Interested parties are hereby notified that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Walla Walla District, has received an application for a Department of the Army (DA) permit for certain work in Waters of the United States, including wetlands, as described below:
APPLICANT: Mr. David Turnbull, SCS Brighton LLC, 12601 West Explorer Drive, Suite 200, Boise, ID 83713-1880, Phone: (208) 378-4000
AGENT: Mr. Michael Wardle, Brighton Corporation, 12601 West Explorer Drive, Suite 200, Boise, ID 83713-1880, Phone: (208) 287-0512
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS PROJECT MANAGER: Mr. William Schrader, Boise Regulatory Field Office, 720 East Park Boulevard, Suite 245, Boise, ID 83712-77
PURPOSE:
To discharge fill material into the Kennedy Lateral to accommodate an additional phase of the Ten Mile Crossing Development.
WATERWAY:
Kennedy Lateral
LOCATION:
The proposed project is located to the northeast of the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Interstate 84, within Section 14, Township 3 North, Range 1 West, near latitude 43.595º N and longitude -116.432º W, 2 miles west of Meridian in Ada County, Idaho.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS:
From Meridian, drive west 2 miles on Franklin Road to Ten Mile Road, then south one-half mile to Interstate 84. The project site is northeast of the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Interstate 84.
AUTHORITY:
This permit will be issued or denied under the authority of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344). A DA permit is required for the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands.
WORK:
The project would discharge 1,250 cubic yards of fill material into 0.304 acres within the Kennedy Lateral and abutting wetlands, both/all of which is considered a water of the United States (U.S). Project activities include rerouting, piping, and filling 875 linear feet of the Kennedy Lateral.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
An individual permit for the Ten Mile Crossing Development project was originally issued on May 21, 2012, to relocate 2,355 linear feet of the Purdam Drain, 300 linear feet of the Taylor Drain, and to reroute, pipe, and fill 2,890 linear feet of the Kennedy Lateral. Under the original permit, the Purdam and Taylor Drains were relocated to the margin of the property along Interstate 84 and their existing channels were filled as previously reviewed and authorized. On March 2, 2015, a permit extension was granted to continue work through May 21, 2017. Under this extension, the piping of 480 linear feet of the Kennedy Lateral was completed; however, the remaining work on the Kennedy Lateral was not completed during this extension and the applicant allowed the permit to expire. The applicant has requested USACE to re-issue a permit to allow an additional 875 feet of the Kennedy Lateral to be rerouted, piped, and filled. The applicant originally intended to reroute, pipe, and fill 2,890 linear of the Kennedy Lateral jointly with Treasure Valley Investments; however, the portion of the Kennedy Lateral within the parcel owned by Treasure Valley Investments is no longer part of the Ten Mile Crossing Development. Therefore, the applicant has proposed rerouting, piping, and filling only an additional 875 linear feet of the Kennedy Lateral. Piping will continue east from the end of the previous work and relocated portions of the Kennedy Lateral will be reconnected to the end of the previous work and the remaining open structure. The development must conform to the requirements of the City of Meridian’s “Ten Mile Specific Area Plan,” adopted by the City in 2007 through a public planning process.
CONSTRUCTION PERIOD:
The applicant proposes to start construction in February 2018 and conclude construction by the end of March 2018. The permit would authorize construction for a period of three (3) years.
PROPOSED MITIGATION:
The applicant proposes the following mitigation measures to avoid, minimize, and compensate for impacts to Waters of the United States from activities involving discharges of dredged or fill material as required by 33 CFR 325.1(d)(7) and 33 CFR 332.4(b). The applicant has partially mitigated for previous work in the Purdam and Taylor Drains by reconstructing their relocated channel with some sinuosity. The applicant also plans to plant the north side of this relocated channel with native vegetation along the bank and manicured vegetation along the side slopes. The applicant did not provide a mitigation plan for work in the Kennedy Lateral because it is regularly cleared of vegetation by the Nampa-Meridian Irrigation District during their routine maintenance to maintain irrigation flows.
OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS AND DA PERMITS ISSUED TO APPLICANT:
On May 21, 2012, USACE issued an individual permit to Mr. David Turnbull for the Ten Mile Crossing Development project (DA No.: NWW-2012-00070). Impacts to waters of the U.S. authorized by this individual permit included all impacts noted above under “ADDITIONAL INFORMATION” as well as the rerouting, piping, and filling of an additional 1,535 linear feet of the Kennedy Lateral on a parcel owned by Treasure Valley Investments. On March 2, 2015, USACE issued a modification to Condition 1 of the original permit to extend the time limit for completing work to May 21, 2017.
WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION:
This notice will also serve as a Public Notice that the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) is evaluating whether to certify that the discharge of dredge and/or fill material proposed for this project will not violate existing water quality standards. A DA permit will not be issued until water quality certification has been issued or waived by the IDEQ, as required by Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. If water quality certification is not issued, waived or denied within sixty (60) days of this public notice date, and an extension of this period is not requested by and granted to the IDEQ, certification will be considered waived. Additionally, within thirty (30) days of this Public Notice, any person may provide written comments to IDEQ as a request in writing that IDEQ provides them notice of their preliminary 401 Certification decision. Comments concerning Water Quality Certification for this project should be mailed to:
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
1445 North Orchard Street
Boise, Idaho 83706
AQUATIC RESOURCE DESCRIPTION:
Purdam Drain, Taylor Drain, and the Kennedy Lateral were constructed in the early 1900s to drain high groundwater conditions which resulted from the Boise Irrigation Projects. The waterways are managed by Nampa-Meridian Irrigation District. The bottoms of Purdam and Taylor Drains contain wetlands classified as palustrine emergent seasonally flooded and are vegetated with reed canary grass, cattail, climbing nightshade, poison hemlock, and pale yellow iris. The drains and lateral provide little habitat because the irrigation district currently maintains them by routinely removing vegetation.
ANTICIPATED IMPACTS ON AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT:
Acreage of waters of the United States to be filled for this proposed action at Ten Mile Crossing include:
OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS:
The Kennedy Lateral is maintained by the Nampa-Meridian Irrigation District, and the applicant is responsible for obtaining their authorization for the proposed project.
CULTURAL RESOURCES:
Coordination is currently being conducted with the office of the Idaho State Historic Preservation Officer to determine if this activity will affect a site that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, or a site that may be eligible for listing on the Register. We are also coordinating with the appropriate Tribal entity or the Tribal Historic Preservation Offices for the Shoshone-Bannock, Shoshone-Paiute, and Northern Paiute Tribes to determine if there are any tribal historic or cultural interests within the project area.
TRIBAL TREATY RIGHTS AND INTERESTS:
Federal agencies acknowledge the federal trust responsibility arising from treaties, statutes, executive orders and the historical relations between the United States and American Indian Tribes. The federal government has a unique trust relationship with federally recognized American Indian Tribes, including the Shoshone-Bannock, Shoshone-Paiute, and Northern Paiute. The Corps has a responsibility and obligation to consider and consult on potential effects to Tribal rights, uses, and interests. The Corps further recognizes there may be a need for additional and on-going consultation.
ENDANGERED SPECIES:
The project is within the known or historic range of Slickspot Peppergrass (Lepidium papilliferum), which was listed as “Threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) with a final rule on August 17, 2016 (81 FR 55057 55084). The most recent rule for L. papilliferum’s critical habitat was proposed on May 10, 2011 (76 FR 27184 27215) and has yet to be finalized. Under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (87 Stat. 844), we must determine if the proposed action has “no effect” or “may effect” listed species. Highly disturbed surface soils (e.g., agricultural, residential, or transportation development) will have destroyed any “slickspots” that may have been present, which are essential for the growth of L. papilliferum. Additionally, the proposed action is located over 8 miles from the nearest proposed critical habitat for L. papilliferum. Preliminarily, we have determined that the proposed action will have “No Effect” on L. papilliferum or its proposed critical habitat, as neither are known to be present within the project’s area of effect.
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 National Marine Fisheries Service on all actions or proposed actions, permitted, funded or undertaken by the agency that may adversely affect Essential Fish Habitat (EFH). The proposed action is not located in a Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) with EFH and is over 60 miles from the nearest HUC with EFH. Preliminarily, we have determined the proposed action would have “No Effect” on EFH.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT:
A preliminary review indicates the proposed activities will not require preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement. Comments provided will be considered in preparation of an Environmental Assessment.
EVALUATION:
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. This 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, consideration of property ownership and in general, the needs and welfare of the people. In addition, our evaluation will include the application of the EPA Guidelines (40 CFR 230) as required by Section 404(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act.
CONSIDERATION OF PUBLIC COMMENTS:
The Corps of Engineers is soliciting comments from the general public; Federal, State and local agencies and officials, Tribal entities 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 in the proposed activity.
PUBLIC HEARING:
Any person may request in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing is held to consider this proposed activity. Requests for a public hearing shall state specific reasons for holding a public hearing. A request may be denied if substantive reasons for holding a hearing are not provided or if there is otherwise no valid interest to be served.
COMMENT & REVIEW PERIOD:
Interested parties are invited to provide comments on the proposed activity, which will become a part of the record and will be considered in the final decision.
Please mail all comments to:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District
ATTN: Mr. William Schrader
Boise Regulatory Office
720 Park Boulevard, Suite 245
Boise, Idaho 83712-7757
(208) 433-4471
william.c.schrader@usace.army.mil
Comments should be received no later than the comment due date of February 19, 2018, as indicated on this notice, to receive consideration.
Kelly J. Urbanek
Chief, Regulatory Division
Walla Walla District
If interested parties wish to view plans, drawings, and/or maps associated with the proposed project and Public Notice, please email the Project Manager with your request.