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AIRPORT EXPANSION IN ASCENSION PARISH
NAME OF APPLICANT: Ascension-St. James Airport and Transportation Authority; c/o Gulf South Research Corporation; 8081 Innovation Park Drive; Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70820
LOCATION OF WORK: Within the Lake Pontchartrain Basin (HUC 08070204); Section 6, T10S-R3E; 6255 Airport Industrial Drive, Gonzales, Louisiana 70737, in Ascension Parish.
CHARACTER OF WORK: The applicant has requested a modification/time extension to their existing permit. This request includes clearing, grubbing, earthwork, and drainage improvements on a 14-acre site to allow for construction of additional 42 hangers, a gravel haul road, and 369,630 square feet of apron space. This expansion would provide increased aircraft hangar capacity to meet the private and commercial needs of aircraft transportation in Ascension Parish. Drainage improvements include both subsurface, within the apron and hangar areas, and surface improvements through construction of drainage swales along the western and northern boundaries of the project site. Approximately 5,000 cubic yards would be used to fill the jurisdictional wetland within the project site. The fill will consist of subbase, geotextile fabric, crushed aggregate, and asphaltic concrete. All fill material will be hauled in from an offsite source. Approximately 0.9 acre of jurisdictional wetlands and 470 linear feet of jurisdictional waters will be filled as a result of the proposed activity. The applicant has designed the project to avoid and minimize direct and secondary adverse impacts to the maximum extent practicable. Adjoining land was unavailable, therefore complete avoidance of the wetlands was not practicable. The proposed layout is the safest and best suited layout within the frame work of the existing runways and taxiways. Any further reduction in wetland impacts would limit usage of the property and, therefore function deeming the project impracticable. As compensation for unavoidable wetland impacts the applicant proposes to purchase wetland credits from a Corps approved mitigation bank located in the watershed.
JOINT PUBLIC NOTICE
May 1, 2017
United States Army Corps of Engineers
New Orleans District
Regulatory Branch
7400 Leake Avenue
New Orleans, Louisiana 70118
State of Louisiana
Department of Environmental Quality
Office of Environmental Services
Post Office Box 4313
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70821-4313
(504) 862-2675
Project Manager
Jamie Crowe
Jamie.M.Crowe@usace.army.mil
Permit Application Number
MVN 2012-00066 CO
(225) 219-3225
Project Manager
Elizabeth Hill
WQC Application Number
WQC 170413-01
Interested parties are hereby notified that a permit application has been received by
the New Orleans District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pursuant to:
[ ] Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of March 3, 1899 (30 Stat. 1151; 33 USC
403); and/or [X] Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (86 Stat. 816; 33 USC 1344).
Application has also been made to the Louisiana Department of Environmental
Quality, Office of Environmental Services, for a Water Quality Certification (WQC) in
accordance with statutory authority contained in LRS30:2047 A(3), and provisions of
Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (P.L.95-17).
AIRPORT EXPANSION IN ASCENSION PARISH
NAME OF APPLICANT: Ascension-St. James Airport and Transportation Authority; c/o
Gulf South Research Corporation; 8081 Innovation Park Drive; Baton Rouge, Louisiana
70820.
LOCATION OF WORK: Within the Lake Pontchartrain Basin (HUC 08070204); Section
6, T10S-R3E; 6255 Airport Industrial Drive, Gonzales, Louisiana 70737, in Ascension
Parish.
CHARACTER OF WORK: The applicant has requested a modification/time extension
to their existing permit. This request includes clearing, grubbing, earthwork, and
drainage improvements on a 14-acre site to allow for construction of additional 42
hangers, a gravel haul road, and 369,630 square feet of apron space. This expansion
would provide increased aircraft hangar capacity to meet the private and commercial
needs of aircraft transportation in Ascension Parish. Drainage improvements include
both subsurface, within the apron and hangar areas, and surface improvements through
construction of drainage swales along the western and northern boundaries of the
project site. Approximately 5,000 cubic yards would be used to fill the jurisdictional
wetland within the project site. The fill will consist of subbase, geotextile fabric, crushed
aggregate, and asphaltic concrete. All fill material will be hauled in from an offsite
source. Approximately 0.9 acre of jurisdictional wetlands and 470 linear feet of
jurisdictional waters will be filled as a result of the proposed activity. The applicant has
designed the project to avoid and minimize direct and secondary adverse impacts to the
maximum extent practicable. Adjoining land was unavailable, therefore complete
avoidance of the wetlands was not practicable. The proposed layout is the safest and
best suited layout within the frame work of the existing runways and taxiways. Any
further reduction in wetland impacts would limit usage of the property and, therefore
function deeming the project impracticable. As compensation for unavoidable wetland
impacts the applicant proposes to purchase wetland credits from a Corps approved
mitigation bank located in the watershed.
