NAO-2007-02569

The applicants propose to modify an existing permit to discharge fill material in 5.91 acres of palustrine forested wetlands and 802 linear feet of ditch (0.07 acre) for the purpose of constructing commercial facilities in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Comment period ends Oct. 9, 2015.

The district commander has received a joint application for federal and state permits as described below: APPLICANT Mr. Ted McGowan, Reynolds Real Estate Ventures and Mr. Bob Horsley, Edens and Avant 900 Bank of America Plaza 1901 Main Street Columbia, South Carolina 29201 WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The work is planned on a partially developed site containing approximately 48.29 acres located on the south line of United States Route 60 and both the east and west lines of Charter Colony Parkway in Chesterfield County, Virginia. The site drains to Little Tomahawk Creek, a tributary to Swift Creek Reservoir within the James River basin. PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE: The applicants propose to modify an existing permit to discharge fill material in 5.91 acres of palustrine forested wetlands and 802 linear feet of ditch (0.07 acre) for the purpose of constructing commercial facilities. The site is partially developed and has been cleared, grubbed and graded. Fill has been discharged in 4.90 acres of palustrine forested wetlands and 802 linear feet of ditch (0.07 acre). This modification is to discharge fill material in an additional 0.18 acre of palustrine forested wetlands and 0.02 acre of preserved forested uplands for the purpose of constructing a commercial facility and associated infrastructure. Also, Chesterfield County has identified the need for a sidewalk in order to provide safe pedestrian access to the shopping center from the nearby schools and neighborhoods and proposes to construct a sidewalk along the east line of Le Gordon Drive in 0.14 acre of preserved uplands. Impacts to wetlands and the preservation area have been avoided and minimized to the greatest extent practicable. To ensure that the individual and cumulative adverse effects of the modified project result in minimal environmental consequence, appropriate compensatory mitigation is proposed at a 2:1 ratio for all additional impacts to wetlands (0.36 credit) and uplands (0.32 credit) by mitigation bank credit purchase from either the Appomattox Mitigation Bank, located in Amelia County, Virginia, or the Coverly Mitigation Bank, located in Amelia County, Virginia. Wetland impacts will total 6.09 acres, and the preserved area will be decreased by 0.16 acre. In addition to the required Department of the Army permit, the applicant must obtain a Virginia Water Protection Permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) assuring that applicable laws and regulations pertaining to water quality are not violated. Project drawings are attached. AUTHORITY: Permits are required pursuant to Sections 401 and 404 of the Clean Water Act (Public Law 95-217) and Title 62.1 of the Code of Virginia. FEDERAL EVALUATION OF APPLICATION: The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest. The decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits which reasonably may be expected from the proposal must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All of the proposal's relevant factors will be considered, including conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, cultural values, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, flood plain values, land use classification, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, consideration of property ownership and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people. The Environmental Protection Agency's "Guidelines for Specification of Disposal Sites for Dredged or Fill Material" will also be applied (Section 404(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act). 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 direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of this proposed activity. Any comments received will be considered by the US Army Corps of Engineers 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 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. Anyone may request a public hearing to consider this permit application by writing to the district commander within 30 days of the date of this notice, stating specific reasons for holding the public hearing. The district commander will then decide if a hearing should be held. Preliminary review indicates that: (l) no environmental impact statement will be required; (2) after conducting the NAO ESA Project Review Process, no listed/proposed/candidate species and/or designated/proposed critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544, 87 Stat. 884), as amended) will be affected. Based on this no-effect determination, no further coordination with the US Fish and Wildlife Service is required; and (3) no known properties eligible for inclusion or included in the National Register of Historic Places are in or near the permit area, or would likely be affected by the proposal. Additional information might change any of these findings. For compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended for projects located in Tidewater, the applicant must certify that federally licensed or permitted activities affecting Virginia's coastal uses or resources will be conducted in a manner consistent with the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program (VCP) and obtain concurrence from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Office of Environmental Impact Review (OEIR). We have not received a certification from the applicant prior to publication of this public notice. It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit a consistency certification to the Office of Environmental Impact Review for concurrence or objection and proof of concurrence must be submitted to the Corps prior to final permit issuance. A template federal consistency certification can be found here:http://www.deq.state.va.us/Programs/EnvironmentalImpactReview/FederalConsistencyReviews.aspx#cert. For more information or to obtain a list of the enforceable policies of the VCP, contact the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental Impact Review at (804) 698-4330 or e-mail: ellie.irons@deq.virginia.gov or john.fisher@deq.virginia.gov. COMMENT PERIOD: Comments on this project should be made in writing, addressed to the Norfolk District, US Army Corps of Engineers, Richmond Field Office, 9100 Arboretum Parkway, Suite 235, Richmond, Virginia 23236, and should be received by the close of business on Oct. 9, 2015. PRIVACY & CONFIDENTIALITY: Comments and information, including the identity of the submitter, submitted in response to this Public Notice may be disclosed, reproduced, and distributed at the discretion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Information that is submitted in connection with this Public Notice cannot be maintained as confidential by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Submissions should not include any information that the submitter seeks to preserve as confidential. If you have any questions about this project or the permit process, contact Elaine Holley, (804) 323-3781; elaine.k.holley@usace.army.mil.