PN-26-18 NAB-2026-60404-M55 (Stoney Beach Condominium Assoc./Cox Creek/Living Shorline)

                                                                                                 PUBLIC NOTICE
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Baltimore District                                                                                                                                Published:  June 11, 2026
                                                                                                                                     Permit Application                                                                                                                                     Expires:  July 11, 2026
                                                                                                                                     No.  NAB-2026-60404-M55
                                                                                                                                     PN-26-18
                                                                                                                                     

Interested parties are hereby notified that the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District 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 and information necessary to evaluate the probable impact on the public interest regarding the proposed activity as described below and as shown on the enclosed drawings.

APPLICANT:   Stoney Beach Condominium Association
                          1379 Cluster Court
                          Stoney Beach, Maryland 21226

LOCATION OF PROPOSED ACTIVITY:  The project would affect waters of the United States and navigable waters of the United States associated with Cox Creek. The project/review area is located at the existing Stoney Beach Condominium Association, Cox Creek, Stoney Beach, Anne Arundel County, Maryland.  (Latitude:  39.17751, Longitude:  -76.518516)

PROPOSED ACTIVITY:  The applicant is requesting a Department of the Army permit to construct four stone breakwaters totaling 10,074 square feet, deploy 155 concrete reef balls for oyster habitat with two navigation warning signs, 428 cubic yards of sand fill, 1,192 linear feet of coir logs, 1,290 square feet of high marsh, and 3,851 square feet of low marsh plantings with a maximum channelward extent of 357 feet from the approximate mean high water shoreline in Cox Creek located at 1308, 1322, and 1342 Cox Cove Court, Stoney Beach, Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

HISTORIC PROPERTIES/CULTURAL RESOURCES:  Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (54 U.S.C. § 306108), requires federal agencies to consult with the appropriate State and/or Tribal Historic Preservation Officers to take into account the effects of actions they undertake or permit on historic properties listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

The USACE is evaluating the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.  This public notice serves to inform the public of the proposed undertaking and invites comments including those from local, state, and federal government agencies with respect to historic resources.

No historic properties (i.e., properties listed in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places) are present within the USACEs permit area; therefore, there would be no historic properties affected.  The USACE will request concurrence with this determination from the State and/or Tribal Historic Preservation Officers.

The USACEs final eligibility and effect determination relative to historic resource impacts may be subject to additional coordination with the State Historic Preservation Officer, federally recognized tribes, and other interested parties, and with full consideration given to the proposed undertaking’s potential direct and indirect effects on historic properties within the USACE-identified permit area.

ENDANGERED SPECIES:  Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. § 1536) requires federal agencies to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service and/or United States Fish and Wildlife Service on all actions that may affect a species listed (or proposed for listing) under the Endangered Species Act as threatened or endangered or that may adversely modify designated critical habitat (or critical habitat proposed such designation).

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 may affect species and critical habitat listed below.  No other Endangered Species Act listed species or critical habitat will be affected by the proposed action.

Table 1:  Endangered Species Act-listed species and/or critical habitat potentially present in the action area.

Pursuant to Section 7 Endangered Species Act, any required consultation with the Service(s) will be conducted in accordance with 50 CFR part 402.

This notice serves as request to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries 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:  Section 305(b)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act as amended (16 U.S.C. § 1855), requires 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.  Pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996, the USACE reviewed the project area, examined information provided by the applicant, and consulted available species information.  The USACEs preliminary review indicates the described activity may adversely affect Essential Fish Habitat at the project location or in the vicinity.  The USACE will complete the required consultation under Section 305(b)(2) prior to finalizing a permit decision.

The effects of the project are determined to be minimal and permanent.  These habitat(s) are utilized by the following species and their various life stages:

Table 2:

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 U.S.C. § 408) because the activity, in whole or in part, would not alter, occupy, or use a USACE Civil Works project.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION:  An Individual Water Quality Certification will be required from the Maryland Department of the Environment.

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT:  A federal consistency decision may be required from the State of Maryland pursuant to Section 307 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. § 1451).  A permit for the described work will not be issued until a consistency decision has been issued from the State of Maryland, if required.

NATIONAL WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS:  Coordination with the United States Forest Service may be initiated pursuant to Section 7 of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
(16 U.S.C. § 1278).

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 USACE jurisdiction has not been verified by USACE 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, aesthetics, 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.  A permit will be granted unless its issuance is found to be contrary to the public interest.

COMMENTS:  The USACE is soliciting comments from the public; federal, state, and local agencies and officials; Tribal Nations; and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity.  Any comments received will be considered by the USACE to determine whether to issue, modify, condition, or deny a permit for this proposed activity. 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.  Any comments or objections which are received during this period may be forwarded to the applicant for possible resolution before the determination is made whether to issue or deny the requested permit.  Please note that all comments received will become part of the administrative record and are subject to public release under the Freedom of Information Act.

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.

The Baltimore District will receive written comments on the proposed activity, as outlined above, until July 11, 2026.  Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs/public-notices.  Alternatively, you may submit comments to Ms. Gabriela Van Deventer at gabriela.e.icaza@usace.army.mil or United States Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, Attention:  Ms. Gabriela Van Deventer, Regulatory Division, 2 Hopkins Plaza, Baltimore, Maryland 21201-2930.  Please refer to NAB-2026-60404-M55 in your comments.