Public Notice
U.S.
Army Corps In Reply to Application Number
of Engineers CENAB-OP-RMS (Chesapeake Marshlands
NWR-Eastern Neck)
Baltimore
District 2015-61662
PN 16-23 Comment Period: April 28, 2016 to May 18, 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: Chesapeake Marshlands NWR Complex
Mr. Matt
Whitbeck
2145 Key
Wallace Drive
Cambridge,
MD 21613
LOCATION: In the Chesapeake Bay at Eastern Neck NWR
near Rock Hall, Kent County, Maryland.
WORK: The project proposes to stabilize an eroded
shoreline by constructing nine stone breakwaters with varied amounts of
backfill creating approximately 51,820 square feet of
tidal wetland, as follows:
Breakwater
structure #2-1: To create approximately
2,950 square feet of tidal wetlands by depositing approximately 240 cubic yards
of sloped, clean select sand fill stabilized with Spartina alterniflora and to construct a 20.5-foot wide base by
300-foot long stone breakwater to extend no more than 41 feet channelward of
the approximate mean high water (MHW) shoreline;
Breakwater
structure #2-2: To create approximately 7,670 square feet of tidal wetlands by depositing
approximately 548 cubic yards of sloped, clean select sand fill stabilized with
Spartina alterniflora and to construct a
21.3-foot wide base by 250-foot long stone breakwater to extend no more than 98
feet channelward of the approximate MHW shoreline;
Breakwater
structure #4-1: To create approximately 1,290 square feet of tidal wetlands by depositing
approximately 156 cubic yards of sloped, clean select sand fill stabilized with
Spartina alterniflora and to construct a
19-foot wide base by 300-foot long stone breakwater to extend no more than 46
feet channelward of the approximate MHW shoreline;
Breakwater
structure #4-2: To create approximately 3,770 square feet of tidal wetlands by depositing
approximately 701 cubic yards of sloped, clean select sand fill stabilized with
Spartina alterniflora and to construct a
21.2-foot wide base by 200-foot long stone breakwater to extend no more than
113 feet channelward of the approximate MHW shoreline;
Breakwater
structure #4-3: To create approximately 7,340 square feet of tidal wetlands by depositing
approximately 1,208 cubic yards of sloped, clean select sand fill stabilized
with Spartina alterniflora and to construct
a 21.3-foot wide base by 200-foot long stone breakwater to extend no more than 162
feet channelward of the approximate MHW shoreline;
Breakwater
structure #7-1: To create approximately 3,980 square feet of tidal wetlands by depositing
approximately 557 cubic yards of sloped, clean select sand fill stabilized with
Spartina alterniflora and to construct a
21-foot wide base by 200-foot long stone breakwater to extend no more than 115
feet channelward of the approximate MHW shoreline;
Breakwater structure
#7-2: To create approximately 3,010 square feet of tidal wetlands by depositing
approximately 485 cubic yards of sloped, clean select sand fill stabilized with
Spartina alterniflora and to construct a
21-foot wide base by 300-foot long stone breakwater to extend no more than 85
feet channelward of the approximate MHW shoreline;
Breakwater
structure #9-1: To create approximately 24,440 square feet of tidal wetlands by
depositing approximately 2,058 cubic yards of sloped, clean select sand fill
stabilized with Spartina alterniflora and to construct a 22.4-foot wide base by
475-foot long stone breakwater to extend no more than 152 feet channelward of
the approximate MHW shoreline, and to construct a temporary 16-foot wide by
475–foot long sand construction access road which would be restored to its
original elevations and condition after construction;
Breakwater
structure #10-1: To create approximately 3,910 square feet of tidal wetlands by
depositing approximately 682 cubic yards of sloped, clean select sand fill
stabilized with Spartina alterniflora and to construct a 22.1-foot wide base by
300-foot long stone breakwater to extend no more than 65 feet channelward of
the approximate MHW shoreline;
All work is
to be completed in accordance with the proposed plan(s). If you have any
questions concerning this matter, please contact Rod Schwarm of this office at
410-820-8550 or via email at Rodney.D.Schwarm@usace.army.mil.
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. There are no wetland or submerged vegetation permanent
impacts proposed. Compensatory mitigation is not being proposed as the project
would result in the creation of approximately 51,820 square feet of tidal
wetlands.
The purpose of the
project is to create a living shoreline to protect
eroding wetlands.
ESSENTIAL FISH 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 the MSFCMA for Scopthalmus aquosos
(windowpane flounder) juvenile and adult;
Pomatomus saltatrix (blue fish) juvenile and adult;
Paralicthys dentatus (summer flounder) juvenile and adult; and
the eggs,
larvae, juvenile, and adult stages of Sciaenops ocellatus (red
drum), Scomberomorus cavalla (king mackerel),
Scomberomorus maculatus (Spanish
mackerel),
and Rachycentron
canadum (cobia),
managed
species under the MSFCMA. The project has the potential to adversely affect EFH or the species of concern by loss of spawning,
nursery, forage and/or shelter habitat as described
under the MSFCMA for the species and
life stages identified above.
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 to
minimize adverse effects on
EFH at this time. This determination
may be modified if
additional information
indicates otherwise and would change the preliminary determination. The project area
is/is not a
Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC). The Baltimore District has determined that the adverse effects of this project would
be more than minimal,
although not substantial,
and
an abbreviated consultation will be conducted with NMFS. No mitigative measures are recommended to
minimize adverse effects on EFH
at this time. This determination may be modified if additional information indicates otherwise and
would change the preliminary determination.
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 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,
economics, 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,
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, PO Box
1715, Baltimore, Maryland 21203-1715, within the comment period as specified
above to receive consideration.
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
Maryland Coastal Zone Program. This
certification statement is available for inspection in the District Office;
however, public comments relating to consistency must be received by the
Coastal Zone Division, Maryland Department of the Environment, 1800 Washington
Blvd. Suite 430, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, within the comment period as
specified above. It should be noted that
CZ Division has a statutory limit of 6 months in which 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 listed 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 requested permit.
The evaluation of the impact of the work described above 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 District Engineer must
receive the request, which must be in writing, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Baltimore District, 10 S. Howard Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, within the
comment period as specified as above to receive consideration. Also, it must clearly state forth the
interest that may be adversely affected by this activity in the manner in which
the interest may be adversely affected.
It is requested that you communicate the foregoing 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