NAO-2004-3740

Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Published Oct. 28, 2020
Expiration date: 11/28/2020

October 28, 2020
CENAO-WR-R
NAO-2004-3740

PUBLIC NOTICE
The District Commander has received a permit application for work described below:

APPLICANT
William Walpert and Gregg Strangways
1020 and 1016 Witch Point Trail
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23455

WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK:  The project is located in the Lynnhaven River, a tributary to the Chesapeake Bay, 1020 and 1026 Witch Point Trail, in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE:  The applicant proposes to dredge a minimal channel (1,937 cubic yards / 17,170 square feet) for access to navigable water. This channel will connect to the Schilling Point SSD neighborhood dredging project channel. Proposed channels are situated to take advantage of existing contours to minimize dredge volume and subaqueous impact.  Dredged material will be placed into scows; taken to Thalia Creek Transfer Site; placed into watertight trucks for transport to Whitehurst Dredge Material Management Area.  Non-vegetated wetland (mudflat) impacts are unavoidable and have been reduced to 270 sf.  No vegetated wetlands are impacted directly or indirectly within the 4X buffer. Compensatory mitigation for 270 sf of mudflat impacts will be provided by the purchase of 270 sf of tidal wetland credits from an approved mitigation bank servicing HUC 02080108.

In addition to the required Department of the Army permit, the applicant must obtain a Virginia Water Protection Permit/401 certification from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality assuring that applicable laws and regulations pertaining to water quality are not violated and a permit from the Virginia Beach Wetlands Board.  Project drawings and the JPA can be downloaded at:

https://webapps.mrc.virginia.gov/public/habitat/search_permits.php?s_AppNumber=20201553

AUTHORITY:  Permits are required pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403).

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 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 or National Marine Fisheries Service is required; 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). 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.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, as amended by the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-267), requires all Federal agencies to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service on all actions, or proposed actions, permitted, funded, or undertaken by the agency, that may adversely affect Essential Fish Habitat (EFH).  Lynnhaven River contains Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for the species during specific life stages shown on the attached EFH Report.  The habitat which this project would affect consists of shallow water and mudflats.  The proposed project is described in Proposed Work and Purpose, above. Our assessment of the project leads us to a preliminary determination that it will not have a substantial adverse effect on EFH and therefore expanded EFH consultation is not required. Our rationale for this preliminary determination is based on the expected short-term nature of the direct impacts, minimal increases in turbidity, changes in water temperature or salinity caused by the proposed work, the absence of vegetated wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation, and anadromous fish spawning habitat. Based on comments from the National Marine Fisheries Service in response to this public notice, further EFH consultation may be necessary.

COMMENT PERIOD:  Comments on this project should be in writing and can be sent by either email to brian.c.denson@usace.army.mil, or by regular mail, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers ATTN: Mr. Brian Denson, CENAO-WR-R, 803 Front Street, Norfolk, Virginia  23510-1011, and should be received by the close of business on November 28, 2020. If commenting by email, please include the NAO project number, NAO-2004-3740, in your subject line.

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 Mr. Brian Denson at brian.c.denson@usace.army.mil or by phone at (757) 201-7792.

Attachment: Drawings, EFH Report, Official Species List, Species Conclusion Table.