November 4, 2013
CENAO-WR-R
NAO-2013-1722 / 13-V1310
FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
The District Commander has received a joint application for Federal and State permits as described below:
APPLICANTS
Timothy Shekoski – 105 Old House Point Circle
Roland Garrett – 108 Old House Point Circle
James Hall – 1239 Dare Road
Kenneth Franz – 1301 Dare Road
Marilyn Barr – 1307 Dare Road
Yorktown, VA 23692
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The project is located in waters near the intersection of Dare Road and Old House Point Circle on the Poquoson River in Yorktown, Virginia.
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicants are proposing to hydraulically dredge approximately 8,860 square feet (458 cubic yards) of subaqueous bottom to a maximum depth of -3.0 feet mean low water (MLW) in order to re-establish navigational access. The dredged material will be pumped through an elevated pipe into an existing open water non-tidal pond located between 1239 and 1301 Dare Road, and all impacts to existing wetland vegetation will be avoided. Approximately 50% of the 72-foot by 118-foot pond will be filled from east to west and will include seeding of areas brought to the same elevation as the adjacent property. The displaced water from the pond will exit to the east through an existing 4-inch drainage pipe into a second open water non-tidal pond. The second pond will act as a sediment basin while water is discharged into tidal waters through an existing 6-inch drainage pipe located on the southeast corner of the second pond. The applicants also propose to install two 28-linear foot vinyl retaining walls at the inlet to protect the channel and adjacent vegetated wetlands.
In addition to the required Department of the Army permit, the applicant must obtain 1) 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 and 2) a permit from the York County Wetlands Board. Project drawings are attached.
AUTHORITY: Permits are required pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), 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) 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, however, the Official Species List and Species Conclusion Table are attached for review and comment by Fish and Wildlife Service. Coordination with NOAA Fisheries Service Protected Resources Division on the Atlantic Sturgeon (acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) will be conducted separately from this public notice; and (3) a known property eligible for inclusion or included in the National Register of Historic Places is in or near the permit area but would not likely be affected by the proposal. Coordination with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources will be conducted separately from this public notice. 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.
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 on all actions, or proposed actions, permitted, funded, or undertaken by the agency, that may adversely affect Essential Fish Habitat (EFH). The Poquoson River contains Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for the egg, larvae, juvenile, and adult life stages of 37 species including windowpane flounder (Scopthalmus aquosus), bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), Atlantic butterfish (Peprilus triacanthus), summer flounder (Paralicthys dentatus), black sea bass (Centropristus striata), king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla), Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus), cobia (Rachycentron canadum), red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), dusky shark (Charcharinus obscurus), and sandbar shark (Charcharinus plumbeus). The habitat which this project would affect consists of shallow water habitat only.
The proposed project is described in Proposed Work and Purpose, above. Our assessment of the project leads us to a preliminary determination that it will not have a substantial adverse effect on EFH and therefore expanded EFH consultation is not required. Our rationale for this preliminary determination is based on the expected short-term nature of the direct impacts, minimal increases in turbidity, and the absence of submerged aquatic vegetation and anadromous fish spawning habitat. Based on comments from the National Marine Fisheries Service in response to this public notice, further EFH consultation may be necessary.
COMMENT PERIOD: Comments on this project should be made in writing, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers (ATTN: Nancy Hankins, CENAO-WR-R), 803 Front Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23510-1096, and should be received by the close of business on December 4, 2013.
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
Nancy Hankins at (757)201-6048 or nancy.d.hankins@usace.army.mil .
Attachment: Drawings