JOINT PUBLIC NOTICE
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
OFFICE OF POLLUTION CONTROL
MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF MARINE RESOURCES
PANDLE, INC.
PROPOSED PARKING LOT
PASCAGOULA, JACKSON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
This District has received an application for a Department of the Army permit pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC 1344). Please communicate this information to interested parties.
APPLICANT: AGENT:
Pandle, Inc. Compton Engineering, Inc.
Attention: Mr. Walter Randle Attention: Mr. Jason Saucier
2401 Petit Bois Street 156 Nixon Street
Pascagoula, Mississippi 39581 Biloxi, Mississippi 39530
LOCATION OF WORK: Wetlands adjacent to Bayou Casotte at the junction of Bayou Casotte Parkway and Bayou Avenue, Section 8, Township 8 South, Range 5 West, Pascagoula, Jackson County, Mississippi (North 30.359134; West -89.511669).
WORK DESCRIPTION: The applicant proposes to discharge fill material into low quality jurisdictional wetlands for the purpose of constructing a parking lot for employees and contractors working at the upcoming facility expansion at the nearby (2 miles) Chevron Pascagoula Refinery. The parking lot will be constructed to accommodate a minimum of 2,000 vehicles, plus a bus drop-off/pick-up area; the lot will be paved with either crushed concrete or limestone. The vacant 80-acre project site is located in an area that is generally developed for industrial use, including an oil refinery and shipyards. To the west, the edge of a residential area is separated from the project site by a wooded buffer. The property to the east is occupied by various industrial facilities adjacent to Bayou Casotte. The property to the north is undeveloped second-growth forest, and the area to the south of the project site is occupied by residences, industry, and vacant land. The project site currently consists of a herbaceous and graminoid-dominated community maintained by mowing and bush-hogging; some invasion by popcorn tree (Sapium sebiferum) has occurred on the eastern portion of the tract. Approximately 6.68 acres of these wetlands are proposed to be permanently filled for the purposes of this project. A WRAP habitat quality assessment indicates that the wetland
quality is low (WRAP score 0.475). No tidal wetlands or open waters will be affected by the project. During construction, appropriate best management practices will be implemented to prevent sediment from leaving the construction site and entering offsite wetlands or other jurisdictional waters. Mitigation for permanent impacts to 6.68 acres of low quality wetlands (based on WRAP score) will be accomplished by the purchase of an appropriate number of credits from a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) approved wetland mitigation bank.
The applicant has applied for certification from the State of Mississippi in accordance with Section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act, and upon completion of the required advertising, a determination relative to certification will be made. Also, the applicant has applied for certification from the State that the proposed activity complies with and will be conducted in a manner that is consistent with the State Coastal Zone Management Program. A determination relative to consistency will be made by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
This public notice is being distributed to all known interested persons in order to assist in developing facts on which a decision by the Corps can be based. For accuracy and completeness of the record, all data in support of or in opposition to the proposed work should be submitted in writing setting forth sufficient detail to furnish a clear understanding of the reasons for support or opposition. 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, cultural values, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, flood plain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food production and in general, the needs and welfare of the people.
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 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. Evaluation of the probable impacts involving deposits of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States will include the application of guidelines established by the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and Appendix C of 33 CFR 325, the proposed activity on this site was considered for the potential to effect cultural and historic properties within the permit area. Although the extent of Federal control and responsibility for these considerations are confined to the limits of the permit area for this particular project, the potential indirect effects that may
occur to historic properties as a result of this undertaking were also considered. The Corps reviewed the project permit area and made a preliminary determination that there will be no effect to cultural or historic properties as a result of this undertaking. We are seeking comment from the State Historic Preservation Officer regarding the existence or the potential for existence of significant cultural and historic properties within the permit area. Historic architectural or archaeological investigations may be necessary to ascertain the existence of such resources. Efforts will be made through the consultation process to avoid, minimize or mitigate any adverse effects to significant cultural and historic properties that may occur as a result of this undertaking. The District Engineer remains the final decision authority.
Preliminary review of this application and the U.S. Department of the Interior List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants indicate that the proposed activity will not affect listed threatened or endangered species.
Correspondence concerning this Public Notice should refer to Public Notice Number SAM-2012-00045-TMZ and should be directed to the District Engineer, U.S. Army Engineer District, Mobile, Post Office Box 2288, Mobile, Alabama 36628‑0001, Attention: Coastal Branch, with a copy to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Pollution Control, Post Office Box 2261, Jackson, Mississippi 39225-2261, and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, 1141 Bayview Avenue, Suite 101, Biloxi, Mississippi 39530, in time to be received within 30 days of the date of this public notice.
If you have any questions concerning this publication, you may contact the project manager via e-mail at tad.m.zebryk@usace.army.mil or phone number (251) 690-2658. Please refer to the above Public Notice number.
For additional information about our Regulatory Program, please visit our web site at www.sam.usace.army.mil/rd/reg and please take a moment to complete our customer satisfaction survey while you are there. Your responses are appreciated and will allow us to improve our services.
Encls MOBILE DISTRICT
U.S. Army Corps of Engineer