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AFTER-THE FACT LEVEE ALONG CHOCTAW ROAD IN LAFOURCHE PARISH
NAME OF APPLICANT: Lafourche Parish Government, c/o Picciola & Associates, Inc., Attn: Joseph Picciola, Post Office Box 687, Cut Off, Louisiana 70345.
LOCATION OF WORK: Located on an approximate 33.2-acre site, in Sections 8 & 17, Township 14 South, Range 17 East, along and northeast of Choctaw Road, approximately 2.15 miles southwest of its intersection with Louisiana Highway 20, near Choctaw, Louisiana, located in Lafourche Parish, as shown on the enclosed drawings (Latitude 29.8679 N Longitude -90.76198 W). This project is located in the Barataria Basin (East Central Coastal HUC 08090203).
The work described below was partially completed prior to obtaining a Department of the Army permit and was in violation of Section 301 of the Clean Water Act. All legal issues concerning the unauthorized work have been deferred.
CHARACTER OF WORK: The applicant is requesting an after-the-fact Department of the Army permit authorization to clear, grade, excavate, place and maintain fill material for the construction of an earthen levee and borrow canal, near Choctaw, Louisiana, within Lafourche Parish. The applicant had previously constructed an approximate 5,162-linear foot levee and 5,060 linear borrow canal prior to obtaining a Department of the Army permit totaling approximately 9.7 acres of direct impacts to tidally influenced jurisdictional swamp wetland habitat and approximately 19.9 acres of indirect impacts from preventing hydrologic connectivity to tidally influenced wetland habitat due to the unauthorized levee construction. The applicant is proposing to degrade and fill approximately 6.9 acres of unauthorized levee and associated borrow canal and to replant the site with native swamp species. The applicant is proposing approximately 22.0 acres of project restoration to areas that were either indirectly impacted (15.1 acres of hydrological isolated wetland habitat) or directly impacted from levee and borrow canal construction (6.9 acres of jurisdictional swamp). The applicant is proposing that approximately 1.4 acres of levee to remain in place and that a new 0.3-acre levee be constructed perpendicular to the remaining section and terminating at Choctaw Road. To maintain flood protection south of the new leveeās intersection with the road, the applicant is proposing to raise a 3,400-linear foot section of Choctaw Road to +3.50 foot elevation. Approximately 18,550 cubic yards of native material was excavated as a result of the unauthorized borrow canal construction and placed as fill during levee construction. Approximately 12,900 cubic yards of native fill material was hauled in and placed as fill in jurisdictional areas. Approximately 1,200 cubic yards of native material would be hauled onsite as placed as fill for the proposed, approximate 260-foot new section of levee. Approximately 9.0 acres of jurisdictional wetlands would be impacted as a result of project implementation including the proposed remaining portions of the levee and borrow canal that were constructed prior to the applicant obtaining a Department of the Army permit. 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 applicant is proposing to compensate for the unavoidable impacts by submitting a Permittee Responsible Mitigation Plan (PRMP). The applicant is still in development of a PRMP and will submit for review.
The applicant may be required to fully or partially restore the project site to pre-project conditions, if issuance of a permit is determined to be contrary to the overall public interest.
JOINT PUBLIC NOTICE
February 4, 2019
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 2010-00509-CQ
(225) 219-3225
Project Manager
Ms. Elizabeth Hill
WQC Application Number
WQC 190130-02
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).
AFTER-THE FACT LEVEE ALONG CHOCTAW ROAD IN LAFOURCHE PARISH
NAME OF APPLICANT: Lafourche Parish Government, c/o Picciola & Associates, Inc., Attn:
Joseph Picciola, Post Office Box 687, Cut Off, Louisiana 70345.
LOCATION OF WORK: Located on an approximate 33.2-acre site, in Sections 8 & 17,
Township 14 South, Range 17 East, along and northeast of Choctaw Road, approximately 2.15
miles southwest of its intersection with Louisiana Highway 20, near Choctaw, Louisiana, located
in Lafourche Parish, as shown on the enclosed drawings (Latitude 29.8679 N Longitude
-90.76198 W). This project is located in the Barataria Basin (East Central Coastal HUC
08090203).
The work described below was partially completed prior to obtaining a Department of the Army
permit and was in violation of Section 301 of the Clean Water Act. All legal issues concerning
the unauthorized work have been deferred.
CHARACTER OF WORK: The applicant is requesting an after-the-fact Department of the
Army permit authorization to clear, grade, excavate, place and maintain fill material for the
construction of an earthen levee and borrow canal, near Choctaw, Louisiana, within Lafourche
Parish. The applicant had previously constructed an approximate 5,162-linear foot levee and
5,060 linear borrow canal prior to obtaining a Department of the Army permit totaling
approximately 9.7 acres of direct impacts to tidally influenced jurisdictional swamp wetland
habitat and approximately 19.9 acres of indirect impacts from preventing hydrologic connectivity
to tidally influenced wetland habitat due to the unauthorized levee construction. The applicant
is proposing to degrade and fill approximately 6.9 acres of unauthorized levee and associated
borrow canal and to replant the site with native swamp species. The applicant is proposing
approximately 22.0 acres of project restoration to areas that were either indirectly impacted
(15.1 acres of hydrological isolated wetland habitat) or directly impacted from levee and borrow
canal construction (6.9 acres of jurisdictional swamp). The applicant is proposing that
approximately 1.4 acres of levee to remain in place and that a new 0.3-acre levee be
constructed perpendicular to the remaining section and terminating at Choctaw Road. To
maintain flood protection south of the new levee's intersection with the road, the applicant is
proposing to raise a 3,400-linear foot section of Choctaw Road to +3.50 foot elevation.
Approximately 18,550 cubic yards of native material was excavated as a result of the
unauthorized borrow canal construction and placed as fill during levee construction.
Approximately 12,900 cubic yards of native fill material was hauled in and placed as fill in
jurisdictional areas. Approximately 1,200 cubic yards of native material would be hauled onsite
as placed as fill for the proposed, approximate 260-foot new section of levee. Approximately
9.0 acres of jurisdictional wetlands would be impacted as a result of project implementation
including the proposed remaining portions of the levee and borrow canal that were constructed
prior to the applicant obtaining a Department of the Army permit. 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 applicant is
proposing to compensate for the unavoidable impacts by submitting a Permittee Responsible
Mitigation Plan (PRMP). The applicant is still in development of a PRMP and will submit for
review.
The applicant may be required to fully or partially restore the project site to pre-project
conditions, if issuance of a permit is determined to be contrary to the overall public interest
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 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 0 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.
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.
Enclosure
JOHN M. HERMAN
Chief, Central Evaluation Section
Regulatory Branch
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