Public Notice

Applicant: Published: August 6, 2025
Alan Kraft Expires: September 5, 2025
PN-25-31
Baltimore District
Permit Application No. NAB-2025-60328-E06
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Baltimore District of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received an application for a Department of the Army permit pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §1344) and/or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403). The purpose of this public notice is to solicit comments from the public regarding the work described below:
APPLICANT: Alan Kraft
1274 Turkey Point Road
Edgewater, MD 21037
AGENT: Chris Snyder
Waterfront Engineering, Design and Construction, Incorporated
8348 Ritchie Highway
Pasadena, MD 21122
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the South River. The project/review area is located at 1274 Turkey Point Road in Edgewater, Anne Arundel County, Maryland at Latitude 38.90839 and Longitude -76.49670.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: ≈67 linear feet (lf) of stone groin currently exists at the site. 16 lf of that groin is a portion of a larger, ≈45 lf groin shared with the adjacent property. The remaining ≈ 51 lf is an L-shaped groin within the project area. The property also has a 263 lf pier that extends into the South River.
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Replace existing stone groins to provide increased shoreline protection for beach nourishment.
Overall: Create one 98 lf L-shaped stone groin with 90 cubic yards of sand fill and one 35 lf stone groin to replace existing groins to help protect the shoreline.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant requests authorization to remove existing stone groins and construct two new groins, one with sand fill.
AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment: impacts will be no more than necessary and stones from existing groins will be recycled into the construction of the new groins.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required: No compensatory mitigation is required because this is a reconfiguration of existing groins that will reuse materials currently in the water. In addition, this is a beach nourishment project.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps evaluated the undertaking pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act utilizing its existing program-specific regulations and procedures along with 36 CFR Part 800. The Corps’ program-specific procedures include 33 CFR 325, Appendix C, and revised interim guidance issued in 2005 and 2007, respectively. The District Engineer consulted district files and records and the latest published version of the National Register of Historic Places and initially determines that:
“No historic properties (i.e., properties listed in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places) are present within the Corps’ permit area; therefore, there will be no historic properties affected. The Corps subsequently received concurrence from the SHPO and/or THPO.”
The District Engineer’s final eligibility and effect determination will be based upon coordination with the SHPO and/or THPO, 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.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has performed an initial review of the application, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC), National Marine Fisheries Service Section 7 Mapper, and the National Marine Fisheries Service Critical Habitat Mapper to determine if any threatened, endangered, proposed, or candidate species, as well as the proposed and final designated critical habitat may occur within the boundary of the proposed project. Based on this initial review, the Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project will not affect any listed species or critical habitat.
Endangered Species Act-listed species and/or critical habitat potentially present in the action area.
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Species Common Name and/or Critical Habitat Name
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Scientific Name
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Federal Status
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Monarch Butterfly
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Danaus Plexippus
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Proposed Threatened
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Tricolored Bat
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Perimyotis subflavus
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Proposed Endangered
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Northern Long-eared Bat
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Myotis septerntrionalis
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Endangered
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Pursuant to Section 7 Endangered Species Act, any required consultation with the Service(s) will be conducted in accordance with 50 CFR part 402. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is the lead federal agency for Endangered Species Act consultation for the proposed action. Any required consultation will be completed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
This notice serves as request to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for any additional information on whether any listed or proposed to be listed endangered or threatened species or critical habitat may be present in the area which would be affected by the proposed activity.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT: Pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996, the Corps reviewed the project area, examined information provided by the applicant, and consulted available species information.
The Corps has determined the proposal would have no effect on any Essential Fish Habitat. This was determined as the site has been previously disturbed withing the project footprint and is now being reconfigured. Therefore, no consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service on Essential Fish Habitat, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996, is required.
Our final determination relative to project impacts and the need for mitigation measures is subject to review by and coordination with the National Marine Fisheries Service.
NAVIGATION: The proposed structure or activity is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation channel.
SECTION 408: The applicant will not require permission under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 USC 408) because the activity, in whole or in part, would not alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.
NOTE: This public notice is being issued based on information furnished by the applicant. This information has not been verified or evaluated to ensure compliance with laws and regulation governing the regulatory program. The geographic extent of aquatic resources within the proposed project area that either are, or are presumed to be, within the Corps jurisdiction has been verified by Corps personnel.
EVALUATION: 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. That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits, 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 cumulative impacts thereof; among these are conservation, economics, esthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historical properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food, and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership, and in general, the needs and welfare of the people. Evaluation of the impact of the activity on the public interest will also include application of the guidelines promulgated by the Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency, under authority of Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act or the criteria established under authority of Section 102(a) of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. A permit will be granted unless its issuance is found to be contrary to the public interest.
COMMENTS: The Corps 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 to determine whether to issue, modify, condition, or deny a permit for this proposal. To make this determination, comments are used to assess impacts to 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.
The Baltimore District will receive written comments on the proposed work, as outlined above, until September 5, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Ms. Emma Selby at emma.c.selby@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, Attention: Ms. Emma Selby, 401 E Louther Street, Suite 205 Carlisle, PA 17013. Please refer to the permit application number in your comments.
Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider the application. Requests for public hearings shall state, with particularity, the reasons for holding a public hearing. Requests for a public hearing will be granted, unless the District Engineer determines that the issues raised are insubstantial or there is otherwise no valid interest to be served by a hearing.