NAO-2009-00044 (CVC Paradise Creek 2 Portsmouth, Virginia)

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) received a complete application on December 19, 2025, from the Coastal Virginia Conservancy, proposing the establishment of the Paradise Creek 2 Site to offset impacts to tidal wetlands/waters 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:  
The Coastal Virginia Conservancy
Helen Kuhns, Executive Director
5215 Colley Avenue
Suite 119
Norfolk, Virginia 23508  

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The 5.5-acre project site is located in Portsmouth, Virginia within approximately 850 linear feet of Paradise Creek starting near the mouth of Paradise Creek, where it joins the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River.

LAT and LONG: 36.798966°/-76.296863°

PROPOSED WORK and PURPOSE: 

The width of the creek throughout this footprint varies from approximately 300 feet to 500 feet. The overall water depth in Paradise Creek Project 2 is relatively shallow, grading from 4 feet below Mean Low Water to 12 feet eastward. The sponsor proposes a sediment enhancement technology which involves incorporating powdered activated carbon into the sediment. The activated carbon absorbs and sequesters dissolved PCBs present in the sediment pore water. This project contributes to the goal of reducing toxins in the Elizabeth River sediment as set out in the Elizabeth River Watershed Action Plan, 2022. The Paradise Creek Project 2 mitigation has the potential to improve up to 240,000 SF (5.5 acres) Paradise Creek sediment quality (enhancement) through sediment toxics sequestering and the project has the potential to yield 5.5 mitigation credits.

The Bank’s proposed Primary Service Area is within the James River Watershed, National Watershed Boundary Dataset Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC) 02080208.

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 Corps, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), 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 Project 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.

A copy of the Coastal Virginia Conservancy Prospectus can be found on the Corps Regulatory In-lieu Fee and Bank Information Tracking System (RIBITS) website Public Notices (army.mil)

https://ribits.ops.usace.army.mil/ords/f?p=107:622:1800163446844::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 Rivers and Harbors Act and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) may be required for implementation of the proposed work, if approved. No decision has been made as to whether this proposed mitigation bank will be approved.

FEDERAL EVALUATION OF APPLICATION: The Corps 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 Coastal Virginia Conservancy is advised and/or chooses to submit a draft site development plan, the Corps 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.

CULTURAL RESOURCES:

Additional information may change any of these findings. Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(a)(2) the Corps 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 Corps.

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:

Historic properties (i.e., properties listed in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places), are present within the Corps’ permit area; however, the undertaking will have no adverse effect on these historic properties. 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 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) ESA 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 will not affect any listed species or 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 Corps is the lead Federal agency for ESA consultation for the proposed action. Any required consultation will be completed by the Corps.

This notice serves as request to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries 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.

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT:

The Corps is the lead Federal agency for Essential Fish Habitat consultation for the proposed action. Any required consultation will be completed by the Corps.

Pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996, the Corps reviewed the project area, examined information provided by the applicant, and consulted available species information.

This notice initiates the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Our initial determination is that the proposed action may affect EFH and/or fisheries managed by Fishery Management Councils and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Implementation of the proposed project would indirectly impact approximately 5.5 acres of shallow water habitat. The effects of the project are determined to be minimal and temporary. These habitat(s) are utilized by the following species and their various life stages:

red hake (Urophycis chuss), eggs, larvae, juvenile, adult

clearnose skate (Raja eglanteria), juvenile and adult

sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), neonate and juvenile

windowpane flounder, (Scopthalmus aquosos), juvenile and adult

bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), juvenile and adult

Atlantic butterfish (Peprilus triacanthos), eggs, larvae, juvenile and adult

summer flounder (Paralicthys dentatus), larvae, juvenile and adult

black sea bass (Centropristus striata), juvenile and adult

Atlantic sea herring (Clupea harengus), adult

Our final determination relative to project impacts and the need for mitigation measures is subject to review by and coordination with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

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 Sponsor and their Agent. This information has not been verified or evaluated to ensure compliance with laws and regulation governing the regulatory program.

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 Corps. Information that is submitted in connection with this Public Notice cannot be maintained as confidential by the Corps. Submissions should not include any information that the submitter seeks to preserve as confidential.

COMMENT PERIOD: The Norfolk District will receive written comments on the application, as outlined above, until the close of business on April 10, 2026. 

Comments can be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Dana Heston via email at:  CENAO_REG_MitigationTeam@usace.army.mil

Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, Attention: Dana Heston (CENAO-RG-W), 803 Front Street, Norfolk, VA  23510-1011, Please refer to the application number in your comments.

Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider the application. Requests for public hearings shall state, with particularity, the reasons for holding a public hearing. Requests for a public hearing will be granted, unless the District Engineer determines that the issues raised are insubstantial or there is otherwise no valid interest to be served by a hearing.

If you have any questions about this application, contact:

Dana Heston at dana.m.heston@usace.army.mil

Please copy

CENAO_REG_MitigationTeam@usace.army.mil