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MAINTENANCE DREDGING IN AN EXISTING ACCESS CANAL AND WELL SLIP LOCATED OFF OF BAYOU SORREL IN IBERVILLE PARISH
NAME OF APPLICANT: Hilcorp Energy Company, c/o Tim Morton & Associates, Inc., Attn: Donna Hollier, 730 East Kaliste Saloom Road, Lafayette, Louisiana 70508.
LOCATION OF WORK: Located in an existing oil and gas slip off of Bayou Sorrel, in Section 1, Township 10 South, Range 11 East, approximately 11 miles southwest of Plaquemine, Louisiana, located in Assumption Parish, as shown on the enclosed drawings (Latitude 30.1712 N Longitude -91.3589 W). This project is located in the Atchafalaya Basin (HUC 08080101).
CHARACTER OF WORK: The applicant is requesting a Department of the Army permit authorization for the maintenance dredging of an existing oil and gas slip and access canal located in and south of Bayou Sorrel. The project also includes the proposed removal and replacement of an existing barge and associated pile clusters located within the existing slip. The proposed project was previously authorized under general permit NOD-28 which is currently expired. Dredged material would be placed along the banks of the existing slip and is not proposed to be placed in jurisdictional wetlands. Approximately 9,527 cubic yards of non-vegetated waterbottoms would be excavated and placed as spoil material as a result of maintenance dredging as a result of project implementation. Approximately 3.15 acres of jurisdictional waterbottoms would be impacted by the dredging portions of this project. Approximately 0.99 acre of jurisdictional waterbottoms would be filled as a result of spoil placement. The applicant has claimed that the project has been designed to avoid and minimize direct and secondary adverse wetland impacts to the maximum extent practicable. The applicant is proposing to utilize best management practices during and after the construction phase of the project. The proposed project will not directly impact any jurisdictional wetlands and compensatory mitigation is not anticipated.
JOINT PUBLIC NOTICE
September 17, 2018
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
Water Permits Division
Post Office Box 4313
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70821-4313
(504) 862-1217
Project Manager
Kenny Blanke
Kenneth.G.Blanke@usace.army.mil
MVN 2012-1508-CQ
(225) 219-3225
Project Manager
Ms. Elizabeth Hill
WQC Application Number
WQC 180913-02
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: [X] 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 LRS30:2074 A(3), and provisions of Section 401 of the Clean
Water Act (P.L.95-17).
MAINTENANCE DREDGING IN AN EXISTING ACCESS CANAL AND WELL SLIP LOCATED
OFF OF BAYOU SORREL IN IBERVILLE PARISH
NAME OF APPLICANT: Hilcorp Energy Company, c/o Tim Morton & Associates, Inc., Attn:
Donna Hollier, 730 East Kaliste Saloom Road, Lafayette, Louisiana 70508.
LOCATION OF WORK: Located in an existing oil and gas slip off of Bayou Sorrel, in Section 1,
Township 10 South, Range 11 East, approximately 11 miles southwest of Plaquemine,
Louisiana, located in Assumption Parish, as shown on the enclosed drawings (Latitude 30.1712
N Longitude -91.3589 W). This project is located in the Atchafalaya Basin (HUC 08080101).
CHARACTER OF WORK: The applicant is requesting a Department of the Army permit
authorization for the maintenance dredging of an existing oil and gas slip and access canal
located in and south of Bayou Sorrel. The project also includes the proposed removal and
replacement of an existing barge and associated pile clusters located within the existing slip.
The proposed project was previously authorized under general permit NOD-28 which is
currently expired. Dredged material would be placed along the banks of the existing slip and is
not proposed to be placed in jurisdictional wetlands. Approximately 9,527 cubic yards of nonvegetated waterbottoms would be excavated and placed as spoil material as a result of
maintenance dredging as a result of project implementation. Approximately 3.15 acres of
jurisdictional waterbottoms would be impacted by the dredging portions of this project.
Approximately 0.99 acre of jurisdictional waterbottoms would be filled as a result of spoil
placement. The applicant has claimed that the project has been designed to avoid and
minimize direct and secondary adverse wetland impacts to the maximum extent practicable.
The applicant is proposing to utilize best management practices during and after the
construction phase of the project. The proposed project will not directly impact any jurisdictional
wetlands and compensatory mitigation is not anticipated.
The comment period for the Department of Army Permit and the Louisiana Department
of Environmental Quality will close in 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. Similar 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. 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.
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 US 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 US 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 neither affect 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 project
would have no effect of 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 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.
JOHN M. HERMAN
Chief, Central Evaluation Section
Regulatory Branch
Enclosure