Public Notice
U.S. Army Corps In Reply to Application Number
of Engineers CENAB-OP-RMS (South
Capitol Street/Frederick
Baltimore
District Douglass Memorial
Bridge/DC) 2012-02589
PN
16-18 Comment Period: April 15, 2016 to May 15, 2016
THE PURPOSE OF THIS PUBLIC NOTICE IS TO
SOLICIT COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE WORK DESCRIBED BELOW. AT THIS TIME, NO DECISION HAS BEEN MADE AS TO
WHETHER OR NOT A PERMIT WILL BE ISSUED.
The
Baltimore District has received an application for a Department of the Army
(DA) permit pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344), as described below:
APPLICANT: District
Department of Transportation
C/o Delmar
Lytle
55 M Street SE
Washington, DC
20003
LOCATION:
In the Anacostia River near Nationals Stadium and south of the Navy Yard
in Washington, DC.
WORK: The
applicant proposes to construct a new bridge and to remove the existing
Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge across the Anacostia River.
The proposed bridge span and associated
structures do not require DA authorization pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers
and Harbors Act of 1899 since the United States Coast Guard (USCG) regulates
the construction and repair of bridges over navigable waters and the work is
therefore subject to USCG jurisdiction.
The Corps regulated activities are described
below.
Bridge construction would include the
following: to construct four 38-foot wide by 134-foot long (5,092 square feet
each) bridge piers and two 34-foot wide by 34-foot long bridge piers (totaling
2,593 square feet), within an approximately 22,964 square foot area; to dredge
four 8,512 square foot areas around the proposed bridge piers and one 4,050
square foot area around the two smaller bridge piers identified as Pier 1 to a
depth varying from -3.5 feet to -21.59 feet, in accordance with the dredge
depths identified on Plan Sheet 11 (ST-02), impacting an approximately 38,098
square foot area; and to install four 54-foot wide by 152-foot long cofferdams
around proposed Piers 2-5 and two 45-foot wide by 45-foot long cofferdam around
proposed Pier 1 encompassing an approximate 38,098 square foot area.
Bridge removal would include the
following: to demolish and remove the
existing bridge piers to a depth of 5 feet below the bottom substrate; to
install one 80-foot wide by 80-foot long cofferdam, two 40-foot wide by 80-foot
long cofferdams, and four 30-foot wide by 80-foot long cofferdams around
existing piers B through H to dewater the approximate 19,200 square foot area; to
dredge one 80-foot wide by 80-foot long area, two 40-foot wide by 80-foot long
areas, and four 30-foot wide by 80-foot long areas around the existing bridge
piers to a depth of 5 feet for the piers located outside of the Washington
Harbor Anacostia Channel and 5 feet below bottom of federal channel for piers
located within the federal channel varying from -5 feet to -11.3 feet to
facilitate removal of existing bridge piers B through H to the same depth at 5
feet below the bottom substrate, within an approximately 19,200 square foot area.
The resulting approximately 17,292 cubic yards
of dredged material for bridge construction and the approximately 5,400 cubic
yards of dredged material for bridge removal would be disposed off-site at an
approved upland disposal site. The means of transporting the dredged
material would depend upon the design build contractors means and methods,
which could be through barge or loading into a truck mounted on a barge. The
dredged material would be tested prior to being legally disposed. The dredged
material would not be re-used to backfill the excavated area.
The dredged areas would be backfilled with
appropriate clean material upon completion of the work and prior to removal of
dewatering structures within a total approximate 57,298 square foot area.
All work is to be completed in accordance with
the proposed plan(s). If you have any
questions concerning this matter, please contact Ms. Laura Shively of this
office at (410) 962-6011 or via email at laura.shively@usace.army.mil. The United States Coast Guard, Bridge Section
can be contacted at Commander (Resident Engineer United States Coast Guard
Commander (dpw), 431 Crawford Street, Federal Building, 1st Floor, Portsmouth,
VA. 23704-5504, Email address: Hal.R.Pitts@uscg.mil, Fax Number: (757) 398-6334) regarding USCG review of the
proposed project.
The purpose of
the proposed project is to improve safety and public vehicular access.
The proposed new bridge and bridge removal are part of a
larger phased project known as the South Capitol Street Corridor, which
includes improvements to South Capitol Street between Suitland Parkway at
Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE on the southeast end of the corridor and D
Street on the north end. The proposed work would be Phase 1 of the 5 phase
project. Efforts were made to avoid and minimize impacts to wetlands located
throughout the South Capitol Street Corridor and regulated wetland impacts are
not proposed in Phases 2 through 5.
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 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 is not in or adjacent
to EFH as described under the MSFCMA for the Anacostia River. The project area
may be a potential Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC). 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, 10 S. Howard
Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21201 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, 1800 Washington Blvd., Suite
430, Baltimore, Maryland
21230 within the comment period as specified above to
receive consideration. The 401
certifying agency has a statutory limit of one year to make its decision.
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.
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