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Family Farms Investments (mitigation bank)

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FAMILY FARMS MITIGATION BANK IN LAFOURCHE PARISH

NAME OF APPLICANT: Family Farms Investments, L.L.C., c/o: Kourco Environmental Services, Inc., 3131 Cameron Street, Lafayette, Louisiana 70506. LOCATION OF WORK: The site is located in Lafourche Parish, four miles southwest of Chackbay, Louisiana, as shown on enclosed drawings (Latitude: 29.84958 N, Longitude:–90.858403 W). The Project is located within the Barataria Basin. CHARACTER OF WORK: Family Farms Investments, L.L.C. proposes to degrade multiple agricultural levees and conduct native vegetation plantings for the purpose of enhancing and restoring traditional surface hydrology in the construction of a bottomland hardwood mitigation bank.

JOINT PUBLIC NOTICE August 28, 2017 United States Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District Regulatory Branch 7400 Leake Avenue New Orleans, LA. 70118

State of Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Post Office Box 4313 Baton Rouge, La. 70821-4313 Attn: Water Quality Certifications

(504) 862-1280/ FAX (504) 862-2574 Brandon.D.Gaspard@usace.army.mil Project Manager Brandon Gaspard Permit Application Number MVN-2016-00228-MG

(225) 219-3225/FAX (225) 325-8250 elizabeth.hill@la.gov Project Manager Elizabeth Hill WQC Application Number WQC 170823-01

Interested parties are hereby notified that a prospectus and 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, for a Water Quality Certification (WQC) in accordance with statutory authority contained in Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, Title 30, Chapter 11, Part IV, Section 2074 A(3) and provisions of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (P.L.95-17). FAMILY FARMS MITIGATION BANK IN LAFOURCHE PARISH NAME OF APPLICANT: Family Farms Investments, L.L.C., c/o: Kourco Environmental Services, Inc., 3131 Cameron Street, Lafayette, Louisiana 70506. LOCATION OF WORK: The site is located in Lafourche Parish, four miles southwest of Chackbay, Louisiana, as shown on enclosed drawings (Latitude: 29.84958 N, Longitude:­ 90.858403 W). The Project is located within the Barataria Basin. CHARACTER OF WORK: Family Farms Investments, L.L.C. proposes to degrade multiple agricultural levees and conduct native vegetation plantings for the purpose of enhancing and restoring traditional surface hydrology in the construction of a bottomland hardwood mitigation bank. The comment period for the Department of the Army Permit and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality WQC will close 30 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. Similar letters concerning the Water Quality Certification must reference the applicant's name and the WQC Application

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number and be mailed to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality at the address above. The application for this proposed project is on file with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and may be examined during weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Copies may be obtained upon payment of costs of reproduction. 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 public notice will be forwarded to the State Archeologist and State Historic Preservation Officer regarding potential impacts to cultural resources. Our initial finding is that the proposed work will have no effect any species listed as endangered by the U.S. Departments of Interior or Commerce, nor affect any habitat designated as critical to the survival and recovery of any endangered species. Utilizing Standard Local Operating Procedure 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, the Corps has determined that the proposed activity would have no effect on any listed species. 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 acre(s) 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

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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, 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. The applicant has certified that the proposed activity described in the application complies with and will be conducted in a manner that is consistent with the Louisiana Coastal Resources Program. The Department of the Army permit will not be issued unless the applicant received approval or a waiver of the Coastal Use Permit by the Department of Natural Resources. You are requested to communicate the information contained in this notice to any other parties whom you deem likely to have interested in the matter.

Martin S. Mayer Chief, Regulatory Branch Enclosure

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