PUBLIC NOTICE
Application for Permit
Issue Date: December 18, 2024
Expiration Date: January 17, 2025
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers No: NWP-2021-104-1
30-Day Notice
Interested parties are hereby notified the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (Corps) has received an application for a Department of the Army permit for certain work in waters of the United States, as described below and shown on the attached drawings. The Corps is soliciting comments on the proposed work.
Applicant: Hayden Homes
Attention: Justin Ross
2464 Glacier Place, Suite 110
Redmond, OR 97756
Email: Justin.Ross@Hayden-Homes.com
Telephone: (559) 892-7129
Applicant’s Agent: Environmental Science and Assessment LLC
Attention: Jack Dalton
4831 NE Fremont Street, Suite 2B
Portland, OR 97213
Email: Jack@esapdx.com
Telephone: (503) 478-0424
Location: The project site is located at 930 Sommerville Loop, in Harrisburg, Linn County, Oregon. The site is in Section 15, Township 15 South, Range 04 West. Latitude and Longitude: 44.2647 North, 123.1603 West
Waterway: Wetland A, Wetland B, and Roadside Ditch.
Project Purpose: The applicant’s stated purpose is to create affordable single-family residential housing for the market area of Harrisburg, Oregon.
Project Description: The applicant proposes the Castleberry Crossing subdivision project. The applicant would develop 53 single family home lots within a 7.44-acre parcel, extend South 9th Street south from Sommerville Loop through the project area for connectivity, and construct a new local street within the proposed subdivision. To construct the proposed subdivision lots, streets, and utility infrastructure, the applicant would permanently discharge up to up to 10,574 cubic yards of fill material into approximately 2.85 acres of palustrine emergent wetlands. In addition, the proposed development would require the applicant to construct frontage road improvements on Sommerville Loop which would result in the discharge of up to 18 cubic yards of fill material into an approximate 0.04-acre below the ordinary high water mark of Roadside Ditch to pipe the ditch flow. Construction access would occur from Sommerville Loop. The applicant anticipates construction would begin in March 2025 and continue through March 2026.
Mitigation: The applicant has not identified measures to avoid and minimize losses of waters of the United States. The applicant has provided a proposed compensatory wetland mitigation plan to offset losses of waters of the United States that may result from the proposed project. The applicant proposes to purchase 2.85 wetland credits from an approved wetland mitigation bank within the project watershed. USACE will determine the type and amount of compensatory mitigation necessary to offset environmental losses from the proposed project.
Drawings: Six (6) drawings are attached and labeled Corps No. NWP-2021-104-1. 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. 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.
Authority: The proposed project will be evaluated under Section 404, Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344), for discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States.
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 404(b)(1) Guidelines are the substantive criteria used in evaluating discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States. The source of the fill material would be native soils generated from onsite grading activity and clean, imported aggregates from a regional quarry source.
Water Quality Certification: Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1341) requires applicants to obtain a water quality certification for proposed discharges into waters of the United States. A permit for the described work will not be issued until certification has been issued or is waived from the certifying state.
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. USACE's preliminary review indicates the described activity may affect an endangered or threatened species or designated critical habitat. USACE will initiate consultation under Section 7 of the ESA. USACE will complete the required consultation prior to finalizing a permit decision.
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). USACE's preliminary review indicates the described activity would adversely affect EFH at the project location or in the vicinity. USACE will initiate consultation under Section 305(b)(2) of the MSA. USACE will complete the required consultation prior to finalizing a permit decision.
Historic Properties/Cultural Resources: Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (54 U.S.C. 306108), 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. USACE’ preliminary review indicates to the best of our knowledge, the described activity is not located on property registered or eligible for registration in the latest published version of the National Register of Historic Places. At this time USACE is unaware of any cultural resource surveys of the project area.
This notice has been provided to the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, 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 USACE's project manager identified at the end of this notice to assist in a complete evaluation of potential effects.
State and Local Authorizations: The applicant has started the land use request process for the proposed subdivision with the City of Harrisburg. The applicant has applied for the following additional governmental authorizations for the project: Removal-Fill Permit from the Department of State Lands (DSL) (DSL No. 64884).
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: The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact, including cumulative impacts, of the described 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 described activity, 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, consideration of property ownership and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people.
The USACE 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 USACE 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.
Submitting Comments: Interested parties are invited to provide comments on the proposed project. Comments may be submitted by conventional mail or email. All comments received will be considered in determining whether authorizing the work would be contrary to the public interest.
Either conventional mail or e-mail comments must include the USACE reference number as shown on page 1 and include the commenter’s name and address. In order to be accepted, e-mail comments must originate from the author’s e-mail account and must include on the subject line of the e-mail message the USACE reference number. 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.
Additional information about the proposed project may be obtained from the USACE Project Manager listed below. All comments, whether by conventional mail or email, must be received no later than the expiration date of this public notice to ensure consideration. Comments should be submitted to the following mailing address or email address:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Regulatory Branch
Attn: Michael Neal
P.O. Box 2946
Portland, Oregon 97208-2946
Email: michael.t.neal@usace.army.mil
Telephone: (503) 808-4380