PN17-20 (MD SHA/Bloede Dam Mitigation Bank) - 2017-00320

Published May 1, 2017
Expiration date: 5/30/2017

                                               Public Notice  
U.S. Army Corps                             In Reply to Application Number:
of Engineers              

Baltimore District                           CENAB-OPR-MN (MD SHA/BLOEDE DAM
                                                          MITIGATION BANK)
2017-00320-M15
 

PN# 17-20                                        Comment Period:  May 1, 2017 to May 30, 2017

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PUBLIC NOTICE IS TO SOLICIT COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC CONCERNING THE PROPOSED MARYLAND STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION THE PROSPCTUS FOR THE BLOEDE DAM MITIGATION BANKING INSTRUMENT AND THE POTENTIAL OF THE PROPOSED BLOEDE DAM MITIGATION BANK TO PROVIDE APPROPRIATE COMPENSATORY MITIGATION FOR ACTIVITIES AUTHORIZED BY DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY PERMITS AND THE STATE OF MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT PERMITS.

 

At this time, no decision has been made as to whether or not the Bloede Dam Mitigation Bank Instrument will be approved.  We are requesting comments to determine if approval should be granted for this proposed Mitigation Bank for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation for unavoidable stream impacts authorized by the Department of the Army (DA) and the State of Maryland.  Such impacts are expected to result from Maryland State Highway Administration (MD SHA) activities authorized under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Titles 5 and 16 Environment Article Annotated Code of Maryland.  Use of a Bank must meet all applicable requirements and be authorized by the appropriate authorities.

 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, (Corps) and the Maryland Department of the

Environment (MDE) have received the MD SHA Prospectus for the Bloede Dam Mitigation Bank Site.  The Bank Prospectus can be reviewed as part of this Public Notice at:

 

http://www.nab.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Public-Notices/

 

This prospectus provides a summary of how the proposed mitigation banking site will be established, used, operated, and maintained and is in accordance with the Federal Final Rule on Compensatory Mitigation for the Losses of Aquatic Resources (33 CFR 325 and 332 and 40 CFR 230) and Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR).

 

Documentation for the establishment and management of this proposed mitigation banking site will be reviewed by an Interagency Review Team (IRT), consisting of Federal and State agency representatives, and co-chaired by the Corps and MDE. 


 

 

 

 

 

APPLICANT/BANK SPONSOR:  Maryland State Highway Administration

Attn:  Mr. Todd Nichols

707 North Calvert Street, C-306

Baltimore, Maryland 21202

 

LOCATION:  Bloede Dam is located on the Patapsco River in the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) Patapsco River Valley Park near Ellicott City, Baltimore and Howard Counties, Maryland.  Bloede Dam is located within the Gunpowder-Patapsco River Watershed (HUC #02060006). 

 

BANK DESCRIPTION:  The Bloede Dam removal will help restore historic diadromous species passage for approximately eight miles upstream (to Daniels Dam) on the Patapsco River and, in some cases, tributaries to the Patapsco River.  In addition to restoring historic aquatic passage for American eel (Anguilla rostrate), river herring (Alosa psuedoharengus), hickory shad (Alosa mediocris), and American shad (Alosa sapidissima), the dam removal will also encourage re-introduction of freshwater mussels upstream of the site and help restore approximately 0.5 miles of stream currently impounded by the dam.

 

MD SHA is requesting 12,740 linear feet of stream mitigation credit for the Bloede Dam removal with credit releases triggered by documentation of functional uplift within the impoundment area and the presence of various fish species upstream of the Bloede Dam site.  Consistent with the MD SHA Umbrella Bank Instrument (MD SHA UMBI), the proposed geographic service area for the bank is 8-digit HUC watershed where the bank is located.  Bloede Dam is located within the Gunpowder-Patapsco River watershed (HUC #020600003).  The Secondary Service Area is defined as the adjacent 8-digit HUC watersheds within the same river basin and physiographic province as the Primary Service Area.  For the Bloede Dam Mitigation Bank Site the Secondary Service Area would be portions of the Patuxent River watershed (HUC #02060006) within the Upper Chesapeake Basin and the Piedmont Plateau. 

 

The Bloede Dam site be monitored annually for a period of five years.  The monitoring will generally mirror monitoring conducted for previous dam removals on the Patapsco River (e.g., Simkins Dam).  The Bloede Dam site would remain under MD DNR control as a state park.     

 

WORK REQUIRING DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY AUTHORIZATION: Separate from this evaluation of the Bloede Dam Removal Mitigation Bank, the Corps initially proffered a DA permit to MD DNR to remove Bloede Dam. 

 

The evaluation and approval of this mitigation banking site proposal will follow the Mitigation Banking Instrument modification procedures of the 2008 Mitigation Rule (33 CFR 332.8(g)(1)).


 

 

 

 

 

The purpose of this proposed mitigation bank is to provide compensatory mitigation for future unavoidable impacts to Waters of the U.S. as the result of MD SHA transportation improvements and repair/maintenance activities permitted under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and related State laws provided such use has met all applicable requirements and is authorized by the appropriate authority(s).  The mitigation bank would be used to comply with special condition mitigation requirements of permitted projects by providing in-kind compensation for authorized stream losses.  A mitigation bank may only be used for future projects after all appropriate and practicable steps to avoid and minimize adverse impacts to aquatic resources, including nontidal streams, have been taken.  Remaining unavoidable impacts must be compensated to the extent appropriate and practicable.  Per the 2008 Mitigation Rule, mitigation bank(s) will be the preferred mitigation option unless it is determined another option would be environmentally preferable.

 

Further, a mitigation bank does not provide ultimate DA and/or State authorization for specific future projects impacting Waters of the United States; exclude such future projects from any applicable statutory or regulatory requirements; or preauthorize the use of credits from the bank for any particular project.  The Corps and the MDE provide no guarantee that any particular individual or general permit will be granted authorization to use approved mitigation banking sites under the MD SHA UMBI to compensate for unavoidable stream impacts associated with a proposed permit, even though compensatory mitigation may be available.

 

The decision whether to approve the Bloede Dam Mitigation Bank will be based on an evaluation of the probable impacts including cumulative impacts of the proposed bank on the public interest.  As such, the decision to approve the Bloede Dam Mitigation Bank will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources.  The benefit which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments.  All factors which may be relevant to the proposal will be considered including the cumulative effects thereof; among those are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, cultural values, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, flood plain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people.

 

A preliminary review of this proposal indicates that the proposed work has not and will not affect listed species or their critical habitat pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act as amended.  As the evaluation of this proposal continues, additional information may become available which could modify this preliminary determination.  The State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), Maryland Historical Trust (MHT), has determined that Bloede Dam is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A, B, and C for its specialized engineering, innovative design, and association with early electrification and that the authorized dam removal would have an adverse effect on historic properties.  As the lead federal agency in the dam removal, National Marine Fisheries Service has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) among MD DNR, American Rivers, Delaware Tribe of Oklahoma, and the Maryland SHPO to address the adverse effect.


 

 

 

 

 

The applicant must obtain any State or local government permits which may be required.

 

Written comments concerning the activity described above must be submitted directly to the
District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, [ATTN: Mr. Jack Dinne, CENAB-OPR-MN], 10 South Howard Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21201 and the Water
Management Administration, Maryland Department of the Environment, 1800 Washington
 Boulevard, Suite 430, Baltimore, Maryland 21230-1708 [ATTN: Ms. Kelly Neff], within the comment period as specified above to receive consideration.

 

It is requested that you communicate the foregoing information concerning the proposed work to any persons known by you to be interested and not being known to this office, who did not receive a copy of this notice.