September 21, 2020
CENAO-WR-R
NAO-2018-00995
FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
The District Commander has received a joint application for Federal and State permits as described below:
APPLICANT
Green Ridge Recycling and Disposal Facility
C/o Jerry Cifor
12230 Deer Grove Road
Midlothian, VA 23112
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The proposed activity is located in waters and wetlands associated with Muddy Creek, a tributary to the James River, In Cumberland County, Virginia. The Project area is located north of the intersection of U.S. Route 60, Anderson Highway, and Pinegrove Road. A vicinity map is attached.
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant proposes to discharge dredged and/or fill material into waters of the U.S. for the purpose of constructing a solid waste disposal facility and associated infrastructure.
The applicant’s stated purpose is to construct a new solid waste disposal and recycling facility to serve Central Virginia.
The project would permanently impact 10,951 linear feet of stream channels. The applicant proposes to compensate for these permanent impacts to waters of the U.S. by constructing permittee responsible stream mitigation on adjoining parcels to the project site. The initial mitigation plan would create 16,191 credits through the restoration of 5,765 linear feet of stream channel, the enhancement of 10,863 linear feet of stream channel and the preservation of 37,170 linear feet of stream channel. The applicant’s efforts to avoid and minimize impacts to jurisdictional features include minimizing the footprint of the facility to one cell, relocating the proposed entrance road from the original design and other design features to minimize impacts to jurisdictional Waters of the U.S.
In addition to the required Department of the Army permit, the applicant must obtain a Virginia Water Protection Permit and a Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification 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 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, the Northern Long Eared Bat may be affected, but the 4(d) key was completed and no further coordination with the Fish and Wildlife Service is required and (3) known properties eligible for inclusion or included in the National Register of Historic Places are in or near the permit area, and may 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 steven.a.vanderploeg@usace.army.mil, or by regular mail, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers (ATTN: CENAO-WR-R), 9100 Arboretum Parkway, Suite 235, Richmond, Virginia 23235, and should be received by the close of business on October 21, 2020.
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 Steven VanderPloeg at steven.a.vanderploeg@usace.army.mil or (804) 323-7071
Attachment: Drawings, Species Conclusion Table, Official Species List
The Joint Permit Application and it associated attachments can be found on the Virginia Marine Resources Commission Applications website:
https://webapps.mrc.virginia.gov/public/habitat/search_permits.php?id=20201619