Public Notice
U.S. Army Corps
In Reply to Application Number
of Engineers NAB-2015-61105 (Chesapeake
Wood Products, LLC/Fill for
Baltimore District Industrial Facility/After-the Fact (ATF))
Permit)
PN
16-19 Comment Period: April 22, 2016 to May 22, 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 404 of the Clean Water Act (33. U.S.C. 1344) as described
below:
APPLICANT: Thomas William Spicer, Sr.
Chesapeake Wood Products, LLC
5274 Bucktown Road
Cambridge, Maryland 21613
LOCATION: The work is located in jurisdictional wetlands abutting
unnamed tributaries that drain to the Little Blackwater River at the property
located at 5274 Bucktown Road, Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland.
WORK: The applicant proposes the following work
based on the conceptual drawing:
Impact Area 1: To fill a forested non-tidal wetland area,
which would permanently impact approximately 26,436 square feet of forested non-tidal
wetlands.
Impact Area 2: For after-the-fact (ATF) authorization for
depositing fill within an approximate 32,200 square foot area for a gravel
parking area.
Impact Area 3: To fill a forested non-tidal wetland area
that was converted from a forested wetland to an emergent wetland and that
includes a stockpiling area for the cleared material, all completed without
Corps authorization, which would permanently impact approximately 19,162 square
feet of converted forested non-tidal wetlands.
The entire project
would impact approximately 75,798 square feet (1.75 acres) of non-tidal
wetlands.
All work will be
completed in accordance with the enclosed plan(s). If you have any questions concerning this
matter, please contact Mr. Eugene Morgenthaler at (410) 820-8629 or by e-mail eugene.j.morgenthaler@usace.army.mil.
The area proposed to be
impacted by this expansion is an abandoned hydric soil agricultural field that
was last tilled in 1995. The field was
allowed to naturally re-vegetate with early growth woody vegetation.
The applicant proposes
a conceptual compensatory mitigation plan to restore and create approximately 151,596
square feet (3.5 acres) of forested non-tidal wetlands at a 2:1 ratio by
grading the 3.5 acre area and planting with wetland tree species within an
existing hydric soil agricultural field on Hip Roof Road, Dorchester County,
Maryland. The proposed mitigation site
is
within the same
watershed as the proposed/impact site and is land adjacent to and surrounded by
Blackwater Wildlife Refuge.
Avoidance and
minimization measures were incorporated into the proposed project by minimizing
the project’s design to meet the project purpose. The wood products operation consists of
existing buildings and
stationary milling equipment. The intent
of the expansion is to complement the existing operation with additional
buildings, equipment and storage areas.
The purpose of the
project is to provide expansion of an existing wood products facility.
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
does not lie in or adjacent to EFH as described under the MSFCMA.
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 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
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, Department of the Army, Baltimore
District Corps of Engineers, Attn:
Regulatory Branch, 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 Non-Tidal Wetlands Division, 1800 Washington Boulevard, Baltimore,
Maryland 21230 within the comment period
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.
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, Department of the Army, Baltimore District Corps of Engineers, Attn: Regulatory Branch, 10 S. Howard
Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, within
the comment period specified above, 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