Public Notice
U.S.
Army Corps In Reply to Application Number
of
Engineers CENAB-OPR-M
(Tuck, Patricia and Melvin) 2015-61276
Baltimore District
PN 16-11 Comment Period: February 10,
2016 to March 1, 2016
THE PURPOSE OF THIS
PUBLIC NOTICE IS TO SOLICIT COMMENTS FROM 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:
Patricia
and Melvin Tuck
11190 Mears Cove Road
Lusby, Maryland 20657
LOCATION:
In Mears Cove, at 11190 Mears Cove Road, Lusby, in Calvert County,
Maryland.
WORK: To create a marsh
along 80 linear feet of a shoreline protected by a seawall by depositing
approximately 60 cubic yards of sloped, clean select sand fill stabilized with Spartina alernaflora and Spartina patens to extend no more than
29 feet channelward of the approximate mean high water (MHW) shoreline; to
emplace 80 linear feet of stone containment sill, 8-feet wide at the base and
3-feet wide at the top with a 5-foot wide vent, to extend no more than 35 feet
channelward of the existing seawall; to emplace 60 linear feet of stone
revetment with approximately 56 cubic yards of stone fill to extend no more
than 7 feet channelward of the existing seawall; to replenish an existing 4-foot
high timber and stone groin by emplacing stone, 6-feet wide on both sides, creating
a 12-foot wide by 45-foot long stone groin to extend no more than 45 feet
channelward of the existing seawall; to install 4 pilings attached to the
existing pier; and to dredge by mechanical method an approximate 204 square
foot area to -0 feet mean low water (MLW), which is 18-inches below the
approximate MHW level, resulting in approximately 30 cubic yards of silt and
sand to be deposited at an existing upland (non-wetland) disposal site at 5360
Browns Way Shady Side, Maryland. A ten-year maintenance dredging clause is
requested. The existing tidal marsh vegetation is not proposed to be filled by
the proposed marsh creation project. The existing waterway depths at the
proposed dredge area are approximately -2 feet MLW. The existing activities
were present prior to the applicant purchasing the subject property. All work
will be completed in accordance with the enclosed plan(s). If you have any questions concerning this
matter, please contact Mrs. Laura Coleman of this office at (443) 853-2051 or
via email at lamuelle.l.coleman@usace.army.mil.
The purpose of the
project is to improve navigable access and shoreline erosion control.
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. Compensatory mitigation is not being proposed
by the applicant for impacts to open water (inter-tidal and sub-tidal) habitat.
The
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA), 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 (NMFS) on all actions, or proposed actions,
permitted, funded, or undertaken by the agency that may adversely affect Essential
Fish Habitat (EFH). The project site
lies in or adjacent to EFH as described under Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA) for Pomatomus saltatrix (blue fish)
juvenile and adult; Paralicthys dentatus (summer flounder) larvae, juvenile and
adult, juvenile, and adult stages of
Sciaenops ocellatus (red drum), Scomberomorus cavalla (king mackerel),
Scomberomorus maculatus (spanish mackerel),
Rachycentron canadum (cobia) and
Scianops occelatus (Red drum); Scopthalmus aquosus (Windowpane flounder)
larvae and juvinile; Carcharhinus all managed species under the MSFCMA. The project has the potential to adversely
affect EFH or the species of concern by the alteration of spawning, nursery,
forage and/or shelter habitat. The project may have an adverse effect on an
approximate total of 600 square foot area of EFH as described under the MSFCMA
for the species and life stages identified above. This habitat consists of a
mostly sand and silt substrate which does not support SAV. According to the Virginia Institute of Marine
Science (VIMS) survey maps, there was some nearby SAV mapped outside the
project footprint of the proposed activity for years 2006 through 2015. The Baltimore District has made a preliminary
determination that site-specific impacts would not be substantial and an
abbreviated consultation will be conducted with NMFS. No mitigative measures
are recommended at this time to minimize adverse effects on EFH. This
preliminary determination may be modified if additional information indicates
otherwise and could change the Corps’ preliminary determination.
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.
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 would
have no affect on 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.
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, 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 known 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