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Public Notice No. 19-05

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Proposed Discharge of Fill Material into Waters of the United States Associated with the Replacement of Four Bridges along 1.25 Miles of County Road 242 (Old Highway 431).

Public Notice No. 19-05 Nashville District Application No. LRN-2015-01037 Date: March 05, 2019 All comments should be received no later than 30 days from the date of this notice. Please address all comments to: Nashville District Corps of Engineers, Western Regulatory Field Office 2424 Danville Road SW, Suite N, Decatur, AL 35603 Attn: William E. Sinclair

JOINT PUBLIC NOTICE US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS and STATE OF ALABAMA

SUBJECT: Proposed Discharge of Fill Material into Waters of the United States Associated with the Replacement of Four Bridges along 1.25 Miles of County Road 242 (Old Highway 431).

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). Before a permit can be issued, certification must be provided by the State of Alabama, Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), pursuant to Section 401(a)(1) of the CWA, that applicable water quality standards would not be violated.

APPLICANT: Madison County Commission Attn: Mr. Chuck Faulkner 266-C Shields Road Huntsville, Alabama 35811

LEAD FEDERAL AGENCY: The Federal Highway Administration is the lead federal agency for the coordination and conduct of environmental reviews for this proposal under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

LOCATION: The 1.25 mile project area is located in southeast Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama, south of Little Cove Road (Eastern Bypass) and north of Cherry Tree Road. Within the project is a perennial tributary of the Flint River, the Flint River Mile 18.1, 0.92 acre of forested wetlands, and 0.45 acre of emergent wetlands. USGS Quadrangle – Moontown, AL; Latitude 34.65144°N, Longitude 86.44828°W. (HUC 06030002).

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project area consists of an equal mixture of undeveloped agricultural and forested land along the right of way (R.O.W.) for a distance of 1.25 miles. The R.O.W. includes one perennial stream, the Flint River, 0.92 acre of forested wetlands, and 0.45 acre of emergent wetlands. The four existing bridges to be replaced are functionally and structurally deficient. Primary functional deficiencies are bridge widths of 18 feet (9’ travel lanes) and lack of guardrail at bridge approaches. Primary structural deficiencies are weight restrictions (inadequate load-carrying capacities) and bridge barrier railings that do not meet current standards. Because the bridges are only 18-feet wide, they currently operate as one-lane facilities where regulatory signing requires CR-242 northbound traffic to yield to oncoming CR- 242 southbound traffic before crossing each structure.

WORK PROPOSED: The proposed project involves the permanent discharge of fill material into 1.37acres of wetlands, and the construction of three bents within the Flint River. The proposed discharge of fill would facilitate construction of four replacement bridges and approach roadway fills.

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

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION OF IMPACTS TO WATERS OF THE U.S.: The applicant states that the project is a “best-fit” centerline along the existing alignment designed to minimize impacts to wetlands and the environment. Factors listed by the applicant that affected the road design were safety, reduction of project costs, and minimization of floodplain fills.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION PROPOSAL: The applicant proposes to offset the proposed impacts to 1.37 wetland acres through the acquisition of 2.74 wetland credits from a mitigation bank whose service area includes the project location.

NEPA PROJECT PURPOSE AND NEED: The purpose for the project is to replace four functionally and structurally deficient bridges on County Road 242 (Old Highway 431) between Little Cove Road (Eastern Bypass) and Cherry Tree Road. The need for the project is to provide safe transportation for approximately 3,130 vehicles per day which is expected to increase to 4,840 vehicles per day in the 2038 design year. The proposed project is not water dependent.

PUBLIC INTEREST REVIEW/CUMULATIVE EFFECTS: The DA permit decision will be based on an evaluation of the probable impacts including cumulative impacts of the activity on the public interest. The DA permit 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 work, must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors which may be relevant to the work will be considered including the cumulative effects thereof; among those are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, cultural values, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shore 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 evaluation of the impact of the activity on the public interest will include application of the guidelines promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under authority of Section 404(b)(1) of the CWA (40 CFR Part 230).