The comment period for the Department of the Army Permit and the Louisiana
Department of Environmental Quality WQC will close 20 days from the date of this joint
public notice. Written comments, including suggestions for modifications or objections
to the proposed work, stating reasons thereof, are being solicited from anyone having
interest in this permit and/or this WQC request and must be mailed, so as to be
received before or by the last day of the comment period. Letters concerning the Corps
of Engineers permit application must reference the applicant's name and the Permit
Application Number, and be mailed to the Corps of Engineers at the address above,
ATTENTION: REGULATORY BRANCH. The application for this proposed project is on
file with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and may be examined
weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Copies may be obtained upon payment of
costs of reproduction. Individuals or parties may request an extension of time in which
to comment on the proposed work by writing or e-mailing the Corps of Engineers
Project Manager listed above. Any request must be specific and substantively
supportive of the requested extension, and received by this office prior to the end of the
initial comment period. The Section Chief will review the request and the requestor will
be promptly notified of the decision to grant or deny the request. If granted, the time
extension will be continuous to the initial comment period and, inclusive of the initial
comment period, will not exceed a total of 30 calendar days. Letters concerning the
Water Quality Certification must reference the applicant's name and the WQC
Application number and be mailed to the Louisiana Department of Environmental
Quality at the address above.
Corps of Engineers Permit Criteria
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, economics, aesthetics,
general environmental concerns, wetlands, historic properties, fish and wildlife values,
flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion,
recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and
fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership and, in general,
the needs and welfare of the people.
The U.S. Army 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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine whether
to make, 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 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 are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine
the overall public interest of the proposed activity.
The New Orleans District is unaware of properties listed on the National Register of
Historic Places near the proposed work. The possibility exists that the proposed work
may damage or destroy presently unknown archeological, scientific, prehistorical,
historical sites, or data. Copies of this notice are being sent to the State Archeologist
and State Historic Preservation Officer.
Our initial finding is that the proposed work would not affect any species, nor affect
any habitat designated as critical to the survival and recovery of such species, listed as
endangered by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
This project was determined to have no effect on endangered species based on
Standard Local Operating Procedures for Endangered Species in Louisiana (SLOPES),
dated October 22, 2014, between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans and
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services Office.
This notice initiates the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation requirements of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The applicant's
proposal would result in the destruction or alteration of n/a acres of EFH utilized by
various life stages of red drum and penaeid shrimp. Our initial determination is that the
proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or federally
managed fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. Our final determination relative to project
impacts and the need for mitigation measures is subject to review by and coordination
with the National Marine Fisheries Service.
If the proposed work involves deposits of dredged or fill material into navigable
waters, the evaluation of the probable impacts will include the application of guidelines
established by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Also, a
certification that the proposed activity will not violate applicable water quality standards
will be required from the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental
Services, before a permit is issued.
Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this
notice, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. Requests for public
hearings shall state, with particularity, the reasons for holding a public hearing. You are
requested to communicate the information contained in this notice to any other parties
whom you deem likely to have interest in the matter.
You are requested to communicate the information contained in this notice to any
other parties whom you deem likely to have interest in the matter.
John M. Herman
Chief, Central Evaluation Section
Regulatory Branch
Enclosure
Ascension Parish
Project Location
Latitude: 30.173080° N
Longitude: -90.939090° W
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Content may not reflect National Geographic's current map policy.
Sources: National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, HERE, UNEP-WCMC,
USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, increment P Corp.
Figure 1. Vicinity Map
December 2016
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Highway 4
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Project Boundary
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Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics,
CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP,
swisstopo, and the GIS User Community
Figure 2. Project Location Map
Gonzales Airport 404 Permitting
Department of the Army Permit
Ascension Parish, Louisiana
December 2016
PROPOSED SUBSURFACE DRAINAGE (TYP.)
PROPOSED AUTO PARKING (TYP.)
EXIST. DRAINAGE SWALE
PROPOSED DRAINAGE SWALE
PROPOSED STONE
HAUL ROAD
PROPOSED DRAINAGE
SWALE
EXIST.
AIRCRAFT
HANGARS
CL TAXIWAY (40' WIDE)
BOX HANGARS
R.O.W.
