NAO-2019-00041 (TREC Coastal Logistics Building 3, Suffolk, Virginia)

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Norfolk District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received an application for a Department of the Army permit 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:

APPLICANT:
Coastal Logistics Holdings, LLC
3515 W. 75th Street, Suite 103 Prairie Village, KS 66208

AGENT:        
Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc.
1008 Old Virginia Beach Road, Suite 200 Virginia Beach, VA 23451

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with tributaries to Shingle Creek. The project site is located east of Carolina Road (US Route 13 Business/Virginia State Route 32) between the US Route 13 Southwest Bypass and the abandoned railway bed west of Hosier Road in Suffolk, Virginia. The project site is located within two watersheds HUC 02080208 and HUC 03010205. (36.698390, -76.592804)

PROPOSED WORK and PURPOSE: The applicant requests authorization to impact 8.06 acres of waters of the United States (WOTUS). The applicant proposes to construct a warehouse for storage and transport of goods, received through the Port of Virginia, and to support the region. Permanent impacts include 5.13 acre of palustrine forested wetland (PFO), 2.73 acres of palustrine emergent wetland (PEM), 0.15 acre of jurisdictional ditches and 0.04 (313 linear feet) of perennial stream channel. The impacts are associated with the construction of the warehouse facility to include associated infrastructure such as stormwater management, utilities, parking and road access.

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant demonstrated avoidance and minimization by incorporating resourceful site selection, several design iterations, and strategic site planning. This includes utilizing wetland delineations to ensure all jurisdictional features within the project site were accurately mapped. The applicant has evaluated multiple onsite and offsite alternatives to identify opportunities to further avoid and minimize impacts to WOTUS while considering limiting factors such as lot size, height restrictions, zoning and proximity to the Port of Virginia. The primary avoidance effort was concentrated around reducing impacts to the exist PFO system and a vernal pool community located in southern portion of the project site. The applicant submitted additional avoidance and minimization considerations such as locating utilities and road construction within existing rights-of-way, reducing the footprint of proposed structure and stormwater facilities, maintaining hydrological connectivity as well as other factors. The Corps is in the process of evaluating the avoidance and minimization measures as well as the alternatives analysis located within the joint permit application.

A copy of the joint permit application can be found on the Virginia Marine Resources Commission’s website:

https://webapps.mrc.virginia.gov/public/habitat/search_permits.php?id=20251777&msg=454

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant is proposing to compensate for all unavoidable losses and permanent impacts to WOTUS through the purchase of stream and wetland mitigation bank credits. The applicant is proposing to purchase 12.99 wetland credits and 232 stream compensation credits (CCs). The project site is located within two watersheds therefore credit purchase will be completed with 11.67 wetland credits and 232 CCs purchased in HUC 02080208 and 1.32 wetland credits purchased in HUC 03010205. Credits will be purchased from a Corps approved wetland and/or stream mitigation bank and/or in-lieu fee program within the approved geographical service area.

CULTURAL RESOURCES:

Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(a)(2) the US Army Corps of Engineers is the lead Federal agency responsible for compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for the proposed action.

The Corps 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 Corps-identified permit area.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has performed an initial review of the application, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Section 7 Mapper, and the NMFS Critical Habitat Mapper 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 has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project there may be an effect to listed/proposed/candidate species and/or designated/proposed critical habitat.

ESA-listed species and/or critical habitat potentially present in the action area.

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 are attached for review and comment by the USFWS.

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT: There is no EFH in the Corps area of responsibility.

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

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 at eir@deq.virginia.gov 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.

The applicant has submitted concurrence.

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 been verified by Corps personnel.

EVALUATION: 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. 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