FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Norfolk District received a complete application on August 7, 2025, from Dismal Swamp Mitigation Bank, LLC, proposing the establishment of the Dismal Swamp Mitigation Bank to offset impacts authorized as part of future federal and state permits. The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments and recommendations from the public, federal, state, and local agencies and officials, Indian tribes, and other interested parties concerning the work as described below.
SPONSOR
Dismal Swamp Mitigation Bank, LLC
P.O. Box 6186
Chesapeake, Virginia 23323
LOCATION: West of George Washington Canal/Intracoastal Waterway and north of Feeder Canal in Chesapeake, Virginia.
The Dismal Swamp Mitigation Bank (Bank) is a proposed wetland mitigation bank to be created from restoration of actively farmed prior converted cropland and from preservation of upland and wetland forested land. The Bank is located in a unique area of Chesapeake, Virginia along a drainage divide. While the physical location of the Bank is in Hydraulic Unit Code (HUC) 03010205, flows from the site drain both north to HUC 02080208 and south to HUC 03010205 depending on wind and the USACEs’ operation of locks at Deep Creek, Virginia and South Mills, North Carolina.
PROJECT SIZE: 157 Acres
NEAREST WATERWAY: Adjacent to the Feeder Canal, the outlet of Lake Drummond, Northwest River Waterway
LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE: Latitude 36.59964 Longitude -76.41272
PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE:
The project purpose is to establish a compensatory mitigation bank in order to generate wetland credits to offset authorized Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) impacts. The proposed Bank site consists of a relatively flat active agricultural field, forested uplands, and forested wetlands. A 60 foot wide ingress/egress easement including a farm path exists along the northern boundary, and a farm path with no easement exists along the southern boundary. The following will be completed to establish the mitigation bank:
- Prior Converted (PC) Cropland Restoration
Minor grading will be required to remove field crowning and to lower areas above elevation 15.0 feet. Topsoil will be stripped and stockpiled for reapplication after the subgrade is reached in these areas. Excess material will be used to construct berms around the PC cropland restoration area and to plug ditches on the interior. These berms are located within the proposed buffers, and the area available for restoration is 117.69 acres inside of these berms. The berms will range from 1 to 3 feet in height. Once site grading and ditch plugs are complete, the site will be stabilized with a wetland seed mix for erosion control, and will be planted with bare root seedlings on 15 foot centers with tree protectors to minimize deer browsing. The bare root seedlings will be supplemented with 3 to 5 feet tall, 1 inch minimum caliper containerized trees planted on 60 foot centers. The area will be preserved in perpetuity with a deed restriction. The Bank sponsor is proposing 1:1 credit ratio for the PC Cropland restoration.
2. Forested Upland and Forested Wetland Preservation
The forested areas totaling 20.09 acres will be preserved in perpetuity with a deed restriction. The forested upland’s hydrology will be enhanced with the berm and ditch plugs. Two plugs per ditch are anticipated for the ditches interior to the forested area. The bank sponsor is proposing a 10:1 ratio for preservation of PFO wetland and a 7:1 ratio for enhancement of the forested upland.
3. Buffers
The following buffers are proposed from property boundaries:
- Northern boundary:85 foot (60 foot ingress/egress easement plus 25 foot buffer area)
- Western boundary:25 foot east of preserved treeline
- Southern boundary:100 foot (contains southern property line ditch and farm path)
- Eastern boundary:25 foot west of preserved treeline
The acreage of buffers is not included in our credit calculation and no credit will be requested from these buffer areas.
The purpose of the proposed project is to create a commercial wetland mitigation bank in HUC’s with a shortage of wetland mitigation credits.
The Bank is expected to generate approximately 120 wetland credits.
The Bank is located in a unique area of Chesapeake, Virginia along a drainage divide. While the physical location of the Bank is in HUC 03010205, flows from the site drain both north to HUC 02080208 and south to HUC 03010205 depending on wind and the USACEs’ operation of locks at Deep Creek, Virginia and South Mills, North Carolina. The Geologic Service Area (GSA) is eastern Virginia, the primary HUCs are 02080208, portions of 02080206, and 03010205. The Bank is located in the Coastal Plain of Virginia.
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 IRT members include: the USACE, Norfolk District, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and the Virginia Marine Resources (VMRC) Commission.
The USACE, the DEQ, and the VMRC provide no guarantee that any individual or general permit will be granted authorization to use the Bank 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 CWA and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA) of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), and/or by the DEQ pursuant to Section 401 of the CWA 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 prospectus can be found on the USACE Regulatory In-lieu Fee and Bank Information Tracking System (RIBITS) website Public Notices (army.mil).
https://ribits.ops.usace.army.mil/ords/f?p=107:622:9242183042427::NO
AUTHORITY: Issuance of public notices regarding proposed compensatory mitigation sites is required pursuant to Compensatory Mitigation for Losses of Aquatic Resources; Final Rule as published April 10, 2008, in the Federal Register, Vol. 73, No. 70, pages 19,594-19,705 (33 CFR 325 and 332 and 40 CFR 230). This is not an application for work in federally regulated waters; however, authorization under Section 10 of the RHA and Section 404 of the CWA may be required for implementation of the proposed 157-acre site, if approved. No decision has been made as to whether this proposed mitigation bank will be approved.
FEDERAL EVALUATION OF APPLICATION: The 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 mitigation banking instrument/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: The USACE has performed an initial review of the application, using the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC), to determine the presence of 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 USACE has made a preliminary determination that there may be an effect to listed/proposed/candidate species and/or designated/proposed 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 USFWS 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 IPaC Official Species List and Species Conclusion Table can be found on the RIBITS website Public Notices (army.mil).
HISTORIC AND CULTURAL RESOURCES:
Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(a)(2) the USACE, Norfolk District 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 the USACE.
The USACE is evaluating the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This public notice serves to inform the public of the proposed undertaking and invites comments including those from local, State, and Federal government Agencies with respect to historic resources. Our final determination relative to historic resource impacts may be subject to additional coordination with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), federally recognized tribes, and other interested parties.
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 USACE-identified permit area.
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 National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on all actions, or proposed actions, permitted, funded, or undertaken by the agencies, 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 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 DEQ. In accordance with Certification Rule part 121.12, the USACE 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, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ATTN: CENAO-WRR), 803 Front Street, Norfolk, VA 23510-1011, and should be received by the close of business on September 25, 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:
Ms. Kimberly Isenhour at CENAO_REG_MitigationTeam@usace.army.mil or Kimberly.T.Isenhour@usace.army.mil