PUBLIC NOTICE for Permit Application
Issue Date: November 21, 2012
Expiration Date: December 21, 2012
US Army Corps of Engineers No.: NWP-1999-573/1
30-Day Notice Oregon Department of State Lands No.: 51615-RF
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 or requests for additional information should be forwarded to Heidi Firstencel, Project Manager, by email at heidi.firstencel@usace.army.mil or mailed to the following address:
Heidi Firstencel
Eugene Regulatory Field Office
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
1600 Executive Pkwy., Suite 210
Eugene, OR 97401-2156
Applicant: Bern Case, Airport Director
Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport
1000 Terminal Loop Pkwy. #201
Medford, OR 97504
Location: Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport, Medford, Jackson Co., Ore. Township 37S, Section 1D, Range 2W and Section 7, Range 1W.
Waterway: Wetlands adjacent to tributaries to the Rogue River.
Project Description: The Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport is proposing to discharge fill material into 0.33 acres of jurisdictional wetlands to facilitate the realignment of Taxiway C and to construct a second cargo operations building and associated cargo apron improvements along with site access and parking facilities. The realignment of Taxiway C would be to a location perpendicular with Taxiway A, and would disturb 13.6 acres of land, including Wetland ZC, which consists of 0.29 acres of palustrine emergent wetland. It would be asphalt paved with an expanded gravel shoulder and graded gravel aircraft safety zone. The cargo operations building would be constructed south of the existing building and attached to it, disturbing a total of 1.5 acres of land, including 0.04 acre of PEM Wetland Q.
In addition, the applicant is proposing to grade Wetland R in order to level and lower the base elevation to extend the wet season further into the summer. Wetland R is approximately 0.6 acres in size and located near Wetland Q. Although the applicant stated this would be an enhancement to Wetland R, they are not seeking mitigation credit for the work.
In July 2012, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a Categorical Exclusion for the “Taxiway B and Taxiway C Rehabilitation and Rerouting Improvement Project”, which included the realignment of Taxiway C, but not the cargo operations project.
Mitigation: As compensatory mitigation, the applicant is proposing to establish 0.49 acre of wetlands (“1”, “2”, and “3”) from uplands at two locations. Wetlands 2 and 3 would be created adjacent to the existing Wetland R. The created wetlands would be protected in perpetuity via a deed restriction. 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.
Purpose: The overall purpose would be to improve safety and operations at the airport. The realignment of Taxiway C would establish taxiway safety and object free areas to meet FAA criteria, and would provide a needed loop taxiway system for access to airport facilities and parking. The addition of the cargo building would meet the needs of an increase in cargo and freight traffic.
Cumulative Impacts: In 1999, the Corps issued a permit to the Airport authorizing impacts to 2.24 acres of waters of the United States, including wetlands and the relocation of a portion of Upton Creek to extend Runway 14-32. The permittee provided mitigation by restoring and enhancing 3.36 acres of historic vernal pool complex.
Drawings: Six drawings are attached and labeled Corp No. NWP-1999-573/1, Figures 1 through 6.
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 affect an endangered or threatened species or its critical habitat. The Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport was originally constructed in an area which supported Agate Desert vernal pool wetlands. Three listed species can be found within vernal pool habitats of Jackson County. These include the Vernal pool fairy shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi), Large-flowered woolly meadowfoam (Limnanthes floccosa ssp. Grandiflora), and Cook's lomatium (Lomatium cookii). The applicant submitted information pertaining to Endangered Species surveys within the project area. This information stated that Cook's lomatium was found within the vicinity of the project but not within the actual project footprint. They also stated that plants would be avoided and protected with a buffer during project construction. Consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (87 Stat. 844) will be initiated. A permit for the proposed activity will not be issued until the consultation process is completed.
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. Our preliminary determination is that the project site does not support EFH and that there will therefore be no effect. Any comments the National Marine Fisheries Service may have concerning EFH will be considered in our final assessment of the described work.
Cultural Resources: An initial evaluation of the proposed project area 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 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 above in 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.