The District Commander has received a joint application for Federal and State permit modifications as described below:
APPLICANT
Waste Associates C/O Mr. Ernie DeCasper
1790 Darbytown Rd.
Richmond, Va. 23231
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK
The site is known as “The East End Landfill” (“TEEL”, formerly “Simons Hauling Construction and Demolition Debris Landfill”), contains approximately 22 acres of land and drains to Almond Creek, a tributary to the James River. The site is located on the east line of Darbytown Road, about 0.2 mile north of Bickerstaff Road in Henrico County, Va.
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE
The applicant requests modification of an existing permit for the general purposes of extending the life of the landfill by expanding the existing landfill and extending the expiration date from 12-20-20 to 9-1-33. The site functioned as a borrow area for sand and gravel and was significantly disturbed before being used to dispose of construction and demolition debris (CDD) solid waste. Impacts have been authorized in phases to 4.70 acres of waters of the U.S., including wetlands, open water (borrow pits) and degraded channels (roadside ditches) for the purposes of disposing of CDD solid waste and constructing all attendant features with adequate mitigation. The applicant proposes to discharge fill material in an additional 2.23 acres of palustrine open water (borrow pits) for the specific purpose of disposing of CDD solid waste and an additional 0.22 acre of palustrine emergent wetlands and 290 linear feet of intermittent stream for the specific purpose of managing stormwater runoff and proposes to mitigate adverse impacts by purchasing 0.22 wetland credits (one to one compensation for impacts to 0.22 acre of palustrine emergent wetlands) and 284 stream credits (for impacts to 290 linear feet of stream) from Eastern Henrico Mitigation Bank, or another appropriate mitigation bank to assure that the individual and cumulative impacts of his proposal result in minimal environmental consequence. Cumulative impacts, both existing and proposed, total 5.83 acres of waters of the U.S., including wetlands and 890 linear feet of stream.
In addition to the required Department of the Army permit, the applicant must obtain a Virginia Water Protection Permit/401 certification from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality assuring that applicable laws and regulations pertaining to water quality are not violated. 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.
This project was previously coordinated with the resource agencies. Preliminary review indicates that: (l) no environmental impact statement will be required; (2) after conducting the NAO ESA Project Review Process, no listed/proposed/candidate species and/or designated/proposed critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544, 87 Stat. 884), as amended will be affected. Based on this no effect determination, no further coordination with the Fish and Wildlife Service is required; and (3) no known properties eligible for inclusion or included in the National Register of Historic Places are in or near the permit area, or would likely be affected by the proposal. Additional information might change any of these findings.
For compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended for projects located in Tidewater, 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 Coastal Zone Management Program (VCP) and obtain concurrence from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Office of Environmental Impact Review (OEIR). We have not received a certification from the applicant prior to publication of this public notice. It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit a consistency certification to the Office of Environmental Impact Review 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 here: http://www.deq.state.va.us/Programs/EnvironmentalImpactReview/FederalConsistencyReviews.aspx#cert.
For more information or to obtain a list of the enforceable policies of the VCP, contact the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental Impact Review at (804) 698-4330 or e-mail: ellie.irons@deq.virginia.gov or john.fisher@deq.virginia.gov.
COMMENT PERIOD
Comments on this project should be made in writing, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers, Richmond Field Office, 9100 Arboretum Parkway, Suite 235, Richmond, Va., 23236, and should be received by the close of business on Aug. 20, 2013.
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 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, please contact Ms. Elaine Holley at (804) 323-3781 and
elaine.k.holley@usace.army.mil.
FOR THE DISTRICT COMMANDER:
Lynette R. Rhodes
Chief, Southern Virginia
Regulatory Section
Attachment: Vicinity Map, Impact Map