 acre (39 linear feet) of existing culvert.

There are no undeveloped parcels within the general vicinity where an alternative roadway alignment could be developed. Existing residential development and existing roadways surrounding the proposed project corridor create constraints to the proposed alternative alignments within the Cherry Hill Peninsula.

The proposed development corridor is located within the only remaining undeveloped area between residential neighborhoods and roadway networks to the north and south of the corridor. As the project is required to tie into the existing Potomac Shores Parkway, Route 234 and U.S. Route 1 intersection, there is limited availability to alter the roadway alignment to further avoid and minimize impacts to jurisdictional waters. In addition, the proposed roadway must cross Wayside Drive perpendicularly to allow for a safe and efficient traffic pattern.

In an effort to further minimize impacts to the maximum extent practicable, the Applicant has designed the roadway alignment to cross all wetland and stream systems at a perpendicular angle to further minimize impact.

The applicant proposes to compensate for impacts to 0.69 acre of jurisdictional wetlands through either the purchase of 1.10 wetland mitigation credits from an approved mitigation bank, in-lieu fee contribution, or the creation of Permittee-Responsible Mitigation (PRM). In addition, the Applicant proposed to compensate for the permanent loss of 2,848 linear feet of stream channel through the purchase of 3,450 Compensation Credits (CCs) from an approved mitigation bank that can serve this 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 Fairfax William County 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. 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) 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 affected. Based on this "no effect" determination, no further coordination with the Fish and Wildlife Service is required *OR* 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) 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.

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). The applicant’s consistency certification is attached to this Public Notice and we are requesting review by DEQ-OEIR for concurrence or objection (the six-month consistency review clock begins when OEIR receives complete information to coordinate the review) –OR- 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 regena.d.bronson@usace.army.mil, or mail, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers, 1329 Alum Spring Road, Suite 102, Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401, and should be received by the close of business on November 15, 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 Regena Bronson at 757-201-7828.

FOR THE DISTRICT COMMANDER:
Tucker Smith
Chief, Northern Virginia Regulatory Section

Attachment: Drawings
Vicinity map