CESAM-RD-M January 9, 2018 PUBLIC NOTICE NO. SAM SAM MJF

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1 DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY U.S. ARMY ENGINEER DISTRICT, MOBILE DISTRICT P.O. BOX 2288 MOBILE, ALABAMA CESAM-RD-M January 9, 2018 PUBLIC NOTICE NO. SAM SAM MJF JOINT PUBLIC NOTICE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OFFICE OF POLLUTION CONTROL MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF MARINE RESOURCES DMR PROPOSED IMPACTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DREDGING AND GRADING OF BRICKYARD BAYOU, HARRISON 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. Please communicate this information to interested parties. APPLICANT: City of Gulfport, Engineering Department 4050 Hewes Avenue Gulfport, Mississippi AGENT: Brown, Mitchell and Alexander, Inc. Attention: Mr. Jason Saucier 401 Cowan Road, Suite A Gulfport, Mississippi LOCATION: Wetlands associated with Brickyard Bayou from Highway 49 west to 34 th Avenue, Section 34, Township 7 South, Range 11 West, City of Gulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi. (Latitude North, Longitude West). WORK: The applicant proposes to perform culvert replacement, bank reshaping, and maintenance dredging along a stretch of Brickyard Bayou from Highway 49 westward to 34 th Avenue. The project area encompasses approximately 3,981 linear feet with a maximum bank width of 30 feet and an average existing depth of The proposed work would deepen the Bayou to approximately The channel would be dredged to establish a constant bottom slope, widened to varying widths (12, 22, and 30 ) with 3:1 slopes and stabilized with vegetation. A permanent maintenance road would be installed to allow for access to the Bayou. This road would be approximately 10 feet wide and would be a gravel-based, pervious surface road. The applicant completed Phase I improvements from the mouth of Brickyard Bayou upstream to 8 th Avenue in

2 CESAM-RD-C January 9, 2018 Public Notice No. SAM MJF Page 2 of (SAM ) and intends to implement an approach of working upstream to solve flooding issues within the watershed. A Regional General Permit was issued for clearing, snagging and debris removal for the section of Brickyard Bayou between 8 th Avenue and Highway 49 (DMR May 2015) and a Nationwide Permit was issued for the placement of three culverted road crossings located between 8 th Avenue and Highway 49 (SAM MJF/November 7, 2017). All work upstream of 34 th Avenue would be done at a later date to be determined based on availability of additional funding. EXISTING CONDITIONS: Brickyard Bayou is a natural drainage system in Gulfport, Mississippi that flows west to east from approximately the western corporate limits of Gulfport to its discharge at Bernard Bayou. The portion of the bayou west of Highway 49 is comprised of open ditch and culverted sections running through highly developed commercial and residential areas. The Bayou begins as a drainage ditch in the southwest area of Gulfport near the intersection of Rhorer Avenue and 14 th Street where it receives discharge from a subsurface stormwater culvert located west of Rhorer Avenue. PROJECT PURPOSE: As stated by the applicant, The purpose of this project is to improve drainage in Brickyard Bayou between 8 th Avenue and 34 th Avenue to reduce/minimize flooding within this segment and upstream of this project. Brickyard Bayou has been channelized and straightened, but as identified in the 2015 Brown, Mitchell, and Alexander, Inc., (BMA) drainage study, it has not been properly maintained over time, and sediment and debris have built up in the channel. Some of the banks have sloughed and sediment build-up has reduced flow conditions causing flooding along the Bayou. The BMA study also indicated that some of the culverts are undersized and peak flow through these culverts is restricted. Additional review will be performed by the USACE and cooperating agencies. AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant has limited the amount of permanent fill in jurisdictional wetlands and other waters by situating proposed permanent access roads in uplands where possible and limiting the width of the fill associated with the roads to the minimum footprint necessary for road construction, based upon existing grades and elevations. The selected contractor would be required to adhere to Best Management Practices (BMPs) to control erosion during construction. The erosion control measures would be described in a comprehensive Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) and the selected contractor would be required to adhere to the SWPPP BMPs terms and conditions of the construction storm water permit. During construction the contractors would be required to install and maintain erosion control material and erosion control blankets. Once construction is completed, seeding activities, with a seed mix of native herbaceous wetland species, and sodding if necessary, would be used to provide permanent stabilization of the channel banks. ALTERNATIVES: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers initial review of alternatives submitted by the applicant consists of the No-Action alternative, five alternatives with varying degrees of channel improvements, a voluntary buyout program, and the

