M.A. Norden Company Site, AL; Request for Amendment to June 15, 1984, Clean Water Act section 404(c) Final Determination

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-4884-5]

M.A. Norden Company Site, AL; Request for Amendment to June 15,

1984, Clean Water Act section 404(c) Final Determination

AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of request for amendment of Section 404(c) final

determination and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that M.A. Norden Company has petitioned

the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for reconsideration of the

total site prohibition identified in EPA's June 15, 1984, Final

Determination concerning the Norden site in Mobile, Alabama pursuant to

section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act (CWA). M.A. Norden has requested

this amendment as a prerequisite to seeking CWA authorization to

discharge dredged or fill material into wetlands to construct a road

across the restricted section 404(c) area in order to provide access to

an adjacent parcel of upland property.

EPA is requesting comments on M.A. Norden's proposal for

reconsideration of the Final Determination's total site prohibition. In

particular, EPA is interested in determining whether discharges

associated with the proposed road construction will result in

unacceptable adverse effects under section 404(c).

DATES: Written comments concerning this request for amendment must be

submitted to EPA on or before June 13, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the request and supporting documentation are

available for public inspection upon request at the following location:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and

Watersheds Wetlands Division, 499 South Capitol Street SW., Fairchild

Building, room 723, Washington, DC 20009.

Comments must be submitted in writing to: Joseph P. DaVia, Acting

Chief, Elevated Cases Section, Mail Code (4502F), U.S. EPA, 401 M

Street SW., Washington, DC 20460. Written comments may also be sent by

facsimile to Mr. DaVia at (202) 260-7546.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Specific details are available from

Paul Minkin (EPA) at (202) 260-1901.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act

authorizes EPA to restrict or prohibit the use of an area as a disposal

site for dredged or fill material if the discharge will have

unacceptable adverse effects on municipal water supplies, shellfish

beds and fishery areas (including spawning and breeding areas),

wildlife, or recreational areas. Prior to making such a determination,

the Administrator of EPA consults with the Chief of Engineers and the

applicant/landowner. In the case of the Norden Company site, such

consultations did not resolve EPA's concerns over the originally

planned use of the site and on June 15, 1984, EPA issued a Final

Determination prohibiting the discharge of dredged or fill materials

into the site.

The Final Determination described the then proposed project, the

ecological values associated with the site, project alternatives, and

the efforts made to reach a mutually agreeable resolution. Based on the

record it had compiled, EPA determined that ``the discharge of the fill

materials into the site proposed by the M.A. Norden Company (`the

Norden site') would have an unacceptable adverse effect on shellfish

beds and fishery areas and wildlife areas'' and prohibited the use of

the area for specification as a disposal site. This prohibition

prevented the future disposal of any dredged or fill material at the

entire 25 acre site.

On October 5, 1992, M.A. Norden Company (Norden Company) formally

applied to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for

reconsideration of the June 15, 1984 Final Determination for the Norden

Company site in Mobile, Alabama pursuant to section 404(c) of the Clean

Water Act to accommodate a scaled down proposal. Additional information

supporting this request was received by EPA on August 5, 1993. EPA made

visits to the Norden Company site in February 1992 and September 1993.

As more fully described below, Norden Company has proposed to discharge

9,300 cubic yards of dredged or fill material into approximately 1.5

acres of wetlands on the section 404(c) restricted site in order to

construct a roadway to provide access to an adjacent upland site. This

new proposal would reduce the direct impacts of the original proposal

from 25 acres of wetlands filled to approximately 1.5 acres filled.

The June 15, 1984 Norden Final Determination restricts the use of

the entire 25 acre Norden Company site for any discharges of dredged or

fill material. Therefore, implementing this new proposal would require

that EPA amend the 1984 Final Determination. If EPA, upon consideration

of the original administrative record, the new proposal, supporting

documentation, and any public comments, determines that such amendment

is appropriate, a section 404 permit issued by the Corps of Engineers

would still be necessary before discharges associated with the access

road could proceed. Norden Company would have to follow the standard

permitting process for that approval. That process provides an

additional opportunity for public notice and comment.

Proposed Activities

Norden Company has submitted a detailed description of the proposed

project. The project description below is based on these Norden Company

submissions and may be further revised in the section 404 permit

application review process. The proposal is to extend an existing

abandoned railway spur across the site as a vehicular roadway for use

by heavy truck (container) traffic from the Port of Mobile facilities

to a storage area on the upland. The existing railway spur is 30 feet

wide and 900 feet long. It would be widened and extended, at a slight

angle, approximately 600 feet across the wetlands and drainage canal to

reach an upland area. Approximately 9,300 cubic yards of sand material

on geotechtile fabric will be placed in the wetlands for roadbed fill.

The typical road section will be 36 feet wide at the top and 60 feet

wide at the base with 3:1 side slopes. Silt screens will be erected and

the side slopes will be seeded and mulched to prevent erosion and

sedimentation of the adjacent waters and wetlands. Four concrete

culverts (three 24 inch diameter culverts and one 36 inch diameter

culvert) will be placed through the fill, underneath the roadway to

allow for exchange of water between the divided portions of the

wetland. A box culvert will be placed in the existing drainage canal to

allow for unobstructed flow. Mitigation for project impacts is proposed

in the form of providing culverting where none previously existed

through the railway spur to allow for better water circulation. Norden

Company anticipates that the work would be completed in six months.

EPA is soliciting comments on the current proposal by the Norden

Company. Specifically, comments should address whether this proposal

would have lesser impacts on the aquatic environment than the project

which was originally proposed. In addition, EPA is interested in

determining whether there are less environmentally damaging practicable

alternatives to the proposed discharge which would have less adverse

impact on the aquatic ecosystem while fulfilling the basic project

purpose.

Dated: May 5, 1994.

Robert H. Wayland,

Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds.

[FR Doc. 94-11697 Filed 5-12-94; 8:45 am]

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