The
district commander has received a joint application for federal and state
permits as described below:
APPLICANT
Corman-EV Williams, a Joint Venture
c/o
Jo Ellen Sines
12001
Guilford Road
Annapolis
Junction, Maryland 20701
WATERWAY
AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The
project is located in waters and wetlands associated with the hydrologic unit
code (HUC) 02080208 (Hampton Roads watershed) and 02080108 (Lynnhaven-Poquoson
watershed). This project is on existing Military Highway between Lowery Road
and the Interstate-64 (I-64) beltway and involves impacts to Broad Creek, a
tributary to Broad Creek and a tributary to Lake Whitehurst in Norfolk,
Virginia.
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant
proposes to improve an approximately 1.58 mile corridor along Military Highway
(US Route 13 and State Route 165) and Northhampton Boulevard (US Route 13 and
State Route 166) to upgrade highway safety and efficiency. Proposed improvements
include widening of Military Highway from a four lane roadway to a six and
eight land divided roadway with a curb, gutter, and sidewalk; widening of
Northampton Boulevard and Princess Anne Road from a four lane roadway to a six
lane divided roadway with curb, gutter, and sidewalk; installation of a
Continuous Flow Intersection at the intersection of Military Highway,
Northampton Boulevard, and Princess Anne Road; and attendant required storm
water management features.
Unavoidable impacts to wetlands and
waters are necessary for the proposed roadway project to improve level of
service, traffic flow, and highway safety. This project will permanently impact
0.040 acre of non-tidal emergent wetland, 0.181 acre of palustrine
unconsolidated bottom (PUB) within man-made ditches, 0.021 acre of non-tidal
forested wetland, 0.714 acre of tidal vegetated wetland, and 0.163 acre of
tidal open water. An additional 0.501 acres of temporary impacts to tidal
emergent wetlands will also be necessary. Measures used to minimize the impacts
to tidal wetlands include steeping field slope from 3:1 to 2:1, minimizing
impacts to the tidal open water channel, and inclusion of a larger culvert in
Broad Creek of appropriate size to better handle storm water drainage to benefit
aquatic movement. Unavoidable impacted areas are proposed to be mitigated at
commercial mitigation banks authorized to offset impacts within the watershed.
Details include purchasing 0.051 non-tidal wetland credits from the Lewis Farm
Mitigation Bank, 0.031 non-tidal wetland credits from the Middle Peninsula
Mitigation Bank, and 33,257 tidal wetland credits from the Virginia Aquatic
Resources Trust Fund.
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 and a permit from the Norfolk 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.
The Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) is the lead agency for this project and will be coordinating all final
required consultations to fulfill the collective federal responsibilities under
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (PL 93-205) and Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (PL 89-665). Preliminary review indicates that: (l) no
environmental impact statement will be required; (2) the project is not likely
to adversely affect any species of wildlife, or plant (or their critical
habitat) listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act of
1973 (PL 93-205); 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.virginia.gov/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: bettina.sullivan@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). Broad Creek may contains Essential Fish
Habitat (EFH) for the egg, larval, juvenile, and adult life
stages of twelve species including the adult stage of windowpane flounder (Scopthalmus aquosus), juvenile and adult
stages of bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix),
all life stages of Atlantic butterfish (Peprilus
triacanthus), larvae, juveniles, and adult stages of summer flounder (Paralicthys dentatus), juvenile and
adult stages of black sea bass (Centropristus
striata), all life stages of king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla), all life stages of Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus), all life
stages of cobia (Rachycentron canadum),
all life stages of red drum (Sciaenops
ocellatus), larvae stage of dusky shark (Charcharinus obscurus), larvae, juvenile, and adult stages of
sandbar shark (Charcharinus plumbeus),
and the Atlantic angel shark (Squatina
dumeril).
The
habitat which this project would affect consists of shallow water and intertidal
wetlands, and is not likely to adversely affect EFH. 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 significant
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/changes
in water temperature or salinity caused by the proposed work and the avoidance
and mitigation efforts proposed in the project. For the Broad Creek Crossing,
the applicant proposes to include gradual side slopes and other elements to
mimic the existing channel to allow sufficient water to remain in the channel
to allow for aquatic life movements during all tide cycles including low tide. For
the tidal open water affected areas of the Broad Creek Crossing, the proposed
culvert widening and grading will provide similar aquatic habitat as the
channel to be filled and will allow for a smooth transition from the proposed
culvert to the existing main channel of Broad Creek. 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: CENAO-WR-R), 803 Front Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23510-1096, and should be received by the
close of business on March 29, 2016.
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 Lee Fuerst at 757-201-7832 or email her
at lee.fuerst@usace.army.mil.