Permit Application Public Notices

The United States Congress authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to regulate activities that may impact wetlands and waters of the United States. This authority is granted and defined under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, also known as the Clean Water Act.

Public involvement is a key element of the Corps’ permit review process. During an application review, the Corps considers the views of other federal, state and local agencies, Native American tribes, interest groups, and the general public. The results of this careful public interest review are fair and equitable decisions that allow reasonable use of private property, infrastructure development, and growth of the economy, while offsetting the authorized impacts to the waters of the United States.

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CORRECTED: NWP-2024-303

Portland District
Published Dec. 3, 2024
Expiration date: 1/2/2025

Joint Public Notice 
Application for a Department of the Army Permit and a Washington Department of Ecology Water Quality Certification

 

          US Army Corps of Engineers                                                                                                                      Project Manager WA Department of Ecology
          Regulatory Branch                                                                                                                                       Sea Program
          P.O. Box 2946                                                                                                                                               P.O. Box 47600
          Portland, OR  97208-2946                                                                                                                          Olympia, WA  98504-7600
          Telephone: (503) 808-3785                                                                                                                        Telephone: (360) 407-6076
          ATTN: Benny A. Dean Jr.                                                                                                                              ATTN: SEA Program, Federal Permit Coordinator

Public Notice Date: December 6, 2024
Expiration Date: January 5, 2025
Reference No.: NWP-2024-303

 

Interested parties are hereby notified that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (Corps) and the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) have received an application to perform work in waters of the U.S. as described below and shown on the attached drawings. The Corps and Ecology are soliciting comments on the proposed work.

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.

APPLICANT:    Washington State Fish and Wildlife
                           Attention: Ms. Melissa Erkel
                           600 Capitol Way North 
                           Olympia, WA 98501 
                           Email: Melissa.Erkel@dfw.wa.gov
                           Telephone: (360) 742-2745

AGENT:             Washington State Fish and Wildlife
                           Attention: Christopher Clemons 
                           600 Capitol Way North 
                           Olympia, WA 98501 
                           Email: Christopher.Clemons@dfw.wa.gov
                           Telephone: (564) 669-4605

LOCATION: The project site is in Lewis River and wetlands located along the Lewis River at River Mile 11.2 near Woodland, Clark County, Washington at Latitude/Longitude: 45.936389°, -122.685994°. The site is in Section 9, Township 5 South, Range 1 East

WATERWAY: Lewis River and a palustrine forested wetland.

PROJECT PURPOSE: The applicant’s stated purpose is to create off channel spawning habitat specifically for Chum salmon.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The proposed project is an off-channel spawning habitat creation project designed to attract chum salmon. Up to 9,130 cubic yards of dirt, gravels, and vegetation would be excavated and removed from approximately 205,522 square feet of uplands, 3,882 square feet of three wetlands, and 650 square feet of the Lewis River to construct a 1,400 foot long by 10 foot to 14 foot wide spawning channel. Base flows from the water table in the excavated area would flow through the constructed channel and would be supplemented by a culvert infiltration gallery installed in the Lewis River. Approximately 160 linear feet of 16 inch diameter pipe would be installed in uplands between the constructed channel and the Lewis River to provide the supplemental flows. An infiltration gallery would be discharged into the Lewis River and consist of a culvert, fish screens, and large wood installed around the gallery. Large woody debris, rock weirs, and streambed gravels would be discharged along the created channel to create a spawning area for chum salmon. Specifically: 

Up to 288 cubic yards of large wood and streambed gravels would be permanently discharged into 0.089 acres of palustrine forested wetland to construct off-channel spawning habitat. 

On the upstream end of the project, up to 956 cubic yards of streambank material and sediments would be excavated from 0.004 acres below the ordinary high water mark (OHWM) of the Lewis River to facilitate construction of the infiltration gallery. Up to 42 wood piles would be installed and up to 598 cubic yards of large wood, gravels, riprap, and concrete would be discharged into 0.004 acres below the OHWM of the Lewis River to construct a log wall and install the infiltration gallery. Additionally, up to 0.008 acres below the OHWM of the Lewis River would be temporarily impacted from the discharge of a work area isolation coffer dam on the upstream end of the Lewis River to facilitate construction of the intake gallery. 