CL AIRPORT INDUSTRIAL BLVD. FUTURE EXTENSION
R.O.W.
BOX HANGARS
PAVEMENT
PAVEMENT
HANGAR
HANGAR
PAVEMENT
PAVEMENT
530.0'
EXIST.
AIRCRAFT
HANGARS
50' R.O.W.
332.9'
AIRPORT INDUSTRIAL BLVD
PROPOSED AIRCRAFT
TIE-DOWNS (TYP.)
EXIST. DRAINAGE SWALE
PAVEMENT, DRAINAGE
HANGARS (600')
PAVEMENT, DRAINAGE
HANGARS (510')
14 ACRE TREE CLEARING, EARTHWORK, AND
DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS (1300')
Proposed Drainage
Waters of the U.S.
Jurisdictional Wetlands
Figure 3. Hangar, Apron, Drains, Wetlands
Gonzales Airport 404 Permitting
Department of the Army
Ascension Parish, Louisiana
December 2016
PROPOSED SUBSURFACE DRAINAGE (TYP.)
PROPOSED DRAINAGE SWALE
EXIST. DRAINAGE SWALE
CULVERT
PROPOSED STONE
HAUL ROAD
R.O.W.
AIRPORT INDUSTRIAL BLVD
B
50' R.O.W.
INDUSTRIAL
BLVD.
FUTURE
EXTENSION
CLCLAIRPORT
AIRPORT INDUSTRIAL
BLVD.
FUTURE
EXTENSION
R.O.W.
B
BOX HANGARS
BOX HANGARS
C
C
EXIST.
AIRCRAFT
HANGARS
E
PAVEMENT/APRON
PAVEMENT/APRON
PROPOSED DRAINAGE
SWALE
EXIST.
AIRCRAFT
HANGARS
530.0'
E
HANGARS
A
332.9'
HANGARS
PAVEMENT/APRON
D
PAVEMENT/APRON
D
A
CL TAXIWAY (40' WIDE)
PROPOSED AIRCRAFT
TIE-DOWNS (TYP.)
EXIST. DRAINAGE SWALE
PAVEMENT, DRAINAGE
HANGARS (510')
PAVEMENT, DRAINAGE
HANGARS (600')
Proposed Drainage Swale (3,200 feet)
14 ACRE TREE CLEARING, EARTHWORK, AND
DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS (1300')
Jurisdictional Herbaceous Wetlands ( (0.9 ac)
0
Figure 3. Hangar, Apron, Drains, Wetlands
Gonzales Airport 404 Permitting
Department of the Army
Ascension Parish, Louisiana
90
180
360
540
Feet
Ï
Water of the U.S. (505 feet)
February 2017
MAXIMUM WIDITH OF 330'
FAA P-401 Asphalt Concrete
(4" Depth) (2,200 C.Y.)
FAA P-209 Crushed Aggregate
(6" Depth) (3,280 C.Y.)
FAA P-154 Sub-Base Course
(8" Depth) (4,360 C.Y.)
Wetlands
Figure 4. Typical Wetland Cross-Section (A-A)
Gonzales Airport 404 Permitting
Department of the Army
Ascension Parish, Louisiana
April 2017
PROPOSED EAST DRAINAGE SWALE (B-B)
6'
Airport Industrial Blvd
Asphaltic Concrete
Soil
3'
2'
Drainage
NOT TO SCALE
PROPOSED NORTH DRAINAGE SWALE (C-C)
6'
Soil
Soil
3'
2'
Drainage
NOT TO SCALE
Figure 5. Typical Drainage Cross-Sections (B-B and C-C)
Gonzales Airport 404 Permitting
Department of the Army
Ascension Parish, Louisiana
February 2017
CROSS-SECTION OF WATERS OF THE US (D-D)
5'
Concrete
Concrete
2'
2'
NOT TO SCALE
CROSS-SECTION OF CULVERT (E-E)
5'
Concrete
Concrete
36" Dia. x 60 LF
Culvert
3'
2'
WUS
Fill
Concrete
Figure 6. Typical Cross-Sections of Waters of the U.S.(D-D) and Proposed Culvert (E-E)
Gonzales Airport 404 Permitting
Department of the Army
Ascension Parish, Louisiana
April 2017
Figure 7. Existing Drainage
Gonzales Airport 404 Permitting
Department of the Army
Ascension Parish, Louisiana
February 2017
Figure 8. Proposed Drainage Plan
Gonzales Airport 404 Permitting
Department of the Army
Ascension Parish, Louisiana
February 2017