Public Notice
Applicant: Published: November 5, 2025
Shirlene Cleveland Expires: November 20, 2025
Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA)
PN-25-38
Baltimore District
Permit Application No. NAB-2024-00158-TREC
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Baltimore District of the U.S. 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 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:
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project is located within tidally-influenced portions of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. and Newburg, Maryland. The current Long Bridge rail bridge experiences capacity constraints and service delays, and has insufficient capacity to accommodate projected demand for future rail service needs along the Long Bridge corridor in Washington, D.C.
Basic: To improve reliability of rail transportation for Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express.
Overall: To construct a new rail bridge to provide additional long-term rail capacity and to improve reliability of rail service through the Long Bridge corridor.
South Package Bridge Construction Work: The applicant, Virginia Passenger Railway Authority (VPRA), proposes for the Long Bridge South Package: to construct a two-track rail bridge over the Potomac River; to construct a new bike-pedestrian bridge to run along the upstream side of the new rail bridge, crossing from Long Bridge Park in Arlington, Virginia to East Potomac Park in D.C.; and to provide necessary improvements to upgrade existing stormwater outfall capacity and shoreline infrastructure associated with the new rail bridge in Washington, DC (38.87477,
-77.03847). The South Package construction activities would result in a total of up to 39,675 square feet (sf)/0.92 acre of permanent impact to the Potomac River from the rail bridge piers, bike-pedestrian bridge piers, dredging, seawall rehabilitation, marine access bulkheads, mooring piles, and stormwater outfall riprap; and would result in a total of up to 74,318 sf/1.7 acre of temporary impact to the Potomac River from the removal of obstructions on the river bed and work associated with the stormwater outfall cofferdam.
South Package Construction Material Transfer Pier: VPRA proposes to construct a 40-foot by 200-foot steel pier with a 40-foot by 60-foot L-shaped platform, including 32 pipe piles and 15 mooring piles, all to extend no more than 200 feet channelward of the mean high-water shoreline in Newburg, Charles County, Maryland (38.36440, -76.98279). The purpose of the pier would be for the onloading of materials to transport to the bridge construction location in Washington, D.C.; the pier would remain in place for 3 to 5 years and would be removed after the construction of the Long Bridge South Package is complete. The South Package material transfer pier would result in a total of approximately 329 sf of permanent impact to the Potomac River.
LEAD FEDERAL AGENCY: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is the lead federal agency for this project, responsible for coordinating review in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). FRA, jointly with the District Department of Transportation, Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, and in cooperation with the National Park Service, issued a combined Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision on August 12, 2020. The Final Environmental Impact Statement can be found on the FRA website at: https://railroads.dot.gov/rail-network-development/environment/environmental-reviews/long-bridge-project/environmental-impact. NEPA re-evaluations are ongoing in accordance with 23 CFR 771.129 and FRA NEPA Re-Evaluation Guidance to determine whether the Record of Decision remains valid for agency decision-making; a current NEPA re-evaluation is underway to assess changes in construction means and methods and changes in Limit of Disturbance for staging and access. The current FRA NEPA re-evaluation does not include the scope of the South Package Construction Material Transfer Pier activity; United States Army Corps of Engineers is the lead federal agency for the NEPA review related to that activity.
Per the Corps/United States Coast Guard (USCG) Memorandum of Agreement on Bridges and Causeways Over, In, or Affecting Navigable Waters of the United States, executed January 2023, and pursuant to the authority of 14 United States Code (U.S.C.) 701 and 504 (a)(20), USCG has jurisdiction over the review and approval of the location and plans of bridges and causeways in or over navigable waters of the United States; all integral features of a bridge or causeway subject to USCG jurisdiction, such as bridge superstructure, bridge piers, fenders, approaches and pier protection systems are within the purview of USCG. The Corps has jurisdiction over the discharge of dredged material and fill material into waters of the United States, or activities outside the scope of integral features for the bridge subject to USCG jurisdiction. The activities related to Corps Section 404 jurisdiction, and the activities outside the USCG Section 9 jurisdiction subject to Corps Section 10 jurisdiction, are being evaluated under this permit review.
AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant has developed and designed the project to avoid and minimize impacts to waters of the United States to the greatest extent practicable. The applicant has selected the Long Bridge project alternative, identified as Alternative A, with an alignment upstream that does not impact the aquatic resource Roaches Run in Virginia. The identified contractor for the 60% design has updated the means and methods to remove bridge pier cofferdams and employ a “floating tub” method for bridge pier pile driving, which has reduced impacts from cofferdams, reduced impacts from pile driving for a temporary trestle, and reduced the time period of in-water construction. The applicant has proposed a draft Underwater Noise Monitoring Plan for agency review to avoid and minimize acoustic impacts to aquatic species and employ best management practices to avoid water quality impacts.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has proposed a draft Compensatory Mitigation Plan to provide funding to Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens for invasive vegetation species removal and treatment at a ratio of 10:1 to mitigate for out-of-kind riverine impacts. The invasive species removal would be monitored for no less than 5 years and demonstrate improved functional uplift of tidal wetland areas. Compensatory mitigation is being required for impacts to the Department of Energy and Environment and the National Park Service jurisdictional resources; a final Compensatory Mitigation Plan would be submitted for review and agency approval prior to construction.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: South Package Bridge Construction Work: FRA is the lead federal agency for evaluating the undertaking pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. FRA has a signed programmatic agreement dated July 7, 2020 between the District of Columbia State Historic Preservation Office, Virginia Department of Historic Resources, National Park Service, National Capital Planning Commission and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation regarding the Long Bridge project, as identified in Appendix B of the Final Environmental Impact Statement. Additional review and consultation to fulfill requirements under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act will be ongoing as part of the permit review process.
South Package Construction Material Transfer Pier: 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 requests concurrence from the State Historic Preservation Office and/or Tribal Historic Preservation Office.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: South Package Bridge Construction Work: FRA is the lead federal agency for reviewing the project for potential impacts on Federally listed threatened or endangered species and their designated critical habitat pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) met with FRA to reinitiate Section 7 consultation on July 21, 2025 and concurs with the determination that the project is not likely to adversely affect northern long-eared bat and tricolored bat. The tricolor bat comments are being provided by USFWS as a conference opinion; if the tricolor bat listing as endangered is finalized, this determination may be adopted by the Federal action agency to satisfy Section 7 consultation requirements. The National Marine Fisheries Service Protected Resources Division (NMFS-PRD) provided their consultation of the proposed activity on October 24, 2019 to FRA and stated that based on review of the consultation materials, they concur with the conclusion that the project is not likely to adversely affect any ESA-listed species under NMFS-PRD jurisdiction. FRA reached out for reinitiation regarding updated means and methods of construction via email on July 25, 2025 and NMFS-PRD responded that reinitiation of Section 7 is not warranted.
South Package Construction Material Transfer Pier: The Corps has performed an initial review of this activity using the USFWS Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC) and NMFS-PRD ESA Section 7 Mapper tools 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 USFWS listed species or critical habitat and is not likely to adversely affect NMFS species and critical habitat listed in Table 1. No other ESA-listed species or critical habitat will be affected by the proposed action.
Table 1: ESA-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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Shortnose sturgeon
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Acipenser brevirostrum
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Endangered
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Atlantic sturgeon with Critical Habitat
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Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus
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Endangered
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The Corps will coordinate this activity under the Greater Atlantic Fisheries Office not likely to adversely affect programmatic process separately from this public notice.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT: South Package Bridge Construction Work: FRA is the lead federal agency for reviewing the project for potential effects to Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1996. FRA initiated consultation with NMFS Habitat and Ecosystem Services Division (NMFS-HESD) and received a letter dated June 22, 2020 outlining Conservation Recommendations to address the measures adopted for avoiding, mitigating, and offsetting the impact of the project to aquatic resources. Ongoing consultation is being conducted by FRA as the lead federal agency to address NMFS-HESD Conservation Recommendations and will be concluded prior to the final permit decision.
South Package Construction Material Transfer Pier: The Corps intends to initiate EFH consultation for this activity separately from this public notice. A separate EFH consultation package will be sent to the National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS. The Corps will not make a permit decision until the consultation process is complete.
NAVIGATION: Based on the coordinates and extent of the Limit of Disturbance provided by the applicant, the waterward edge of the proposed bridge pier structures and bridge piles are within the Virginia Channel Federal Navigation Channel in the Potomac River. This project will require review from the Corps Navigation Section.
SECTION 408: The applicant will 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 alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.
WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: The applicant is required to obtain water quality certifications in accordance with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act from the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment and the State of Maryland (if required).
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS: Where applicable, the applicant has certified in this application that the proposed activities comply with and will be conducted in a manner consistent with the approved Coastal Zone Management Programs. By this public notice, we are requesting from the State of Maryland concurrence or objection to the applicant’s consistency statement.
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, EPA, 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 (EA) and/or an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the NEPA. 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 November 20, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Ms. Meg Fullam at meghan.e.fullam@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, Attention: Ms. Meg Fullam, 2 Hopkins Plaza Baltimore, MD, 21201. 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.