NWP-2004-78-5

Joint Public Notice

Application for a Department of the Army Permit and a Washington Department of Ecology Water Quality Certification and/or Coastal Zone Management Consistency Concurrence

Interested parties are hereby notified that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) have received an application to perform work in waters of the United States as described below and shown on the enclosed drawings.  

The Corps will review the work in accordance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act.  Ecology will review the work pursuant to Section 401 of the CWA, with applicable provisions of State water pollution control laws and the Coastal Zone Management Act.   

APPLICANT: Port of Ilwaco

                        P.O. Box 307

                        Ilwaco, WA 98624

                       ATTN: Guy Glenn 

                       Telephone:  (360) 642-3148

AGENT:         BergerABAM

                       210 East 13^th Street, Suite 300

                       Vancouver, WA 98660

                       ATTN: Carissa Barrett

                       Telephone:  (306) 823-6102

LOCATION:  The project is proposed along the Columbia River, the north shoreline of Baker Bay, adjacent to the Port of Ilwaco, Waterfront Way and Outer Harbor Way SE, Ilwaco, WA 98624 (Sections 33 and 34, Township 10 North, Range 11 West) (46.30442, -124.03852).

WORK:  The applicant proposes to conduct maintenance dredging along the north shoreline of Baker Bay, Ilwaco, Washington.  The proposed dredging will remove a maximum of 50,000 cubic yards of sediment annually from the boat basin utilizing a 10-inch diameter hydraulic dredge.  The dredging depth will range from Elevation -8 feet to   -16 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) to provide the necessary draft for the vessels at use the facility.  Dredged material will be piped to the Port’s upland dredge material disposal site.  The Port of Ilwaco is applying for a 10 year permit.

PURPOSE:  To remove accumulated sediments and restore draft depths within the Ilwaco boat basin.

DREDGED MATERIAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (DMMP):

Dredged Material Testing:  The proposed dredged material will be evaluated in accordance with the Sediment Evaluation Framework for the Pacific Northwest (SEF).  The interagency Portland Sediment Evaluation Team (PSET) implements the SEF for the Corps Portland District.  The PSET will determine if sediment testing is required for this project.  Project sediments may require physical, chemical, and/or biological testing to support the permit application evaluation.  The PSET will evaluate the applicant’s sediment testing results and determine if project sediments are suitable for unconfined, aquatic disposal or exposure. 

The proposed project includes future maintenance dredging.  Prior to each maintenance dredging cycle the applicant would be required to coordinate with the Corps and the PSET to determine if additional sediment testing is required.

MITIGATION:  Compensatory mitigation is not being proposed for this project. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:  Additional information may be obtained from Ms. Danielle Erb, Project Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at 503-808-4368 or e-mail Danielle.H.Erb@usace.army.mil.  You may also obtain a copy of this public notice at our website: http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Notices.aspx.

AUTHORITY:  This permit will be issued or denied under the following:

             Section 10, Rivers and Harbors Act 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), for work in or affecting navigable waters of the United States.

             Section 404, Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344), for discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States.

ENDANGERED SPECIES:  The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires federal agencies to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and/or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) pursuant to Section 7 of ESA on all actions that may affect a species listed (or proposed for listing) under the ESA as threatened or endangered or any designated critical habitat. After receipt of comments from this public notice, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will evaluate the potential impacts to proposed and/or listed species and their designated critical habitat.

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT:  The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, as amended by the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996, requires all Federal agencies to consult with the NMFS on all actions, or proposed actions, permitted, funded, or undertaken by the agency, that may adversely affect Essential Fish Habitat (EFH).  The proposed action would impact EFH in the project area.  If the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) determines that the proposed action may adversely affect EFH for federally managed fisheries in Washington waters, the Corps will initiate EFH consultation with the NMFS.  The Corps' final determination relative to project impacts and the need for mitigation measures is subject to review by and coordination with the NMFS.

CULTURAL RESOURCES:  The District Engineer has reviewed the latest published version of the National Register of Historic Places, lists of properties determined eligible and other sources of information.  There are no recorded historic properties within the permit area.  The permit area has been so extensively disturbed by modern development that little likelihood exists for the proposed project to impinge upon an undisturbed historic property.

The District Engineer invites responses to this public notice from Native American Nations or tribal governments; Federal, State, and local agencies; historical and archeological societies; and other parties likely to have knowledge of or concerns with historic properties in the area.  This public notice initiates consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act with any Tribe that has information or concerns with historic properties in the proposed permit area.

The described discharge will be evaluated for compliance with guidelines promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency under authority of Section 404(b)(1) of the CWA.  These guidelines require an alternatives analysis for any proposed discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States.

EVALUATION—ECOLOGY:   Ecology is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, Native American Nations or tribal governments, State, and local agencies and officials; and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of this activity.  Ecology will be considering all comments to determine whether to certify or deny certification for the proposed project.