The district comander has received a
permit application for work described below:
APPLICANT
City of
Virginia Beach
Department of
Public Works
c/o Mr. Phillip
J. Roehrs
2405
Courthouse Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED
WORK: The project is located adjacent to the Chesopeian Colony
subdivision within and between Pinetree Branch (to the west) and London Bridge
Creek (to the east), which are tributaries of the Eastern Branch of the
Lynnhaven River in the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
PROPOSED
WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant proposes
to mechanically dredge approximately 54,906 cubic yards (561,164 square feet)
at varying depths not to exceed -4.5 feet below mean low water (MLW) in order
to allow residents to restore safe access to navigable channels in the
Lynnhaven River and remove accumulated sediment in the channels and in the
access basins around private owner’s docks, piers, and similar facilities.
Approximately 41,924 cubic yards (426,442 square feet) was previously
authorized under 88-V0259 issued by the Corps on August 20, 1992, therefore,
this portion of the project is considered maintenance dredging. The remaining
12,982 cubic yards (134,722 square feet) is considered new dredging.
The
Chesopeian Colony SSD program includes 122 waterfront parcels and the waterfront
homeowners have agreed to participate in the City of Virginia Beach Special
Service District (SSD) program which helps carry out neighborhood dredging
projects. The project proposes a 16 year three stage dredging cycle with the first
dredging cycle in year two (2) and maintenance dredging events taking place
every seven years on year nine (9) and year sixteen (16); however, the Corps
authorization can only be issued for a maximum of ten (10) years.
The project is composed of three
distinct types of channels: 1) The City Spur channel which leads off of the
main channel of the Eastern Branch of the Lynnhaven River to serve multiple
neighborhood waterways; 2) the neighborhood SSD channels providing access to
Pinetree Branch and London Bridge Creek; and 3) the individual access basins
that provide access to individual properties.
The channel dredging will be
accomplished by a barge mounted mechanical excavator, with the dredged material
being loaded onto barges and transported to a transfer site. Due to the
location and size of the project, there will be two transfer sites. The Eastern
transfer site will be located at 421 Wolf’s Neck Trail. A temporary
pile-supported platform will span the existing shoreline providing an excavator
staging area, and a line of timber piles will provide mooring and staging for
the barges and push boats. The Western transfer site will be located at the
existing community boat ramp at the end of Queen Anne Road. Temporary stacked
timber mats will be placed over existing tidal non-vegetated wetlands. The
dredged material will be loaded into watertight trucks and transported for disposal
to the Whitehurst Dredge Material Management Area on Oceana Boulevard.
The proposed project will permanently
impact approximately 540,876 square feet (12.42 acres) of subaqueous bottom,
19,504 square feet (0.45 acres) of non-vegetated wetlands (mudflats), and 784
square feet (0.02 acres) of vegetated wetlands. The project encroaches within
the 4X buffer with potential impacts to approximately 925 square feet (0.02
acres) of vegetated wetlands. The project will temporarily impact approximated
72 square feet (0.002 acres) of subaqueous bottom and 242 square feet (0.006
acres) of non-vegetated wetlands (mudflats) associated with the transfer sites.
The proposed dredging will take place
primarily in open water and the applicant has designed the dredging to avoid
and minimize impacts to tidal vegetated and non-vegetated wetlands. The City
Spur Channel is designed to utilize the deepest and most central portions of
the existing channel, avoid unnecessary impacts to wetlands, and minimize
dredge volumes. The SSD channels are designed with gradual reductions in
dredging depth and width which reduces impacts as the natural channels narrow
and wetlands increase towards the upstream ends. Some of the individual access
basins have limiting factors which make it logistically impracticable to
provide navigable access and completely avoid impacts. All impacts are shown on
the attached Impact Summary Table.
As compensatory mitigation, the
applicant is proposing to purchase tidal vegetated wetland credits from the Virginia
Aquatic Resources Trust Fund or an operational mitigation bank which lawfully
serves the Lynnhaven-Poquoson watershed. The applicant is offering compensatory
mitigation for impacts to vegetated wetlands and 4X buffer encroachments at a
1:1 ratio (1,709 credits). The applicant has cited a 2007 Benthic Index of
Biotic Integrity (BIBI) study that was performed on the Lynnhaven to support
their position that the non-vegetated wetlands (mudflats) are severely
degraded. Adjusting the Function Specific Credit Calculator (FSCC) to account
for the degraded conditions, the applicant is offering compensatory mitigation
for non-vegetated wetlands (mudflats) at a 0.33:1 ratio (6,435 credits). The
applicant is offering no compensatory mitigation for temporary impacts or
impacts to subaqueous bottom.
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. A permit from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and/or the
City of Virginia Beach Wetlands Board may also be required.
Project drawings are attached. The
entire Joint Permit Application can be viewed from the Virginia Marine
Resources Commission website by searching under 20160516: https://webapps.mrc.virginia.gov/public/habitat/index.php
AUTHORITY: Permits are required pursuant to Section 10
of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403).
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 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 effect 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; 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). Pinetree Branch and London Bridge
Creek contain Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for the egg, larval,
juvenile, and adult life stages of 16 species including red hake (Urophycis chuss), windowpane flounder (Scopthalmus aquosus), Atlantic sea
herring (Clupea harengus), bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), Atlantic
butterfish (Peprilus triacanthus), summer
flounder (Paralicthys dentatus), scup
(Stenotomus chrysops), black sea bass
(Centropristus striata), king
mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla),
Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus),
cobia (Rachycentron canadum), red
drum (Sciaenops occelatus), dusky
shark (Charcharinus obscurus), sandbar
shark (Charcharinus plumbeus), sand
tiger shark (Odontaspis taurus), and Atlantic
sharpnose shark (Rhizopriondon
terraenovae). The habitat which this project would affect consists of
shallow water areas, tidal non-vegetated wetlands (mudflats), and tidal
vegetated wetlands. There is an 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 D.
Hankins, CENAO-WR-R), 803 Front Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23510-1096 or via email at nancy.d.hankins@usace.army.mil , and should be
received by the close of business on May 13, 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 Ms. Nancy D. Hankins at nancy.d.hankins@usace.army.mil
.