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 project manager,
Rodney Kelley,
telephone number:
(501) 340-1380, mailing address: Little Rock District Corps of Engineers,
Regulatory Division, PO Box 867, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203-0867, email address:
Rodney.Kelley@usace.army.mil
Project
Information. Pursuant to
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S. Code 1344),
notice is hereby given that
Mr. Chad Cox
Echo Matrix, LLC
PO Box 1860
Bentonville, Arkansas 72712
has
requested authorization for
the placement of dredged and fill material in
waters of the United States associated with the construction of a public
use terminal building, taxiway, and parking lot for the Bentonville Municipal
Airport.
The building would include a restaurant,
with an adjacent dock. The proposed
project is located in an unnamed ephemeral stream, which flows into
Lake Bentonville, and in two associated wetlands in a portion of section 6, T. 19 N., R. 30 W.,
Bentonville, Benton County,
Arkansas.
The
basic purpose of the project is to provide a public use terminal for airport
operations. The overall purpose of the
project is to provide a 40,000-square-foot parking area and a 60,000-square-foot
area that includes the facility and taxiway for Bentonville Municipal Airport. The project
is not water dependent.
The
proposed project area is approximately 2.23 acres, which would be cleared and
leveled. Impacts to waters of the U.S.
include fill in approximately 253 linear feet of ephemeral stream and in two
associated wetlands totaling approximately 0.64 acres.
The
project area is at the northern end of Bentonville Municipal Airport, south of
Lake Bentonville. The site consists of a
maintained herbaceous field community including some upland fringe forest and a
maintained herbaceous wetland community with sparse tree cover.
The
applicant has provided an alternatives analysis, which includes the no-build
alternative, and is stated as follows: Undeveloped
property in the area is restricted from building construction due to Federal
Aviation Administration regulations regarding the proximity of buildings to
airport runways. Other available
property farther away is considered inappropriate for the project. As it is directly associated with the
airport, the proposed project needs to be in close proximity to the
airport. The location of the wetlands, which
are generally in the central portion of the available parcel, made minimization
of impacts by reconfiguration of the building and parking lot placement unfeasible.
The
applicant proposes to compensate for unavoidable impacts to the wetlands by the
purchase of credits from an approved mitigation bank.
The
location and general plan for the proposed work are shown on the enclosed Sheets
1 through 4 of 4.
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 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 Regulations (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 20, 2016. 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: 36.351 Longitude: -94.221
UTM Zone: 15 North: 4023572.6 East: 390441.4