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Permit Modification and Time Expension for Maintenance Dredging and Wheel Washing in the Mississippi River, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
NAME OF APPLICANT: Cargill, Inc. ℅ CK Associates, Attn: Andrew Knight, 17170 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70810.
LOCATION OF WORK: Within an existing slip and docking facility in the Mississippi River near the right descending bank, approximately 103 miles above Head of Passes, in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, as shown on the enclosed drawings.
Latitude: 29.9367, Longitude: -90.1431
Hydrologic Unit Code: 08090100 – Lower Mississippi-New Orleans
CHARACTER OF WORK: The applicant proposes to use a hydraulic cutter suction dredge to remove 68,500 cubic yards of material within a 2.6 acre area for deep draft vessel access to their ship dock. The dredged material will be deposited into the Mississippi River channel below the 70 foot contour line. In addition, wheel washing is proposed to remove 6,500 cubic yards of accumulated sediment on the adjacent barge slip and behind the ship dock (1.9 acres). Dredging operations are expected to last 3 to 4 days annually for the life of the permit. No vegetated wetlands will be impacted as a result of this permit modification/time extension.
JOINT PUBLIC NOTICE
February 18, 2015
United States Army
Corps of Engineers
New Orleans District
Regulatory Branch
Post Office Box 60267
New Orleans, Louisiana 70160-0267
State of Louisiana
Department of Environmental Quality
ATTN: Water Quality Certifications
Post Office Box 4313
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70821-4313
(504) 862-2225
Brad.LaBorde@usace.army.mil
Project Manager
Brad LaBorde
Permit Application Number
MVN 1998-4573 EOO
(225) 219-3225
Project Manager
Elizabeth Johnson
WQC Application Number
WQC 150115-01
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, Water
Quality Certifications, for a Water Quality Certification (WQC) in accordance with statutory authority
contained in LRS30:2047 A(3), and provisions of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (P.L.95-17).
Permit Modification and Time Expension for Maintenance Dredging and Wheel Washing in the
Mississippi River, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
NAME OF APPLICANT: Cargill, Inc. CK Associates, Attn: Andrew Knight, 17170 Perkins Road,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70810.
LOCATION OF WORK: Within an existing slip and docking facility in the Mississippi River near the
right descending bank, approximately 103 miles above Head of Passes, in Jefferson Parish,
Louisiana, as shown on the enclosed drawings.
Latitude: 29.9367, Longitude: -90.1431
Hydrologic Unit Code: 08090100 Lower Mississippi-New Orleans
CHARACTER OF WORK: The applicant proposes to use a hydraulic cutter suction dredge to
remove 68,500 cubic yards of material within a 2.6 acre area for deep draft vessel access to their ship
dock. The dredged material will be deposited into the Mississippi River channel below the 70 foot
contour line. In addition, wheel washing is proposed to remove 6,500 cubic yards of accumulated
sediment on the adjacent barge slip and behind the ship dock (1.9 acres). Dredging operations are
expected to last 3 to 4 days annually for the life of the permit. No vegetated wetlands will be
impacted as a result of this permit modification/time extension.
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
-2request 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.
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. Issuance of
this public notice solicits input from the State Archeologist and State Historic Preservation Officer
regarding potential impacts to cultural resources.
The New Orleans District has determined that the 4.5 acre dredge footprint is located in waters
known to be utilized by the pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) and determined the activity is not
likely to adversely affect this species based on the 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. If this
permit modification/time extension is issued, the applicant has agreed to the following conditions
provided in the SLOPES manual: (1) the cutterhead shall remain completely buried in bottom material
during dredging operations; (2) If pumping water through the cutterhead is necessary to dislodge
material or to clean the pumps or cutterheads, etc, the pumping rate shall be reduced to the lowest
rate possible until the cutterhead is at mid-depth, where the pumping rate can be increased;
-3(3) During dredging, the pumping rates shall be reduced to the slowest speed feasible while the
cutterhead descends to the bottom.
This notice initiates the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation requirements of the MagnusonStevens 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, Water Quality Certifications, 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.
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 interest in the matter.
Michael V. Farabee
Chief, Eastern Evaluation Section
Enclosure