3 CESAM-RD-C January 9, 2018 Public Notice No. SAM MJF Page 3 of 5 proposed alternative. Additional review of alternatives will be performed by the USACE and cooperating agencies. MITIGATION: As stated by the applicant the proposed action would result in the permanent loss of 0.03 acres of low quality palustrine wetlands that would be filled to establish a permanent maintenance road and to install riprap armoring in a small area of the channel. Approximately 0.02 acres of low quality palustrine wetlands would be temporarily filled for construction of a temporary construction access road. In addition to the wetlands impacted by filling, approximately 2.38 acres of palustrine wetlands located within the existing channel banks and along the top of the channel bank would be temporarily impacted due to the reshaping and widening of the channel banks. Approximately 1.58 acres of non-vegetated water bottoms would be temporarily impacted during the reshaping and widening work. The applicant has determined compensatory mitigation should not be required for these temporary impacts. Additional review of mitigation requirements will be performed by the USACE and cooperating agencies. Final compensatory mitigation will be evaluated by the USACE and cooperating resource agencies throughout the review process for the proposed project. 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. The applicant has applied for coastal zone consistency from the State of Mississippi Department of Marine Resources in accordance with Section of the Mississippi Code Annotated. The MDMR issued a Certificate of Waiver by letter dated September 12, (DMR ). This public notice is being distributed to all known interested persons in order to assist in developing facts on which a decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) 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 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 the cumulative effects thereof; among those are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, cultural values, fish and wildlife values, protected species, 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.

4 CESAM-RD-C January 9, 2018 Public Notice No. SAM MJF Page 4 of 5 The USACE 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 for consideration of 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 undertaking defined in this notice is being considered for the potential to affect cultural and historic properties within the permit area. In accordance with Appendix C of 33 CFR Part 325, the Corps has determined that the permit area is the entire footprint of the Brickyard Bayou, open water, banks and adjacent top of bank area for proposed maintenance road. We are seeking comment from the State Historic Preservation Officer, federallyrecognized American Indian tribes, local historical societies, museums, universities, the National Park Service, and the general public regarding the existence or the potential for existence of significant cultural and historic properties which may be affected by the work. A Phase I Cultural Resources Survey was conducted in January, The survey resulted in the recording of one linear resource, 22Hr1240 (Brickyard Bayou itself). This resource was recommended as not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) due to disturbance, a lack of significant research potential, no significant events, persons, or distinctive characteristics can be attributed to it, and nothing discovered suggests this resource is remarkable or uncommon. Based on review of the project area and survey, The Corps has determined that the proposed project would have no potential to cause affects on cultural resources in the permit area. The MDAH responded to the Agent by letter dated July 11, 2017 stating We have reviewed the June 15, 2017 cultural resources survey report by Mr. Paul D. Jackson, Principal Investigator, with TerraXplorations, Inc., received on June 26, 2017 for the above referenced undertaking, pursuant to our responsibilities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Ace and 36 CFR Par 800. After review, we concur that no known cultural resources listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places are likely to be affected. As such, we have no objections to the proposed undertaking. (MDAH Project Log # ). Preliminary review of this application and the U.S. Department of the Interior List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants indicated the following species may be present in Harrison County: the gopher tortoise (T)(Gopherus polypemus), the Dusky gopher

5 CESAM-RD-C January 9, 2018 Public Notice No. SAM MJF Page 5 of 5 frog (Rana sevosa), the Louisiana quillwort(e) (Isoetes louisianensis), the Alabama red-belly turtle (E) (Pseudemys alabamensis), the Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta), the Piping plover (Charadrius melodus), the Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa), the Wood Stork (Mycteria Americana), the Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi), and the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus). No listed critical habitat is located on or near the project site. Preliminary review of this application and the U.S. Department of the Interior List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants for the county and the Agent s Endangered and Threatened Species evaluation, suggest that the proposed activity will have no effect on listed endangered or threatened species. Suitable habitat for threatened and endangered species is not found on the proposed project site. Correspondence concerning this Public Notice should refer to Public Notice Number SAM MJF and should be directed to the USACE Mobile District, Regulatory Division, Attention: Ms. Maryellen Farmer, 1141 Bayview Avenue, Suite 501, Biloxi, Mississippi 39530, Attention: USACE Biloxi Field Office, with a copy to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Pollution Control, Attention: Ms. Florance Bass, P.E., Post Office Box 2261, Jackson, Mississippi All Comments should be received no later than 30 days from the date of this Public Notice. If you have any questions concerning this publication, you may contact the project manager at (228) or at maryellen.j.farmer@usace.army.mil. Please refer to the above Public Notice number. For additional information about our Regulatory Program, please visit our web site at: Enclosures MOBILE DISTRICT U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

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