Public Notice: Application for Permit - NWW-2025-00041 - Martin, Darby Meadow Ranch, Darby Creek

The purpose of this public notice is to solicit comments from the public regarding the work described below and as shown on the attached permit drawings, titled “Darby Meadows Ranch- Drawings.”

APPLICANT:    John Martin
                          PO Box 10846
                          Jackson, WY 83002

AGENT:           Katie Salsbury
                         Intermountain Aquatics
                         PO Box 1115
                         Driggs, ID 83422
 

WATERWAY AND LOCATION:  The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Darby Creek and adjacent wetlands. The project/review area is located on the south side of W. 3000 S.,1.23 miles west of the intersection of W. 3000 S. and Highway 33, in Section 10, Township 4 North, Range 45 East; at Latitude 43.678720 and Longitude -111.133921; in Victor, Teton County, Idaho.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project/review area is located across two parcels with a total area of 79.95 acres. The area contains 0.65 acre of Darby Creek, 77.3 acres of emergent, scrub-shrub, or forested wetlands, and five irrigation ditches with a total area of 0.27 acre. There is a ford crossing of the creek and a primitive driveway that lead toward the center of the review area.

PROJECT PURPOSE: The purpose of the project is to install a driveway and house for a single-family residential development.

PROPOSED WORK:  The applicant requests authorization to discharge 2,223 cubic yards of fill material into 0.85 acre of emergent wetlands, and to discharge 247 cubic yards of fill material into 0.01 acre of area below the Ordinary High Water Mark of Darby Creek, to construct a driveway and a homesite. The applicant proposes to mitigate for these impacts by enhancing 1.2 acres of emergent wetlands on site. This would entail strategic excavation of material from existing wetlands to create shallow water emergent wetland components and increase habitat complexity. An excavator and haul trucks would be used to perform the project work.

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment: The proposed driveway would utilize an existing access route in order to avoid disturbing other areas. The proposed box culvert crossing of Darby Creek would reduce disturbance of the streambed by replacing the existing ford crossing. The proposed homesite is on the lowest quality wetlands within that parcel.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant submitted the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: 1.2 acres of low-quality wetlands would be enhanced to provide highly functional aquatic habitat for waterbirds, wildlife, and aquifer recharge.

CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps is evaluating the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This public notice serves to inform the public of the proposed undertaking and invites comments including those from local, State, and Federal government Agencies with respect to historic resources. Our final determination relative to historic resource impacts may be subject to additional coordination with the State Historic Preservation Officer, federally recognized tribes and other interested parties. The District Engineer’s final eligibility and effect determination will be based upon coordination with the SHPO and/or THPO, as appropriate and required, and with full consideration given to the proposed undertaking’s potential direct and indirect effects on historic properties within the Corps-identified permit area.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has performed an initial review of the application and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC) to determine if any threatened, endangered, proposed, or candidate species, as well as the proposed and final designated critical habitat, may occur in the vicinity of the proposed project. Based on this initial review, the Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project will not affect any listed species or critical habitat.

Table 1: ESA-listed species and/or critical habitat potentially present in the action area. 

Pursuant to Section 7 ESA, any required consultation with the USFWS will be conducted in accordance with 50 CFR part 402. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the lead Federal agency for ESA consultation for the proposed action. Any required consultation will be completed by USACE.

This notice serves as request to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for any additional information on whether any listed or proposed to be listed endangered or threatened species or critical habitat may be present in the area which would be affected by the proposed activity.

NAVIGATION: The proposed structure or activity is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation channel.

SECTION 408: The applicant will not require permission under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 USC 408) because the activity, in whole or in part,   would not alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) will evaluate whether to certify that the discharge of fill material proposed for this project will not violate existing water quality standards. A Department of the Army 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. Comments or questions concerning Water Quality Certification for this project should be mailed to:

Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
Idaho Falls Regional Office
900 N Skyline Dr, Suite B
Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402
or sent to Alex Bell at alex.bell@deq.idaho.gov

NOTE:  This public notice is being issued based on information furnished by the applicant. This information has not been verified or evaluated to ensure compliance with laws and regulation governing the regulatory program. The geographic extent of aquatic resources within the proposed project area that either are, or are presumed to be, within the Corps jurisdiction has been verified by Corps personnel.

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. That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits, 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 cumulative impacts thereof; among these are conservation, economics, esthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historical 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. Evaluation of the impact of the activity on the public interest will also include application of the guidelines promulgated by the Administrator, EPA, under authority of Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act or the criteria established under authority of Section 102(a) of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972.  A permit will be granted unless its issuance is found to be contrary to the public interest.

COMMENTS: 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 determination, comments are used to assess impacts to 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 (EA) and/or an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.

The Walla Walla District will receive written comments on the proposed work, as outlined above, until July 9, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Cabel Patterson at cabel.c.patterson@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to:
 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Idaho Falls Regulatory Office
900 N Skyline Dr, Suite A 
Idaho Falls, ID 83402

Please refer to the permit application number in your comments.

Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider the application. Requests for public hearings shall state, with particularity, the reasons for holding a public hearing. Requests for a public hearing will be granted, unless the District Engineer determines that the issues raised are insubstantial or there is otherwise no valid interest to be served by a hearing.