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 the regulator, Johnny McLean, 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: Johnny.L.McLean@usace.army.mil
Project Information. Pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S. Code 1344), notice is hereby given that the
Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT)
PO Box 2261
Little Rock, AR 72203
has requested authorization for work, including the placement of dredged and fill material, in waters of the United States associated with modifying the U.S. Highway 67 interchange that intersects with Highways 5, 321 and 367 in Cabot. This interchange is commonly called the Highway 5 interchange. The proposed project is located in section 27, T. 4 N., R. 10 W., Lonoke County, Arkansas.
This project is part of ARDOT Job No. 061371 which will upgrade the Highways 5/321/367 and Highway 89 interchanges in Cabot. The Highway 89 interchange is still being evaluated and that project has been scheduled for a later date. Also, ARDOT Job No. 061642 will eventually widen approximately 3.1 miles of Highway 67 through Cabot to six 12-foot-wide travel lanes with 12-foot-wide shoulders on the inside and 10-foot-wide shoulders on the outside. The current Highways 5/321/367 interchange consists of a partial clover leaf where the ramps meet the non-controlled highways. This results in all traffic meeting at a single intersection and requires a traffic signal in the middle of the overpass bridge over the freeway. The purpose of this project is to improve capacity on Highway 67 (future Interstate 57) by converting the interchange at Highways 5/321/367 to a single point urban interchange. The upgraded interchange will allow for better traffic flow and improved safety by adding slip ramps, thereby reducing the overall number and proximity of traffic signals within and immediately adjacent to the interchanges, and reducing the number of conflict points.
The majority of the project will be constructed within existing ARDOT right-of-way. Approximately 3.0 acres of additional right-of-way will be required for the interchange improvements. Public involvement meetings for the project were held on April 18, 2019 and August 29, 2019. ARDOT’s Environmental Division and the Federal Highway Administration completed their evaluation on May 12, 2020. The project will permanently impact approximately 509 linear feet of relatively permanent intermittent streams and approximately 3.6 acres of forested wetlands. The project will temporarily impact approximately 221.8 linear feet of relatively permanent intermittent streams and approximately 3.5 acres of forested wetlands. The wetlands and streams flow into Two Prairie Bayou and eventually into Bayou Meto. ARDOT proposes to mitigate for these wetland and stream impacts at their Ink Bayou Mitigation Bank near North Little Rock and their Bayou Meto Mitigation Bank near Jacksonville. The City of Cabot participates in the National Flood Insurance Program. This project lies within Zone A and AE Special Flood Hazard Areas. ARDOT has determined that adjacent properties should not be impacted nor have a greater flood risk than existed before construction of the project, and none of the encroachments will constitute a substantial floodplain encroachment or risk to property or life. Through consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ARDOT determined that the project would have no effect on the Federally protected Eastern Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis ssp. jamaicensis), Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) and Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa).
There are no impacts to prime farmland, public water supplies, environmental justice/Title VI populations, known hazardous materials or underground storage tanks, or cultural resources. There is one residential relocation anticipated as a result of the proposed project; Public Law 91-646, Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1970, as amended, will apply. This project has been determined to generate minimal air quality impacts for Clean Air Act criteria pollutants and has not been linked with any special mobile source air toxic (MSAT) concerns. As such, this project will not result in changes in traffic volumes, vehicle mix, basic project location, or any other factor that would cause a meaningful increase in MSAT impacts. The general plan for the project and mitigation are shown on the enclosed sheets 1 through 4 of 4.
Water Quality Certification. The Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 Certification Rule (Certification Rule, 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121), effective September 11, 2020, requires certification for any license or permit that authorizes an activity that may result in a discharge. The scope of a CWA Section 401 certification is limited to assuring that a discharge from a Federally licensed or permitted activity will comply with water quality requirements. The applicant is responsible for requesting certification and providing required information to the certifying agency. As of the date of this public notice, the applicant has not submitted a certification request to the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment, Division of Environmental Quality (certifying authority). In accordance with Certification Rule Part 121.6, once the applicant submits a certification request the Corps will determine the reasonable period of time for the certifying agency to act upon the certification and provide written notification. In accordance with Certification Rule Part 121.12, the Corps will notify the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator when it has received the subject certification. The Administrator is responsible for determining if the discharge may affect water quality in a neighboring jurisdiction. The DA permit may not be issued pending the conclusion of the Administrator’s determination of effects on neighboring jurisdictions.
Cultural Resources. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sent initial coordination letters to all Tribes on November 17, 2017. A Phase I cultural resources survey was conducted within the additional right-of-way areas and found no cultural resources. The survey was provided to the Osage Nation, Choctaw Nation and the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO). On May 28, 2019, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program Director concurred with ARDOT/FHWA’s determination that no historic properties would be affected in accordance with 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) subsection 800.4(d)(1).
Endangered Species. The official species list obtained through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC) website lists the Eastern Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis ssp. jamaicensis), Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) and Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa) as Federally protected species potentially occurring in the project area. Based on the lack of habitat and distance to known species occurrences, ARDOT determined that the proposed project will have no effect on all listed species.
Floodplain. The project lies within Zone A and AE Special Flood Hazard Areas. 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 December 1, 2025. 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: 34.948852° Longitude: -92.064235°
UTM Zone: 15S North: 3867770 East: 585444