Public Notice
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Public Notice
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Pursuant to Sections 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1977 and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Philadelphia District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposes maintenance dredging of the Federal navigation project at Tuckerton Creek, Ocean County, New Jersey (Figure 1).
The proposed plan calls for approximately 70,900 cubic yards (CY) of primarily fine grained material to be removed from reaches of the channel in the vicinity of Tuckerton Borough and Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. The location of the shoaled areas is shown on the attached map (Figure 2).
The Tuckerton Creek Federal navigation project was adopted by Congress in 1902, and modified in 1905 and 1916. The project provides for a channel from Marshelder Channel in Little Egg Harbor to Mill Dam and Lake Pohatcong at U.S. Route 9 in Tuckerton. Project dimensions vary from 3 feet deep at mean low water (MLW) and 40 feet wide in Tuckerton to 6 feet deep MLW and 80 feet wide at the confluence of Tuckerton Creek and Little Egg Harbor, extending into the Harbor to Marshelder Channel. The project length is approximately 3.75 miles. The existing project was completed in 1925. The last contract dredging of miscellaneous shoals in the channel commenced 15 April 1977 and was completed 5 July 1977. An estimated 5,882 cubic yards of material were removed in 1977.
The project will be hydraulically dredged to its previously authorized depths. The dredged material will be deposited into previously utilized upland confined disposal facilities at Story Island and Tuckerton Cove (Figure 1). These sites are owned and managed by the State of New Jersey as part of the Great Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management Area.
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, a Draft Environmental Assessment has been developed for this project and is being circulated to the appropriate State and Federal Agencies; Local, State, and Federal officials; and private organizations. Impacts to water quality have been evaluated in accordance with the Section 404(b)(1) guidelines of the Clean Water Act.
A wetland delineation of the Tuckerton Cove site revealed the presence of 0.519 acres of tidal wetlands along the interior toe of the dikes. Impacts to these wetlands will occur during dike repair and construction and dredged material disposal activities. These wetlands are not depicted on current tidal and freshwater wetland maps of the area. These wetlands have formed due to the breaching of the dikes in the late 1970’s by the Ocean County Mosquito Commission in an effort to reduce mosquito breeding habitat. Coordination with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is ongoing in an effort to develop a mitigation plan for the 0.519 acres of wetland impacts. The current proposed alternative includes restoration of offsite degraded wetlands through eradication of Phragmites australis. Mitigation will be accomplished within the Tuckerton Creek watershed if appropriate mitigation sites are available. Otherwise, mitigation efforts will be focused to an adjacent watershed.
In accordance with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, Water Quality certification is being requested from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
In accordance with Section 307(c) of the Coastal Zone Management Act, an activity effecting land or water uses in a State’s coastal zone must comply with the State’s Coastal Zone Management Program. A certification of compliance is being requested from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
It has been determined that the project will not affect listed species or their critical habitat pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, as amended. Review of the National Register of Historic Places indicates that no registered properties, or properties listed as eligible for inclusion, would be impacted.
All practicable means to avoid or minimize adverse environmental effects have been incorporated into the selected plan. Maintenance of the project is being coordinated with the following Federal and State agencies: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service; State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection.
The decision whether to accomplish the work proposed in this public notice will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact of the proposed work on the public interest. The decision will reflect the national concern for the protection and utilization of important resources. The benefit which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal must be balanced against its reasonable foreseeable detriments. All factors which may be relevant to the proposal will be considered. Among those are conservation, aesthetics, fish and wildlife, general environmental concerns, economics, historic values, navigation, energy needs, recreation, safety, water quality, food production, and in general, the needs and welfare of the people. The work will not be accomplished unless it is found to be in the public interest.
The public and all agencies are invited to comment on this proposal. Copies of the Draft Environmental Assessment are available upon request by calling (215) 656-6561. The public notice is available for review on the Philadelphia District web page at www.nap.usace.army.mil. Any person may request, in writing, to the District Engineer, within the comment period specified in this notice (4 May through 2 June) that a public hearing be held to consider this proposal. Requests for a public hearing shall state, in detail, the reasons for holding a public hearing.
All comments on the work described in this public notice and/or in the Draft Environmental Assessment should be directed to Mr. Robert Callegari, ATTN: Environmental Resources Branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wanamaker Building, 100 Penn Square East, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107-3390 by 2 June 1998.
SIGNED:
Robert L. Callegari
Chief, Planning Division
