March 13, 2014
CENAO-WR-R
NAO-2014-0262/ 14-V0230
FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
The District Commander has received a joint application for Federal and State permits as described below:
APPLICANT
Virginia Electric & Power Co (Dominion)
C/O: Liz Harper
701 E. Cary Street, 12th Floor
Richmond, Virginia 23219
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The Yadkin Substation Expansion project is located near the Deep Creek a tributary to the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, at 3015 Yadkin Road in Chesapeake, Virginia.
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant proposes to expand the existing Yadkin Substation along the northern, western, and southern boundaries of the substation to accommodate additional transmission infrastructure and tap into existing overhead transmission lines. Grading and fill associated with the expanded footprint will result in permanent unavoidable impacts to approximately 1.28 acres of palustrine forested (PFO) wetlands, 0.32 acres of palustrine emergent (PEM) wetlands and 2,270 linear feet (LF) of jurisdictional ditch. To accommodate the quantity of stormwater runoff from the expanded substation and provide treatment, Dominion proposes to create a 1,936 linear feet of new ditch which will encompass the perimeter of the substation as well as expand some of the existing jurisdictional ditches on the property by excavating uplands adjacent to these existing ditches. Expansion of the existing jurisdictional ditches on the property will occur outside of wetlands to avoid impacts to these resources.
Dominion has avoided and minimized the impacts to wetlands on the property to the greatest extent practicable. Dominion is proposing compensatory mitigation at the standard ratio of 2:1 for impacts to PFO wetlands and 1:1 for impacts to PEM wetlands through the purchase of 2.90 credits from an the Great Dismal Swamp Restoration Bank- Lewis Farm Site, which services the project hydrologic unit code (HUC), 02080208. No mitigation has been proposed for the 2,270 linear feet of impacts to jurisdictional ditches.
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. 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) after conducting the NAO ESA Project Review Process, there may be an affect to listed/proposed/candidate species and/or designated/proposed critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the Official Species List and Species Conclusion Table is attached for review and comment by Fish and Wildlife Service; (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). The applicant’s consistency certification is attached to this Public Notice and we are requesting review by DEQ-OEIR for concurrence or objection (the six-month consistency review clock begins when OEIR receives complete information to coordinate the review). 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 (ATTN: CENAO-WR-R), Ms. Chelsea Bowman. 803 Front Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23510-1096, and should be received by the close of business on April 13, 2014
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 Ms. Chelsea Bowman by phone at 757-201-7060 or via email at Chelsea.B.Bowman@usace.army.mil
FOR THE DISTRICT COMMANDER:
Peter R. Kube
Chief, Eastern Virginia
Regulatory Section
Attachment: Drawings
Coastal Zone Management Act Certification Statement
Official Species List & Species Conclusion Table