PN-23-36 NAB-2023-M49 (Pulaski Highway Industrial PG LLC/Warehouse Distribution Facility)

                    Public Notice
U.S. Army Corps              In Reply to Application Number
of Engineers                    NAB-2023-60353-M49 (Pulaski Highway Industrial PG, LLC/Warehouse Distribution Facility)

Baltimore District
PN-23-36                          Comment Period: September 6, 2023 to October 6, 2023

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PUBLIC NOTICE IS TO INFORM INTERESTED PARTIES OF THE PROPOSED ACTIVITY AND TO SOLICIT COMMENTS. NO DECISION HAS BEEN MADE AS TO WHETHER OR NOT A PERMIT WILL BE ISSUED AT THIS TIME.

This District has received an application for a Department of the Army permit pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC 1344), as described below:

APPLICANT:

Mr. Aaron Tappana
Pulaski Highway Industrial PG, LLC
968 Postal Road
Allentown, Pennsylvania 18109

WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK:

The proposed warehouse development and associated infrastructure are located in nontidal wetlands and an unnamed tributary to Mill Creek, south of Pulaski Highway (U.S. Route 40) and north of E Old Philadelphia Road in Elkton, Cecil County, Maryland (39.607340, -75.886812).

Compensatory mitigation for wetland impacts associated with the warehouse development will be satisfied by creation of new forested and emergent wetlands at two off-site locations: 430 Locust Point Road (39.557816, -75.824176) and 295 Woods Road (39.555191, -75.787284) in Elkton, Cecil County, Maryland.

OVERALL PROJECT PURPOSE:

The purpose of the project is to construct a commercial warehouse distribution center at a central location along the Interstate 95 corridor in Cecil County to organize, store, and distribute products from the Port of Baltimore throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The project is to construct a new commercial warehouse facility at a site referred to as the Jackson Property, in accordance with the attached plans. The facility will include a 407,500 square foot warehouse building, as well as necessary attendant infrastructure including parking, loading docks, stormwater management facilities, and staging & stockpiling areas. The project will construct a commercial vehicle access road from U.S. Route 40 to the warehouse facility, which will cross an intermittent tributary in a dual 36” and 48” reinforced concrete pipe culverts. The culverts will be depressed 12” below the existing stream invert elevations. The work includes vegetative clearing, grading, excavation, and filling.

The warehouse construction will permanently impact 38,353 square feet (0.88 acres) of forested nontidal wetlands, 47,319 square feet (1.09 acres) of emergent nontidal wetlands, and 154 linear feet (154 square feet) of intermittent stream. Construction access and erosion & sediment controls used during construction will temporarily impact 2,256 square feet (0.05 acres) of forested nontidal wetlands and 47 square feet (<0.01 acres) of emergent nontidal wetlands.

Please refer to the table below for a summary of aquatic resource impacts.

EFFECTS ON AQUATIC RESOURCES:

LEAD FEDERAL AGENCY:

The United States Army Corps of Engineers, as the lead federal agency, is responsible for all coordination pursuant to applicable federal authorities.

APPLICANT’S PROPOSED AVOIDANCE, MINIMIZATION, AND COMPENSATORY MITIGATION:

Avoidance and minimization:

As part of the planning process for development of the Jackson Property site, steps were taken to ensure avoidance and minimization of impacts to aquatic resources to the maximum extent practicable based on the existing site conditions. The warehouse was designed to maximize the use of prior-disturbed land on the project site. Approximately 32 acres of the central, northern, and northeast portions of the site were selectively cleared, most recently in 2020, and feature logging roads throughout; the southeastern portion of the property consists of formerly graded areas with a planted pine forest and two stormwater management basins left from a previous construction activity. The majority of grading/fill associated with the warehouse development will occur within the prior-disturbed north and east quadrants of the site, avoiding a perennial stream system and contiguous wetland area to the west. The project will construct an access road from US Route 40 as the sole point of ingress and egress for commercial vehicle access to the facility. The warehouse design incorporates five retaining walls used to reduce impacts to nontidal wetlands in the western and southern portions of the project site. The design incorporates three submerged gravel wetland stormwater facilities to encourage infiltration and discharge treated stormwater at non-erosive velocities.

The warehouse building was resized and reconfigured in order to minimize impacts while maintaining the size specification requirements of future tenants. The applicant initially proposed a 649,901 square foot warehouse building with associated infrastructure on the site, situated in a north-south orientation; after review of the associated wetland and forest impacts, the building was reduced to a 423,000 square foot size and shifted north. The proposed warehouse building was further reduced to the currently proposed 407,500 square foot size and shifted to an east-west alignment. The larger warehouse would have resulted in additional permanent impacts to 20,400 square feet of wetlands and 40 linear feet of intermittent stream when compared to the proposed design. Additionally, shifting the warehouse to the north and changing the orientation reduced the need for clearing of higher quality forest areas in the south and southwest portions of the site.

The applicant evaluated alternative alignments for the warehouse access road, including access from the northeast corner of the property. This was determined to be an impractical alignment due to the steep (15-25%) slopes and grading required. Additionally, access from the northeast corner of the property would require the warehouse facility to be shifted to the west, resulting in additional wetland impacts. The access road is aligned to cross the intermittent tributary to Mill Creek where the stream has no adjacent wetlands, minimal sinuosity, and features bed and bank instability from prior site disturbance. The applicant evaluated the potential to cross the intermittent tributary using a bottomless arch culvert, however determined this to be an impractical alternative due to the small stream size and increased wetland impacts associated with additional grading and retaining wall structures.

