PUBLIC NOTICE for Permit Application
Issue Date: May 22, 2012
Expiration Date: June 20, 2012
US Army Corps of Engineers No: NWP-2012-145
30-Day Notice Oregon Department of State Lands No: NA
Interested parties are hereby notified that an application has been received for a Department of the Army permit for certain work in waters of the United States, as described below and shown on the attached plan.
Comments: Comments on the described work should reference the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers number shown above and reach this office no later than the above expiration date of this Public Notice to become part of the record and be considered in the decision. Comments should be mailed to the following address:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Dominic Yballe
P.O. Box 2946
Portland, OR 97208-2946
Applicant: Oregon Dept. of Transportation – Region 2, 455 Airport Rd. SE, Building B, Salem, OR 97301
Location: The project is located on Interstate – 5 at the Kuebler Road Interchange. The site is in Sections 12 and 13 in Township 8 South, Range 3 West.
Waterway: The project will affect West Fork Pringle Creek, an unnamed tributary, and adjacent wetlands.
Project Description: The project involves the discharge of approximately 19,643 cubic yards of fill, impacting 0.645 acre in four wetlands and 0.121 acre in West Fork Pringle Creek and an unnamed tributary. The interchange will be redesigned to improve freight mobility as well as residential traffic.
The southbound off-ramp will be shifted to the west for a longer queuing length that will accommodate greater traffic volume. A new southbound loop on-ramp will be built between the southbound off-ramp and the interstate highway to receive westbound to southbound traffic.
The existing southbound on ramp will be modified to support only eastbound to southbound traffic.
West Fork Pringle Creek will be relocated away from the highway fill. The stream will be placed in a new channel with more natural meanders and stream gradient. An approximate 100-foot riparian buffer will be protected 50 feet on each side of the new stream centerline. Appropriate native vegetation will be planted as needed.
Mitigation: The applicant has provided a proposed compensatory wetland mitigation plan consisting of stream reconstruction with riparian buffer as well as purchase of 0.418 acre of mitigation credits from the Mud Slough Mitigation Bank. If a permit is issued, the Corps will determine what is appropriate and practicable compensatory mitigation. The amount of compensatory mitigation required shall be commensurate with the anticipated impacts of the project. Copies of the mitigation plan will be provided upon request.
Purpose: Improve highway interchange to accommodate current and future residential and commercial mobility needs.
Drawings: 16 drawings are attached and labeled Corp No. NWP-21012-145.
Additional Information: Additional information may be obtained from Dominic Yballe, Project Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: 503-808-4392 or e-mail: dominic.p.yballe@usace.army.mil.
Authority: This permit will be issued or denied under the following:
Section 404, Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344), for discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States.
Water Quality Certification: A permit for the described work will not be issued until certification, as required under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (P.L. 95‑217), has been received or is waived from the certifying state. Attached is the state's notice advertising the request for certification.
Section 404(b)(1) Evaluation: The impact of the activity on the public interest will be evaluated in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency guidelines pursuant to Section 404(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act.
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.
Endangered Species: Preliminary determinations indicate that the described activity may adversely affect listed threatened or endangered species. Formal Consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (87 Stat. 844) is required. A permit for the proposed activity will not be issued until the consultation process is completed. The project may be consistent with the SLOPES IV programmatic biological opinion issued by NMFS on August 13, 2008.
Cultural Resources: An initial evaluation of the proposed project area indicates that 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 the Corps is unaware of any cultural resource surveys of the project area.
This notice has been provided to the State Historic Preservation Office, interested Native American Indian 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 on page 1 of this notice) to assist in a complete evaluation of potential effects.
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 described activity 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 Corps 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 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.
Additional Requirements: State law requires that leases, easements, or permits be obtained for certain works or activity in the described waters. These state requirements must be met where applicable, and a Department of the Army permit must be obtained before any work within the applicable Statutory Authority previously indicated may be accomplished. Other local governmental agencies may also have ordinances or requirements, which must be satisfied before the work is accomplished.