NAO-2023-00248 (Field of Streams Mitigation Bank, Fauquier County, Virginia)

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Norfolk District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) received a Prospectus to establish a stream and wetland compensatory Mitigation Bank pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §1344). The purpose of this public notice is to solicit comments from the public regarding the work described below:

SPONSOR:   
Field of Streams Mitigation, LLC
Attn: Andrew Hindman 6799-A Kennedy Road Warrenton, VA 20187

AGENT:   
Virginia Waters and Wetlands, Inc.
Attn: Andrew Hindman 6799-A Kennedy Road Warrenton, VA 20186

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The proposed Field of Streams Mitigation Bank (Site) is an approximately 45-acres site located along Elk Run Road and Tenerife Road, southeast of the community of Catlett, Fauquier County, Virginia. The Site contains unnamed tributaries to Cedar Run, in the Potomac River Basin.

LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE: 38.6420 N, -77.6280 W

PROPOSED WORK and PURPOSE: The Sponsor proposes to design, construct, establish, and operate the Bank for the purpose of providing off-site compensatory mitigation for projects that result in unavoidable impacts to waters of the U.S., including wetlands.

The Sponsor proposes to construct the Bank in one (1) Phase and to generate:

1. 5,060 steam credits via restoration, enhancement, and buffer plantings, and,
2. 16.24 wetland credits via creation, enhancement, buffer plantings, and preservation.

The Site is located within the Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) 02070008. The proposed primary service area would include portions of the Potomac River watershed (HUC 02070008, 02070010, and 02070011) within all or portions of Loudoun, Fairfax, Prince William, Fauquier, Stafford, King George, Westmoreland, and Northumberland Counites. The proposed secondary service area would include upper portions of the Potomac Watershed (HUC 02070004) and the Shenandoah Watershed (HUCs 02070001, 02070005, 02070006, and 02070007).

Oversight of the Bank/ILF Site 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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Norfolk District (Corps), the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and the Virginia Marine Resources (VMRC) Commission, chair the IRT.

The Corps, the DEQ, and the VMRC provide no guarantee that any individual or general permit will be granted authorization to use the Bank/ILF Site to compensate for unavoidable wetland and stream impacts associated with a permit verified, authorized, or issued by the Corps, 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.

This is not an application for work in waters of the United States.

A copy of the Prospectus and all associated information can be found on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Regulatory In-lieu Fee and Bank Information Tracking System (RIBITS) website Public Notices (army.mil).

CULTURAL RESOURCES:

Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(a)(2) USACE is the lead Federal agency responsible for compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for the proposed action. Any required consultation will be completed by USACE.

The Corps evaluated the undertaking pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) utilizing its existing program-specific regulations and procedures along with 36 CFR Part 800. The Corps’ program-specific procedures include 33 CFR 325, Appendix C, and revised interim guidance issued in 2005 and 2007. The District Engineer consulted district files and records and the latest published version of the National Register of Historic Places and initially determines that:

Cultural resources that have been determined not eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places are present within the Corps’ permit area; therefore, there will be no historic properties affected by the proposed work. The Corps subsequently requests concurrence from the State Historic Preservation Office and/or Tribal Historic Preservation Office.

The District Engineer’s final eligibility and effect determination will be based upon coordination with the SHPO and/or Tribal Historic Preservation Office, as appropriate and required, and with full consideration given to the proposed undertaking’s potential direct and indirect effects on historic properties within the Corps-identified permit area.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps performed an initial review of the application, the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC), to determine if any threatened, endangered, proposed, or candidate species, and the proposed and final designated critical habitat may occur in the vicinity of the proposed project. Based on this initial review, the Corps preliminarily determines that the proposed project would not affect any Federally-listed species or critical habitat.

Pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) any required consultation with the Service(s) will be conducted in accordance with 50 CFR part 402. The USACE is the lead Federal agency for ESA consultation for the proposed action. Any required consultation will be completed by the USACE.

This notice serves as request to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for any additional information on whether any listed or proposed to be listed endangered or threatened species or critical habitat may be present in the area which would be affected by the proposed activity.

The USFWS Information and Planning and Consultation (IPaC) Official Species List and Species Conclusion Table can be found on the RIBITS website Public Notices (army.mil).

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT: The proposed activity is not located in an area of EFH.

NAVIGATION: The proposed activity is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation channel.

SECTION 408:

The proposed activity in not located within or near a USACE Civil Works Project (e.g., Navigation, Flood Risk Management, or Ecosystem Restoration).

VIRGINIA’S COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM: For compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended for projects located in Virginia’s Coastal Zone, 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’s Coastal Zone Management Program (Virginia CZM Program), and obtain concurrence from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Office of

Environmental Impact Review (OEIR). It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit a consistency certification to the OEIR 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 in the Federal Consistency Manual here: https://www.deq.virginia.gov/our-programs/environmental-impact-review/federal- consistency. For more information or to obtain a list of the enforceable policies of the Virginia CZM Program, contact the DEQ-OEIR at (804) 659-1915 or e-mail: bettina.rayfield@deq.virginia.gov.

No concurrence is required because the project is not located within Virginia’s Coastal Zone.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: Water Quality Certification may be required from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. 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.

NOTE: This public notice is being issued based on information furnished by the applicant. This information has not been verified or evaluated to ensure compliance with laws and regulation governing the regulatory program. The geographic extent of aquatic resources within the proposed project area that either are, or are presumed to be, within the Corps jurisdiction has not been verified by Corps personnel.

EVALUATION: The decision whether to issue an approval or permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits, which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal, must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors which may be relevant to the proposal will be considered including cumulative impacts thereof; among these are conservation, economics, esthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historical properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food, and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership, and in general, the needs and welfare of the people. Evaluation of the impact of the activity on the public interest will also include application of the guidelines promulgated by the Administrator, EPA, under authority of Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act or the criteria established under authority of Section 102(a) of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. A permit will be granted unless its issuance is found to be contrary to the public interest.