Public Notice
U.S. Army Corps In Reply to Application Number
of Engineers CENAB-OP-RMS (Queen Anne Marina LLC.) 2014-61086
Baltimore District
PN 14-52 Comment Period: October 17, 2014 to November 18, 2014
THE PURPOSE OF THIS PUBLIC NOTICE IS TO SOLICIT COMMENTS FORM THE PUBLIC REGARDING THE WORK DESCRIBED BELOW. 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 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and/or Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33. U.S.C. 1344) as described below:
APPLICANT: Queen Anne Marina LLC.
Ms. Paula Safran
412 Congressional Drive
Stevensville, Maryland 21666
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: In the Chesapeake Bay and Price Creek, at Queen Anne Marina, 412 Congressional Drive, Stevensville, Maryland.
PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: to maintenance dredge by mechanical method an approximate 3.19 acre area of the entrance channel and marina basin to depths varying from -6.0 feet near the entrance to -5.0 feet mean low water (MLW) near the north end of the marina resulting in approximately 1,500 cubic yards of dredge material to be deposited in three locations. All material dredged from the marina within Price Creek is to be trucked to the existing Baker’s Landfill Material Placement Site, an existing upland (non-wetland) near Queenstown. The clean sandy dredged material from the entrance channel is to be deposited in areas on the existing beach along 125 linear feet above the approximate mean high water (MHW) shoreline north of the northern jetty and along 125 linear feet between the approximate MHW and MLW shorelines south of the southern jetty. The amounts of dredged material would vary depending the amount of shoaling that has occurred in the entrance channel. This area has been previously dredged under the following permits: 1986-00786, 2003-60521, and 2005-64238. The applicant also requested that a 10-year maintenance dredging clause be made a part of any Corps authorization. All work will be completed in accordance with the enclosed plan(s). If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact Mr. Rod Schwarm, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, Maryland 21203 or 410-820-8550.
As part of the planning process for the proposed project, steps were taken to ensure avoidance and minimization of impacts to waters of the United States to the maximum extent practicable. The proposed dredging would improve navigable access for Queen Anne’s Marina in Price Creek. The applicant has not proposed compensatory mitigation under the Mitigation Rule to offset unavoidable losses to aquatic resources since there are no wetland impacts and no loss of waters of the United States. It is anticipated once the proposed dredging activity is complete sediment and disturbance would return back to it prior conditions.
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 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. 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 District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, Maryland 21203 within the comment period specified above.
The applicant is required to obtain a water quality certification in accordance with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act from the Maryland Department of the Environment. Any written comments concerning the work described above which relate to water quality certification must be received by the Wetlands and Waterways Program, Maryland Department of the Environment, Montgomery Park Business Center, 1800 Washington Boulevard, Suite 430, Baltimore, Maryland 21230-1708 within the comment period as specified above to receive consideration. The Section 401 certifying agency has a statutory limit of one year from the date of this public notice to make its decision.
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 (CZM) Program. By this public notice, we are requesting the State concurrence or objection to the applicant’s consistency statement. It should be noted that the CZM Program has a statutory limit of 6 months to make its consistency determination.
The applicant must obtain any State or local government permits which may be required.
A preliminary review of this application indicates that the proposed work will not affect Federal 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.
Review of the latest published version of the National Register of Historic Places indicates that no registered properties listed as eligible for inclusion, therein, are located at the site of the proposed work. Currently unknown archeological, scientific, prehistoric, or historical data may be lost or destroyed by the work to be accomplished under the request permit.
The evaluation of the impact of this project on the public interest will include application of the guidelines promulgated by the Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under authority of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
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 by the District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, Maryland 21203-1715 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.
It is requested that you communicate this information concerning the proposed work to any persons know by you to be interested and not being known to this office, who did not receive a copy of this notice.
FOR THE DISTRICT ENGINEER:
KATHY B. ANDERSON
Chief, Maryland Section Southern