The district commander received a permit application for work described below:
APPLICANT
Echols Farm, Inc.
3844 Peakland Place
Lynchburg, VA 24503
AGENT
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
Attn: Ms. Louise Finger
Post Office Box 996
Verona, VA 24482
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The project is located on the Maury River, a navigable water of the U.S., approximately 0.5 river miles upstream from its confluence with the James River, 0.15 miles south of the Route 130 Bridge in the Town of Glasgow, Rockbridge County, Virginia.
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicant proposes to reduce bank erosion and eliminate sediment loading downstream within the Maury and James Rivers by restoring approximately 400 linear feet of the Maury River through the excavation of a 0.77-acre mid-channel bar (approximately 3,400 cubic yards of accumulated river deposition); discharging the excavated material and imported fill material (approximately 4,000 cubic yards total) along 450 feet of the left river bank to create a vegetated bankfull, floodplain bench; installing two rock vanes; sloping the riverbank and establishing a riparian buffer. Proposed work would be completed during periods of low flow, lasting 14-21 days. As stated in the applicant’s permit request, project construction would adhere to the Time of Year Restriction for the James spinymussel (Pleurobema collina) such that no in stream work would occur between May 15 and July 31. A navigable channel would remain open at all times during construction; the applicant would suspend construction in channel when boaters are present. Prior to and during construction, the applicant proposes to install signage at boat ramps upstream and downstream as well as providing notification on the Rockbridge County and Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) websites. The applicant’s project description, detailed plans and alternative analysis are included with this Notice.
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.
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 and 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, 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 not likely be adversely affected. Based on this “not likely to adversely affect” determination, concurrence from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is required; the Official Species List and Species Conclusion Table are included with this Notice for review and comment by the USFWS; and (3) known properties eligible for inclusion or included in the National Register of Historic Places are in or near the permit area, and may have an effect on these historic properties. The Corps subsequently initiates consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office. Additional information might change any of these findings.
COMMENT PERIOD: Comments on this project should be made in writing, addressed to the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Western Virginia Regulatory Section, Richard H. Poff Federal Building, Room 749, 210 Franklin Road SW, Roanoke, Virginia 24011, and should be received by the close of business on July 28, 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.