FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
The District Commander has received a joint application for Federal and State permits as described below:
APPLICANT
Mr. C.E. Ward
Philip Morris, USA Inc.
6601 West Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23230
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The project is located on 181acres at 2100 Walmsley Boulevard adjacent to the James River a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, Richmond City, Virginia.
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant proposes a mixed use development to construct a manufacturing support facility to include parking and trailer staging areas immediately adjacent to existing production facilities in the northwest corner to be used by Philip Morris USA, support retail and commercial use facilities such as restaurants and hotels by private companies on Commerce Road, and provide a 60 acre industrial or manufacturing site to an outside private company with associated parking and infrastructure. The purpose of the project is to provide parking and staging facilities immediately adjacent to existing production facilities, expand convenience retail services at the U.S. Interstate 95 gateway on Commerce Road, provide a large industrial site for outside private companies in the Richmond Enterprise Zone. The applicant has demonstrated avoidance and minimization by removing a corporate office complex from the plan reducing wetland impacts from 5.11 acres to 2.00 acres of impacts. The proposed work will impact 0.217 acres of palustrine forested wetland at the support facility, 1.068 acres of palustrine forested wetlands at the retail and commercial site, and 0.715 acres of palustrine forested wetland at the 60 acre manufacturing site. Impacts will be compensated for by purchasing 4 wetlands credits (2:1 ratio) from Scandia Mitigation Bank.
In addition to the required Department of the Army permit, the applicant must obtain a Virginia Water Protection Permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) assuring that applicable laws and regulations pertaining to water quality are not violated and a permit from the WHAT Wetlands Board. Project drawings are attached.
AUTHORITY: Permits are required pursuant to Sections 401 and 404 of the Clean Water Act (Public Law 95-217) and Title 62.1 of the Code of Virginia.
FEDERAL EVALUATION OF APPLICATION: 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. The decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits which reasonably may be expected from the proposal must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All of the proposal's relevant factors will be considered, including conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, cultural values, 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, consideration of property ownership and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people. The Environmental Protection Agency's "Guidelines for Specification of Disposal Sites for Dredged or Fill Material" will also be applied (Section 404(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act).
The Corps of Engineers is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, state, and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of this proposed activity. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps of Engineers to determine whether to issue, modify, condition or deny a permit for this proposal. To make this decision, comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public interest factors listed above. Comments are used in the preparation of 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 permit application 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.
Preliminary review indicates that: (l) no environmental impact statement will be required; (2) It does not appear that any species of fish, wildlife, or plant (or their critical habitat) listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (PL 93-205) will be affected; and (3) the following properties which may be elibible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places are in or near the permit area, or would likely be affected by the proposal: 043-0307-Battle of Chaffins Farm, 020-5474- Dupont Spruance and 127-5818 (Richmond Industrial). Additional information might change any of these findings. For compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, the applicant must certify that federally licensed or permitted activities affecting Virginia's coastal zone (Tidewater) will be conducted in a manner consistent with the Virginia Coastal Resources Management Program (VCP). For more information or to obtain a list of the enforceable programs of the VCP, contact the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental Impact Review at (804) 698-4330 or e-mail: elirons@deq.virginia.gov.
COMMENT PERIOD: Comments on this project should be made in writing, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers (ATTN: CENAO-WR-R), 9100 Arboretum Parkway, Suite 235, Richmond, Virginia, 23236, and should be received by the close of business on Nov. 5, 2012.
PRIVACY & 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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Information that is submitted in connection with this Public Notice cannot be maintained as confidential by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Submissions should not include any information that the submitter seeks to preserve as confidential.
If you have any questions about this project or the permit process, contact . Julie S. Hamilton at 804-323-3783 or email julie.s.hamilton@usace.army.mil.
FOR THE DISTRICT COMMANDER:
Lynette R. Rhodes
Chief, Southern Virginia
Regulatory Section