  • On the downstream end of the project, up to 150 cubic yards of streambank material would be excavated from 0.004 acres below the OHWM of the Lewis River to facilitate construction of the chum channel.
  • Up to 80 cubic yards of large wood, gravels, and riprap would be discharged below the OHWM into 0.004 acres of the Lewis River to construct the chum channel.
  • Up to 0.07 acres below the OHWM of the Lewis River would be temporarily impacted from the discharge of a work area isolation coffer dam along the end of the chum channel at the connection to the Lewis River to allow return flows downstream.

MITIGATION: The applicant proposes to avoid and minimize impacts from the project by using best management practices for work area isolation, low development techniques, and integrated management practices. Additional mitigation for the impacts includes plantings and large wood placed in the floodplain. The project will have temporary impacts to the Lewis River to install the intake screen and construct the downstream return channel. These impacts would be short term as the site would be restored after construction. The applicant did not propose compensatory mitigation in the permit application. The Corps will determine the type and amount of compensatory mitigation necessary to offset environmental losses from the proposed project.

DRAWINGS: Fifteen (15) drawings are attached and labeled Corps No. NWP-2024-303 Copies of this public notice, which have been mailed or otherwise physically distributed, feature project drawings in black and white. The electronic version features those drawings in color, which we think more accurately illustrates the proposed project. To access the electronic version of this public notice, go to the Portland District Regulatory website at http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory and under Regulatory Pages select Permit Application Public Notices.

CLEAN WATER ACT SECTION 404(b)(1) GUIDELINES: The described discharge will be evaluated for compliance with guidelines promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under authority of Section 404(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act. The Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines are the substantive criteria used in evaluating discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States. The Corps will evaluate the fill material source (i.e., borrow site) prior to finalizing a permit decision.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (16 U.S.C 1536) requires federal agencies to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and/or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on all actions that may affect a species listed (or proposed for listing) under the ESA as threatened or endangered or that may adversely modify designated critical habitat. The Corps’ preliminary review indicates the described activity may affect any endangered species or designated critical habitat. For this project, the Bonneville Power Administration, is the lead Federal agency for ESA consultation and completed consultation with the NMFS and the USFWS as required under Section 7 of the ESA. The NMFS issued a programmatic biological opinion which covers the scope of this project on May 7, 2020. The USFWS issued a programmatic biological opinion which covers the scope of this project on May 15, 2020.

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT: Section 305(b)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) as amended (16 U.S.C 1855), requires 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 Corps’ preliminary review indicates the described activity would adversely affect EFH at the project location or in its vicinity. For this project, the Bonneville Power Administration, as the lead Federal agency for MSA consultation completed a programmatic consultation with the NMFS as required under Section 305(b)(2) of the MSA.

HISTORIC PROPERTIES/CULTURAL RESOURCES: Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470), requires Federal agencies to consult with the appropriate State and/or Tribal Historic Preservation Officer to take into account the effects of actions they undertake or permit on historic properties listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. For this project, the Bonneville Power Administration, is the lead Federal agency for determining compliance with Section 106 of the NHPA, will consult with the appropriate State and/or Tribal Historic Preservation Officer as applicable. An historic properties investigation has been conducted within the permit area. No sites determined eligible for or listed on the National Register of Historic Places were found to exist within the permit area.

This notice has been provided to the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, interested Native American Tribes, and other interested parties. If you have information pertaining to cultural resources within the permit area, please provide this information to the Corps’ project manager identified at the end of this notice to assist in a complete evaluation of potential effects.

PUBLIC HEARING: 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.

EVALUATION – CORPS: 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 Corps is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, state, and local agencies and officials; Native American Tribes; and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of the 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 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.

STATE AND LOCAL AUTHORIZATIONS: Clark County has issued an authorization for this project.

COMMENT AND REVIEW PERIOD: Conventional mail or email comments on this public notice will be accepted and made part of the record and will be considered in determining whether authorizing the work would not be contrary to the public interest. In order to be accepted, email comments must originate from the author’s email account and must include on the subject line of the email message the permit applicant’s name and Corps reference number as shown on page one. Either conventional mail or email comments must include the permit applicant’s name and reference number, and the commenter’s name, address, and phone number. All comments whether conventional mail or email must reach this office, no later than the expiration date of this public notice to ensure consideration.

CORPS COMMENTS: All email comments should be sent to Benny.A.Dean@usace.army.mil. Conventional mail comments should be sent to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch,
Attention: Benny A. Dean Jr., P.O. Box 2946, Portland, OR 97208-2946. Additional information about the proposed project may be obtained from the Corps Project Manager listed above. All comments received will become part of the administrative record and are subject to public release under the Freedom of Information Act including any personally identifiable information such as names, phone numbers, and addresses.