CENAO-WR-R
November 10, 2014
2014-01400; 14-V1467
FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
The District Commander has received a joint application for Federal and State permit modifications as described below.
APPLICANT
George Nice & Sons, Inc.
129 Industrial Boulevard
Toano, Virginia 23168
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The project site is approximately 93 acres and is located north of Route 5, east and west of I-295, in Henrico County, Virginia. The project site drains into Fourmile Creek, a tributary to the James River, a navigable water of the U.S.
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant proposes to construct a phase of the Virginia Capital Trail Project known as Park Phase. The Park Phase is a 55 mile dedicated, paved pedestrian and bicycle trail owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation and will connect Jamestown to Richmond along the Route 5 corridor. The project will permanent impact 0.85 acre of forested wetlands, 0.02 acre of scrub/shrub wetlands, 0.25 acre of emergent wetlands, 443 linear feet of stream channel, and 45 linear feet of jurisdictional ditch. The project will also temporarily impact 1.44 acres of wetlands and 268 linear feet of stream channel for construction access. The applicant indicated that impacts to wetlands and streams have been avoided and minimized by trail realignment and relocation of bridge structures. To mitigate for the proposed impacts, the applicant proposes to purchase 1.98 wetland mitigation credits from an approved wetland mitigation bank and 501 stream credits from an approved stream mitigation bank.
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, Virginia 23236, and should be received by the close of business on November 25, 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, please contact Dr. Silvia Gazzera at (804) 212-6817 and silvia.b.gazzera@usace.army.mil.
FOR THE DISTRICT COMMANDER:
Lynette R. Rhodes
Chief, Southern Virginia
Regulatory Section
Attachment: Vicinity map, Project drawings