SOLICITATION OF COMMENTS: 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 Corps to determine whether to issue, 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 the other public interest factors listed above. Comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) 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. An EA will be prepared prior to a final decision concerning issuance or denial of the requested DA Permit.

HISTORIC AND CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) has coordinated this project with the Alabama Historical Commission (AHC) and the applicant provided the Corps with the results of the coordination. The AHC determined three of the four bridges proposed to be replaced are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) based upon their architectural merit and association with the development of Alabama’s highway infrastructure in the early-twentieth century. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in consultation with the AHC determined the removal of these NRHP-eligible bridges will result in an adverse effect. A memorandum of agreement (MOA) was developed and signed by the FHWA, ALDOT, and the AHC which details stipulations agreed to for the mitigation of the adverse effects by the bridge replacement activities. No other NRHP-eligible sites are located within the Corps’ 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 AHC and Native American Tribes.

ENDANGERED/THREATENED SPECIES REVIEW: Based on information provided by the Madison County Commission, and a review of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Information for Planning and Conservation (IPaC) website (http://ecos.fws.gov/ipac/), the following federally- listed species are known to or believed to occur in the project area.

• MAMMALS: Gray bat (Myotis grisescens) (E); Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) (E); Northern Long-Eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis) (T) • CLAMS: Slabside Pearly Mussel (Pleuronaia dolabelloides) (E) • CRUSTACEANS: Alabama Cave Shrimp (Palaemonias alabamae) (E) • FLOWERING PLANTS: Morefield’s Leather Flower (Clematis morefieldii) (E); Price’s Potato-bean (Apios priceana) (T)

On September 4, 2015, ALDOT submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) the results of an aquatic species survey dated July 30, 2015, conducted by AST Environmental. On November 5, 2015, the USFWS concurred by letter with the survey that discovered slabside pearly mussel (Pleuronaia dolabelloides) within the project site. (USFWS Ref: 2015-TA-0802). A Biological Opinion (BO) completed by USFWS on May 12, 2017, determined direct and indirect effects to the slabside pearly mussel will occur as a result of the proposed bridge replacement at the Flint River but that those effects are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the species. The BO includes an incidental take determination and reasonable and prudent measures the applicant must implement that are necessary or appropriate to minimize the take. These measures include: 1) limiting river bottom disturbance to the right-of-way of Old US-431 crossing the Flint River, 2) collecting mussels from the proposed construction limits as well as from potential mussel habitat for a distance of 150-feet downstream from the downstream edge of the construction limits and a distance of 65 feet upstream, and 3) relocating all mussels found in these areas to an area of suitable habitat, upstream from the bridge construction site. No critical habitat has been designated in the Flint River for this mussel species, therefore, none will be affected.

A copy of this notice is being furnished to the USFWS for their review. After receipt of any comments, the USACE will evaluate the potential effects to proposed and/or listed species and their designated critical habitat, and initiate consultation with the USFWS, if required.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Section 401 Water Quality Certification from the State of Alabama is required for the proposed work in accordance with Section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act. Other federal, state, and/or local approvals may be required for the proposed work.

PUBLIC HEARING REQUESTS: Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified, 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.

COMMENT PERIOD: Written statements received in this office within 30 days from the date of this notice will become a part of the record and will be considered in the determination. Any response to this notice should be directed to the Western Regulatory Field Office, Attention: William E. Sinclair at the above address, and/or email at william.e.sinclair@usace.army.mil. It is not necessary to comment separately to ADEM since copies of all comments will be sent to them and become part of their records on the proposal.

If you received this notice by mail and wish to view all of the attachments, visit our web site at:http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/Media/PublicNotices.aspx, or contact Mr. Sinclair at the above address or telephone 256-350-5620, or email william.e.sinclair@usace.army.mil.

Timothy C. Wilder Chief, West Branch Regulatory Division U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

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