TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Comments are invited on the work described below. Please see the Public Involvement section for details on submitting comments.
Point of Contact. If additional information is desired, please contact regulators, Jim Ellis or Chris Joyner, telephone number: (501) 324-5295, mailing address: Little Rock District Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Division, PO Box 867, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203-0867, email address: Jim.D.Ellis@usace.army.mil or Christopher.J.Joyner@usace.army.mil
Project Information. Pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S. Code 403) and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S. Code 1344), notice is hereby given that
Mr. John R. Anderson
Energy Security Partners, LLC
116 Ottenheimer Plaza
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
has requested authorization for the placement of dredged and fill material in waters of the United States (WOUS) associated with the construction and operation of a gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility consisting of an industrial facility involving multiple structures and process areas. The project site will include process areas, office buildings, storage facilities, parking lots, storage tanks, roads, laydown areas, a dock area, a 16-inch-diameter product pipe, wastewater outfall consisting of a 16-inch-diameter wastewater pipe, and a water intake structure consisting of a 24-inch-diameter cooling pipe. Leveling and grading will be required, resulting in the fill of multiple wetland and stream features. A reservoir will be created by construction of a dam along a portion of the eastern boundary of the main site. This reservoir will result in the inundation of some wetland and stream features. The dock area will include a stationary dock for equipment unloading and a floating dock on the west side of the Arkansas River for the loading of fuel products. The proposed project is located in multiple wetlands and streams directly or indirectly associated with the Arkansas River at Navigation Mile 82.7 on the right descending bank (see Attachments 1 and 2 for lists of aquatic resources (wetlands and streams) located within the project area). The navigation pool elevation at this location is approximately 196 feet above mean sea level and the ordinary high water mark (OHWM) elevation is approximately 200 feet above mean sea level. The project site encompasses parts of sections 7, 8, 9, and 10, Township 4 South, Range 10 West; and parts of sections 12, 13, 14, and 24, Township 4 South, Range 11 West, in Jefferson County, Arkansas.
The purpose of the project is to provide a large-scale industrial project that will produce liquid fuels (diesel and naptha) from natural gas to service local and global markets. The project is water dependent.
The main site for the GTL project is located on approximately 1,139 contiguous acres situated immediately west and north of the Pine Bluff Arsenal in Jefferson County, Arkansas. The project will include dock facilities and a laydown area that will require approximately 35 acres on the Arkansas River (approximately 3.75 miles east of the main site). An approximately 4.0-mile-long by approximately 50-foot-wide dock access road will require a 132-foot-wide ROW and will be constructed between the main site and the dock areas. The entire project will include approximately 1,306 acres. The two dock facilities include a materials offloading facility and a separate fuel barge loading facility. The two dock facilities are expected to require construction-related dredging activity, periodic maintenance dredging to operate the docks, mooring piles, and periodic maintenance dredging for safe transit of project-related barges or other vessels. The project will be constructed in four phases. Phase 1 construction is scheduled to begin in 2020. Phases 2-4 are tentatively set to follow the completion and full operation of Phase I and are scheduled to encompass a 3-year construction window after the start of their construction.
The dock area will consist of an approximately 130-foot-long by 26-foot-wide floating fuel loading facility and be anchored by approximately 120-foot-long by 5-foot-wide monopoles. There will also be a materials offloading facility that will measure approximately 467-foot-long by 80-foot-wide. The offloading facility will include an approximately 260-foot-long by 72-foot-wide work barge and will require the dredging of approximately 6,000 cubic yards of material.
The total project impacts from all phases of the proposed project will be the filling of approximately 75,396 linear feet of streams with approximately 13,378 cubic yards of fill material and approximately 18.66 acres of forested wetlands with approximately 29,491 cubic yards of fill material. Construction of an approximately 100-acre water reservoir for the operational needs of the facility will inundate approximately 13,848 linear feet of streams and 0.38 acres of wetlands. The remaining aquatic resources located on the property that will not be impacted would be maintained by protecting the wetland hydrology that currently exists. Typical best management practices such as silt fencing and other construction methods would be used to mitigate impacts to water quality and other resources.
The applicant has investigated alternative project sites located in various locations in the southern United States. The applicant stated that outside several counties investigated within the state of Arkansas, the applicant could not locate other sites that satisfy the principle site selection criteria such as property consisting of approximately 800 acres or more, access to a navigable waterway, major roadways, railways, adequate water supply, abundant natural gas supply, liquid product pipelines, and the ability to interconnect with a regional electric power system.
The applicant has avoided potential impacts to the environment and natural resources from the project through careful selection of the proposed project site. The applicant has further avoided potential impacts through the proposed project layout and design.
Compensatory mitigation requirements for impacts to the wetlands would be assessed utilizing the 2002 Charleston Method with Little Rock District Addendum and the 2011 Little Rock Stream Method for impacts to streams. The applicant proposes to mitigate for unavoidable impacts by purchasing credits from approved mitigation banks that service the area and by off-site permittee responsible mitigation.
The location and general plan for the proposed work are shown on the enclosed sheets (Sheets 1-15 of 15).
Water Quality Certification. By copy of this public notice, the applicant is requesting water quality certification from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) in accordance with Section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act. Upon completion of the comment period and a public hearing, if held, a determination relative to water quality certification will be made. Evidence of this water quality certification or waiver of the right to certify must be submitted prior to the issuance of a Corps of Engineers permit.
Cultural Resources. A Corps staff archeologist will review topographic maps, the National Register of Historic Places, and other data on reported sites in the area. 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.
Endangered Species. Our preliminary determination is that the proposed activity will not affect listed Endangered Species or their critical habitat. A copy of this notice is being furnished to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and appropriate state agencies and constitutes a request to those agencies for information on whether any listed or proposed‑to‑be‑listed endangered or threatened species may be present in the area which would be affected by the proposed activity.
Floodplain. We are providing copies of this notice to appropriate floodplain officials in accordance with 44 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 60 (Floodplain Management Regulations Criteria for Land Management and Use) and Executive Order 11988 on Floodplain Management.
Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines. The evaluation of activities to be authorized under this permit, which involves the discharge of dredged or fill material will include application of guidelines promulgated by the Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency, under authority of Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act. These guidelines are contained in 40 Code of Federal CFR 230.
Public Involvement. Any interested party is invited to submit to the above-listed POC written comments or objections relative to the proposed work on or before May 21, 2019. Substantive comments, both favorable and unfavorable, will be accepted and made a part of the record and will receive full consideration in determining whether this work would be in the public interest. The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact 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 of Engineers 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 of Engineers 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.
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. The District Engineer will determine if the issues raised are substantial and whether a hearing is needed for making a decision.
NOTE: The mailing list for this Public Notice is arranged by state and county(s) where the project is located, and includes any addressees who have asked to receive copies of all public notices. Please discard notices that are not of interest to you. If you have no need for any of these notices, please advise us so that your name can be removed from the mailing list.
Enclosures
Approximate Coordinates of Project Center
Latitude: 34.3660 Longitude: -92.1485
UTM Zone: 15 North: 3803098 East: 578227