Public Notice No. 17-18

Proposed development of a business center to including banking and financial facilities in Kingsport, Sullivan County, Tennessee

Public Notice No. 17-18 Nashville District Application No. LRN-2017-00726 Date: September 19, 2017;Expires: October 18, 2017

Please address all comments to:

Nashville District Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Division, East Branch (Attn: Ms. Aurora Scott)

3701 Bell Road, Nashville, Tennessee 37214 SUBJECT: Proposed development of a business center to including banking and financial facilities in Kingsport, Sullivan County, Tennessee

TO ALL CONCERNED: The application described below has been submitted for a Department of the Army (DA) Permit pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. 1344). Application (ARAP NRS No. 17.104) has also been made to the State of Tennessee, Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Water Resources for a water quality certification pursuant to Section 401(a)(1) of the CWA (33 U.S.C. 1341).

APPLICANT: City of Kingsport

225 West Center Street Kingsport, TN 37660

LOCATION: Wetlands adjacent to Unnamed Tributary to Horse Creek, South Holston River Mile 1.2 L; HUC 060101020702 – Horse Creek Watershed; Latitude N. 36.5123°, Longitude W. 82.5636°; west of State Route 126 in Kingsport, Sullivan County, Tennessee.

DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED WORK: The applicant proposes to develop a business center on the subject property that will involve deposition of fill material into 3.621 acres of jurisdictional wetlands. The proposed facility will provide banking and other financial services to the area.

Plans and location maps of the proposed project are provided in this notice. If you wish to view additional plans, please contact this office or visit our web site at: http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/Media/PublicNotices.aspx

PURPOSE AND NEED: To provide banking and other financial services to the area. These businesses will also bring several hundred employment opportunities to the surrounding communities and serve as a catalyst for the development of an additional 30 acres of commercial/business development and 1,400 linear feet of municipal pathways and roadways necessary to support economic growth for the City of Kingsport.

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION OF IMPACTS TO WATERS OF THE U.S.: Based on information provided in the project application, efforts were made during the planning and design phases of this project to avoid impacts to waters of the U.S. to the extent practicable, and to minimize impacts that were not avoidable. The Corps has not completed an evaluation of the applicant’s avoidance and minimization measures.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has proposed to offset unavoidable impacts by purchasing credits from Shady Valley Wetland Mitigation Bank at a 2:1 ratio, totaling 7.5 credits.

PUBLIC INTEREST REVIEW/CUMULATIVE EFFECTS: The decision whether to issue a DA permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impacts including cumulative impacts of the 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. As the proposed activity involves the discharge of fill material into the waters of the U.S., the evaluation of the probable impacts on the public interest will include application of the guidelines promulgated by the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at 40 CFR 230.

SOLICITATION OF COMMENTS: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District (Corps) 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. In accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1500- 1508) and Corps (Engineer Regulation (ER) 200-2-2, dated 1988) regulations for implementing National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), this document serves as a scoping letter to notify the public of the proposed action and affording the public the opportunity to participate. Comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and/or an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to NEPA. Comments are used to assess impacts on fish, wildlife, endangered species, water quality, historic properties, water supply, conservation, economics, aesthetics, wetlands, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shore erosion,

sedimentation, recreation, energy needs, safety, climate change, considerations of property ownership, general environmental effects, cumulative effects, and in general, the needs and welfare of the people. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps prior to a final decision concerning the authorization of the project, i.e. the issuance, modification, or denial of the requested DA permit.

HISTORIC AND CULTURAL RESOURCES: A review of the National Register website (http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreghome.do?searchtype=natreghome) indicates there are no federally listed historic properties within one-mile of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 Permit Area. This public notice serves to initiate the public involvement requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. The Corps invites responses to this public notice from Native American Tribes or tribal governments; Federal, State, and local agencies; historical and archeological societies; and other parties likely to have

knowledge of or concerns regarding historic properties and sites of religious and cultural significance at or near the project area. Copies of this public notice are being provided to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and Native American Tribes. The Corps will consult with the SHPO, Native American Tribes, and other consulting parties in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

ENDANGERED/THREATENED SPECIES REVIEW: The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires federal agencies to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) pursuant to Section 7 of ESA on all actions that may affect a species listed (or proposed for listing) under the ESA as threatened or endangered or any designated critical habitat. Initial coordination with the USFWS indicates the

presence of several federally listed endangered or threatened species in the vicinity of the action area, which are described below. A request will be made to the applicant to evaluate the project in light of potential impacts to threatened and endangered species including potential impacts to the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), Northern Long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) and Gray bat (Myotis

grisescens). A copy of this notice is being furnished to the USFWS for their review. We are requesting comments from the USFWS concerning potential impacts to threatened and/or endangered species pursuant to Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended. If required, the Corps will initiate ESA consultation with the USFWS by separate letter.

OTHER APPROVALS: In addition to the DA permit, other federal, state, and/or local approvals may be required for the proposed work, including:

1. Before a permit can be issued, water quality certification must be provided by the State of Tennessee, pursuant to Section 401(a)(1) of the CWA (33 U.S.C. 1341), that applicable water quality standards will not be violated.

2. Other federal, state, and/or local approvals that may be required for the proposed work.

PUBLIC HEARING REQUESTS: 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 hearing.

COMMENT PERIOD: Written statements received by October 18, 2017, will become a part of the record and considered in the determination. Any response to this notice should reference the Corps Application No. LRN-2017-00726, and be directed to the Regulatory Division, Attention: Ms. Aurora Scott, at the above address or at Aurora.C.Scott@usace.army.mil.

Casey Ehorn Chief, East Branch

Regulatory Division U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Building Footprint Wetland Impact: 0.126 ac

Parking / Landscaping Wetland Impact: 2.984

Roadway Wetland Impact: 0.511 ac

Wetland Avoided