March 5, 2025
CENAO-WRR
NAO-1995-08595
FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
The District Commander has received a project proposal to establish a stream and non-tidal wetland compensatory mitigation site for federal and state permits as described below.
SPONSOR
The Nature Conservancy (Sponsor)
Virginia Aquatic Resources Trust Fund
ATTN: Diane Frisbee
652 Peter Jefferson Parkway
Suite 190
Charlottesville, Virginia 22911
PROJECT LOCATION:
The Sponsor proposes to purchase 112 acres in the Shenandoah River watershed to establish a 93-acre compensatory mitigation site, to be known as SH-8 Mt. Sydney (Site). The Site is located in Augusta County, Virginia. The Site contains approximately 7,351 linear feet of unnamed tributaries to the Middle River, along with former wetland areas that are currently in agricultural land use.
PROJECT SIZE: 93 acres
NEAREST WATERWAY: Middle River
LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE: 38.2272/-78.9459
PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE:
The Site is expected to generate approximately 11,946 stream credits. The number of potential stream credits was determined using the Unified Stream Methodology. The Sponsor proposes that the stream credits are generated from activities that will result in the rehabilitation and preservation of stream channels and associated stream buffers.
The Site is expected to generate approximately 35.64 non-tidal wetland credits. The Sponsor proposes that the non-tidal wetland credits are generated from activities that will result in the re-establishment and preservation of non-tidal wetlands and associated non-tidal wetland buffers.
The Site is located in Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) 02070005. The proposed primary geographic service area for the Site is 02070005, 02070006, and 02070007. The proposed secondary geographic service area for the site is 02070004.
Oversight of the Project would be by an existing group of federal and state agency representatives. This interagency oversight group is known as the Interagency Review Team (IRT). The Norfolk District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and the Virginia Marine Resources (VMRC) Commission, chair the IRT.
The USACE, the DEQ, and the VMRC provide no guarantee that any individual or general permit will be granted authorization to use the Project to compensate for unavoidable wetland and stream impacts associated with a permit verified, authorized, or issued by the USACE, pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), and/or by the DEQ pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act and Title 62.1 of the Code of Virginia and/or the VMRC pursuant to Title 28.2 of the Code of Virginia.
A copy of the project proposal can be found on the USACE Regulatory In-lieu Fee and Bank Information Tracking System (RIBITS) website Public Notices (army.mil).
FEDERAL EVALUATION OF APPLICATION:
USACE is soliciting comments from the public; federal, state, and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and other interested parties to consider and evaluate this proposed Project. To make this decision, comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, flood plain values, land use classification, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, and consideration of property ownership. If the Sponsor is advised and/or chooses to submit a draft site development plan, USACE will use the comments received on this public notice to inform 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 Project 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.
This is not an application for work in waters of the United States.
ENDANGERED SPECIES:
After conducting the Norfolk District Endangered Species Act (ESA) Project Review Process, the USACE has made the preliminary determination that:
No listed/proposed/candidate species and/or designated/proposed critical habitat under the ESA 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 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is required.
Additional information might change any of these findings.
HISTORIC AND CULTURAL RESOURCES:
Historic Resources eligible for inclusion or included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) are in or near the USACE permit area or would likely be affected by the proposal.
Additional information may change any of these findings.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT:
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 NMFS on all actions, or proposed actions, permitted, funded, or undertaken by the agency, that may adversely affect Essential Fish Habitat (EFH).
There is no EFH in the USACE area of responsibility.
VIRGINIA’S SECTION 401 WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION PROGRAM:
The Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 Certification Rule (Certification Rule, 40 CFR 121), effective September 11, 2020, requires certification, or waiver, for any license or permit that authorizes an activity that may result in a discharge. The scope of a CWA Section 401 certification is limited to ensuring that a discharge from a Federally licensed or permitted activity will comply with water quality requirements. To comply with the Virginia Section 401 Water Quality Certification Program and the Certification Rule, the applicant is responsible for adhering to the procedures outlined in the Certification Rule when requesting certification from the certifying authority, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. In accordance with Certification Rule part 121.12, the Corps will notify the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator when it has received a Department of the Army (DA) permit application and the related certification. The Administrator is responsible for determining whether the discharge may affect water quality in a neighboring jurisdiction. The DA permit may not be issued pending the conclusion of the Administrator’s determination of effects on neighboring jurisdictions.
COMMENT PERIOD:
Comments on this Project should be in writing and can be sent by email to CENAO_REG_MitigationTeam@usace.army.mil, or to the following link https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs/public-notices or by regular mail, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers (ATTN: CENAO-WRR), 803 Front Street, Norfolk, VA 23510-1011, and should be received by the close of business on April 5, 2025.
PRIVACY AND 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 USACE. Information that is submitted in connection with this Public Notice cannot be maintained as confidential by the USACE. Submissions should not include any information that the submitter seeks to preserve as confidential.
If you have any questions about this Project, contact:
Mrs. Jeanne C. Richardson
CENAO_REG_MitigationTeam@usace.army.mil
434.459.8160