Compensatory Mitigation:

Mitigation for unavoidable wetland impacts associated with this project are proposed to be satisfied through off-site permittee responsible mitigation. No mitigation banks currently have a service area in the impacted watershed (HUC-8: Chester-Sassafras). Compensatory wetland mitigation requirements will be satisfied through the creation of new forested wetlands at a 2:1 ratio and creation of new emergent wetlands at a 1:1 ratio. The project proposes to create new wetlands at two properties, 430 Locust Point Road and 295 Woods Road in Elkton, Cecil County Maryland. The project proposes to create a total of 1.98 acres of forested nontidal wetlands and 0.86 acres of emergent nontidal wetlands. At the Locust Point Road site, the project proposes to create 1.50 acres of forested wetlands and 0.48 acres of emergent wetlands, and to enhance 2,056 square feet of existing emergent wetlands. The wetland areas will be created in agricultural land abutting an intermittent tributary to the Elk River and existing forested area.

At the 295 Woods Road site, the project proposes to create 0.48 acres of new forested wetlands and 0.38 acres of new emergent nontidal wetlands, and to enhance 0.04 acres of existing emergent wetlands. The created wetland areas will directly abut existing wetlands on the north and south sides of Long Creek, a perennial tributary to Back Creek. Both mitigation sites will create new wetland area by grading microtopographic features, adding woody debris, and planting native trees, shrubs, and grasses. The sites will incorporate a 25-foot vegetated buffer area surrounding the wetland creation and enhancement areas. Wetland enhancement activities will temporarily impact 3,833 square feet of existing emergent nontidal wetlands.

CORPS EVALUATION REQUIREMENTS:

This project will be evaluated pursuant to Corps Regulatory Program Regulations (33 CFR Parts 320-332). The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impacts, including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefit, which reasonable 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, economic, 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, mineral needs, and consideration of property ownership and in general, the needs and welfare of the people. The evaluation of the impact of this project will also include application of the Clean Water Act Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines promulgated by the Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency.

ENDANGERED SPECIES:

A preliminary review of this application indicates that the proposed work is not likely to adversely affect federally listed threatened or endangered species or their critical habitat, pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, as amended. As the evaluation of this application continues, additional information may become available which could modify this preliminary determination.

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT:

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, as amended by the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996 (Public Law 04-267), 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), including species of concern, life cycle habitat, or Habitat Areas of Particular Concern. The Baltimore District has made a preliminary determination that the project is not within EFH. The Baltimore District has made a preliminary determination that mitigative measures are not required to minimize adverse effects on EFH at this time. This determination may be modified if additional information indicates otherwise.

HISTORIC RESOURCES:

Pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and applicable guidance, the Corps has reviewed the latest published version of the National Register of Historic Places and initially determined that no registered properties listed as eligible for inclusion, therein, are located at the site of the proposed work. The Corps has made the preliminary determination that the proposed project would have no adverse effect on historic properties. The Corps final eligibility and effect determination will be based on coordination with the State Historic Preservation Office as appropriate and required, and with full consideration given to the proposed undertaking’s potential direct and indirect effects on historic properties within the Corps’ identified permit area.

TRIBAL RESOURCES:

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act also requires federal agencies to consult with federally recognized American Indian tribes that attach religious and cultural significance to historic properties that may be affected by the agency’s undertaking. Corps Tribal Consultation Policy mandates an open, timely, meaningful, collaborative, and effective deliberative communication process that emphasizes trust, respect, and shared responsibility. The policy further emphasizes that, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, consultation works toward mutual consensus and begins at the earliest planning stages before decisions are made and actions taken. The Corps final eligibility and effect determination will be based on coordination with interested tribes, in accordance with the Corps current tribal standard operating procedures as appropriate and required, and with full consideration given to the proposed undertaking’s potential direct and indirect effects on tribal resources.

MODIFICATION OF CIVIL WORKS PROJECTS: 33 USC 408 (SECTION 408):

All Section 408 proposals will be coordinated internally at the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The Section 408 decision will be issued along with the Section 404 and/or Section 10 decision. Please see the following link for more information regarding Section 408: https://www.nab.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Section-408-Requests/.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION:

The applicant is required to obtain a water quality certification in accordance with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS:

Where applicable, the applicant has certified in this application that the proposed activity complies with and will be conducted in a manner consistent with the approved Coastal Zone Management Program. By this public notice, we are requesting the State concurrence or objection to the applicant’s consistency statement. The applicant must obtain any state or local government permits which may be required.

SUBMISSION OF COMMENTS:

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 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 provided will become part of the public record for this action and are subject to release to the public through the Freedom of Information Act. Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.

Written comments concerning the work described above related to the factors listed above or other pertinent factors must be received by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District within the comment period specified above through postal mail at the address below or electronic submission to the project manager email address below. Written comments should reference the Application Number (NAB-2023-60353-M49).

PUBLIC HEARING REQUESTS:

Any person who has an interest which may be adversely affected by the issuance of this permit may request a public hearing. The request, which must be in writing, must be received within the comment period as specified above to receive consideration. Also, it must clearly set forth the interest which may be adversely affected by this activity and the manner in which the interest may be adversely affected. The public hearing request may be submitted by electronic mail or mailed to the following address:

Matthew Hynson
Matthew.Hynson@usace.army.mil
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
Regulatory Branch
2 Hopkins Plaza
Baltimore, Maryland 21201

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

General information regarding the Corps’ permitting process can be found on our website at https://www.nab.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory.aspx. This public notice has been prepared in accordance with Corps implementing regulations at 33 CFR 325.3. If you have any questions concerning this specific project or would like to request a paper copy of this public notice, please contact Matthew Hynson at Matthew.Hynson@usace.army.mil or (410) 689-9532. This public notice is issued by the Chief, Regulatory Branch.