You can copy from here when filling out the rest of the page.
DREDGE SAND FROM THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND STOCKPILE IT IN EXISTING PITS IN SAINT CHARLES PARISH
NAME OF APPLICANT: Homeplace Batture Leasing, LLC, Post Office Box 849, Luling, Louisiana 70070.
LOCATION OF WORK: In Sections 22, Township 13 South, Range 20 East, near Luling, Louisiana, in Saint Charles Parish, as shown on the attached drawings.
HUC: 08090100: Lower Mississippi River – New Orleans
Latitude: 29.973611 Longitude: -90.399444
CHARACTER OF WORK: Dredge approximately 100,000 cubic yards annually for 10 years in the Mississippi River, near Luling, Louisiana. No impacts to jurisdictional wetlands are anticipated, as such, no compensatory mitigation has been proposed.
This project, MVN 1998-01740 EMM, was previously issued as an annual sand dredging operation.
JOINT PUBLIC NOTICE
September 8, 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) 862-2259
Project Manager
Scott N. Kennedy
scott.n.kennedy@usace.army.mil
Permit Application Number
MVN 1998-01740 EMM
(225) 219-3225
Project Manager
Elizabeth Hill
WQC Application Number
WQC 150831-01
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 LRS 30:2074 A(3) and provisions of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.
DREDGE SAND FROM THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND
STOCKPILE IT IN EXISTING PITS IN SAINT CHARLES PARISH
NAME OF APPLICANT: Homeplace Batture Leasing, LLC, Post Office Box 849, Luling, Louisiana
70070.
LOCATION OF WORK: In Sections 22, Township 13 South, Range 20 East, near Luling, Louisiana, in
Saint Charles Parish, as shown on the attached drawings.
HUC: 08090100: Lower Mississippi River New Orleans
Latitude: 29.973611 Longitude: -90.399444
CHARACTER OF WORK: Dredge approximately 100,000 cubic yards annually for 10 years in the
Mississippi River, near Luling, Louisiana. No impacts to jurisdictional wetlands are anticipated, as such,
no compensatory mitigation has been proposed.
This project, MVN 1998-01740 EMM, was previously issued as an annual sand dredging operation.
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 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
-2the 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 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 the public
notice solicits input from the State Archeologist and State Historic Preservation Office regarding potential
impacts to cultural resources.
The New Orleans District has determined that the 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) During dredging, the pumping rates shall be reduced to the slowest
speed feasible while the cutterhead descends to the bottom.
-3Our initial finding is that the proposed work would neither affect any species listed as endangered
by the U.S. Departments of Commerce, nor affect any habitat designated as critical to the survival and
recovery of any endangered species.
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 up to 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 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 Farabee
Chief, Eastern Evaluation Section
Enclosures