TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received an application for a Department of the Army permit pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §1344) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403) as described below:
APPLICANT:
Derek Gabriel, Commissioner
U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Public Works
8244 Sub Base, Charlotte Amalie
St. Thomas, VI 00802
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect aquatic resources associated with Charlotte Amalie Harbor. The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Public Works
(DPW) is proposing to continue improvements to Veterans Drive (Route 30) from west of Kronprindsens Taver Gade to west of Hospital Gade, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. This is Phase II of the Veterans Drive Project. Phase I has been constructed.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 18.339678°
Longitude -64.933965°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Improve traffic, safety, and pedestrian access conditions at Veterans Drive (Route 30), along the waterfront of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
PROPOSED WORK:
DPW seeks authorization to complete the Veterans Drive upgrades. The Corps issued a permit for the project (Phase I and Phase II) on July 27, 2017. The proposed project has not changed. DPW was not able to complete both phases of the project prior to expiration of the permit work window. Therefore, they are requesting the work be permitted for an additional 10 years in order to complete Phase II. Phase I of Veterans Drive has been completed from Long Bay Road/W.G. Lewis Lane/Lovers Lane (Route 314) to west of Hospital Gade. Due to supply chain issues during the COVID pandemic as well as other factors, the DPW was not able to complete the work in 2023.
Phase II includes the widening and revitalization of Veterans Drive to provide a tree-lined four-lane divided road with a waterfront pedestrian promenade that simultaneously addresses Charlotte Amalie’s congestion problems and creates a pedestrian friendly
environment. The Phase II work will cover a total area of 0.92 miles. Due to the limited upland area available to construct the project, the proposed improvement will be accomplished by placing a new seawall resulting in the placement of an approximately 50-foot wide, on average, section of fill into the harbor. The majority of the project will be constructed from the harbor. Phase II requires 22,008 cubic yards of dredging from Charlotte Amalie Harbor to allow for placement of wall sections and 54,577cy of fill in a 6.57-acre area of the harbor. Dredging will be done from a barge using a clamshell dredge. Dredge spoils will be dewatered on the barge and then transferred to trucks on shore for disposal in an existing landfill. The area that will be dredged will be subsequently filled.
The seaward side of the roadway expansion will be a quay block wall with granular
backfill of different sizes to allow a gradation and stabilize the fill. Dewatering of the
area behind the wall in order to complete the fill placement for the roadway expansion
will be done in a controlled manner through turbidity barriers using pumps. The
dewatering rate will be controlled to ensure there are no turbidity plumes outside the
work area, which will also be verified through the implementation of a water quality
monitoring plan. The proposed wall design for stabilizing the seaward side of the road
expansion is not expected to require impact hammer pile driving. However, the
contractor will have the option to use pile driving for specific construction activity such
as deep utility installations and dewatering. Temporary sheet piles may be driven to
allow for dewatering of the area where the seawall will be cast in place and backfilled in
400-ft segments. Any pile installation that does occur as part of the project would be
done using a vibratory hammer as long as the underlying substrate allows for this type
of pile driving.
The design of the roadway expansion around the Legislature Building and the U.S.
Coast Guard (USCG) facilities also requires modifications to the USCG dock. The dock will be modified such that the eastern section will be replaced with the new proposed roadway and the western section will be connected to the new promenade. In addition, eight mooring buoys in the harbor will be relocated.
EXISTING CONDITIONS:
Veterans Drive is the major east-west arterial in St. Thomas and plays an important role in connecting the eastern and western sections of the island, as an evacuation route and for emergency response vehicles. The roadway is the main access into Charlotte
Amalie from the southern coastline of St. Thomas and is the primary route between the cruise ship port and the main shopping district.
Veterans Drive is currently a four-lane undivided roadway from the western end of the
project at Windward Passage to Tolbod Gade (west of the VI Legislature). The existing
lane-widths west of the legislature are substandard on this major roadway connecting
the eastern and western end of the island of St. Thomas. The facility currently lies
adjacent to an aging and deteriorating bulkhead used as a pedestrian pathway and
landing facility for ferries and private boats.
The roadway has several deficiencies including inadequate current and future capacity; unsafe vehicular driving conditions; and a lack of a continuous pedestrian connection in an area heavily used by residents and tourists. It is also one of the most highly traveled roadways in the territory. The area offshore of the bulkhead, Charlotte Amalie Harbor, has been an active marine port since historic times. The marine environment has been highly impacted by human use. The western half of the project area has been heavily scoured by the use of the bulkhead by ferries, tenders, and motor vessels. There is limited benthic colonization within the western portion of the project area. Around the Virgin Islands Legislature Building and to the eastern end of the project area, there are areas with coral colonized hard substrate and seagrass beds.
AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION INFORMATION:
The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment:
Temporary buoys will be installed along the seaward limits of the in-water work footprint in order to ensure the contractor does not work outside these limits and to warn the boating public of the construction. The buoys will be installed along the outside of the work barge corridor. The buoys will be placed by divers and anchored using screw anchors in order to minimize any impacts to the marine bottom. The buoys and anchors will be removed by divers once the project is complete.
Turbidity barriers will be placed around all in-water work prior to commencement of any dredging or placement of fill.
A water quality monitoring plan will be implemented throughout all in-water construction to ensure that turbidity and suspended sediment concentrations outside turbidity barriers remain within natural background levels.
Prior to the initiation of any work authorized by this permit, the DPW shall install erosion and sediment control measures along the perimeter of all work areas to prevent the displacement of fill material outside the work area into the sea. These measures shall include silt fences and fiber rolls along the landward edges of construction and stabilized construction entrances and inlet sediment controls to protect stormwater drainages that discharge into the harbor. Immediately after completion of the final grading of the land surface, all slopes, land surfaces, and filled areas shall be stabilized to prevent erosion. The erosion and sediment control measures shall remain in place and be maintained until all authorized work is completed and the work areas are stabilized.
DPW has developed and will implement an acoustic impact minimization plan.
Improvements to drainage structures along the waterfront will be made in Phase II to help improve water quality of runoff into the bay.
Informational signage will be placed along the waterfront promenade to educate residents and tourists on the importance of marine resources.
DPW will implement an Impact Minimization Plan, which includes transplantation of corals which have recolonized, grown to transplantable size or are no longer diseased from the area since the original surveys and transplants were conducted.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION:
Together, Phase I and Phase II of the project results in permanent impact of 4.45 acres of muddy sea bottom, 1.15 acres of seagrass beds, and 2.97 acres of coral colonized hard bottom in the Charlotte Amalie Harbor. Furthermore, an additional 0.32 acres of seagrass, 0.69 acres of mud bottom, and 0.27 acres of colonized hard bottom could be temporarily impacted during project construction by barge spudding, anchoring of turbidity barriers, and sediment resuspension within the area between the new wall and the turbidity barriers. Prior to the construction of Phase I, DPW carried out the requirements of the Minimization and Compensatory Mitigation Plan for Impacts to ESA Listed Species, Essential Fish Habitat and Critical Habitat (Mitigation Plan) that compensates for aquatic impacts from Phase I and Phase II.
The Mitigation Plan required transplantation of seagrass, corals, and uncolonized rock boulders within the project footprint and area of impact to two sites located around Hassel Island prior to beginning any of the authorized project construction activities. Also, two acres of vessel strike damage were repaired at Triangle Reef. In addition, a cleanup of 1,500 square feet of debris from an area of 0.3-acre of seagrass bed was completed to allow for recolonization as compensation for unavoidable impacts. The compensatory mitigation was completed and is in its 5th and final year of monitoring. Upon completion, mooring and navigation aid (informational) buoys shall be installed to protect the coral and seagrass transplant areas, and the reef restoration site, as well as the seagrasses and corals existing therein.
HISTORIC RESOURCES:
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. Although Section 106 consultation was previously completed for Phases I and II, the Corps is requesting any additional information that would assist in evaluating the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This information will be shared with the applicant and the FHWA, who is funding the project and is the lead federal agency for compliance with Section 106. FHWA will determine whether additional consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer is necessary.
ENDANGERED SPECIES:
The proposal would impact marine waters utilized by multiple species listed as threatened and endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). FHWA is funding the project and is the lead federal agency responsible for compliance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. The FHWA, or their designee, will consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in accordance with Section 7. Any comments received regarding ESA-listed species or critical habitat will be shared with DPW and FHWA. A Biological Opinion was previously issued by NMFS for the project but additional species and protected habitat has been listed since the original permitting and a Biological Assessment has been prepared to address these more recently listed species.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH):
The proposal would impact marine waters utilized by various life stages of Caribbean Reef Shark, Longbill Spearfish, Swordfish, White Marlin, Queen Conch, Spiny Lobster (2 species), Reef Fish (43 species), and Corals. FHWA is funding the project and is the lead federal agency responsible for compliance with the Essential Fish Habitat Provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Any comments received regarding EFH will be shared with DPW and FHWA.
WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION:
An updated Water Quality Certification may be required from the Department of Planning and Natural Resources Division of Environmental Protection.
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY:
In the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Department of Planning and Natural Resources permit from the Division of Coastal Zone Management constitutes compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Plan.
Navigation:
The proposed project 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 (33 USC 408) because the activity, in whole or in part, would not alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.
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 jurisdictional line has been verified by Corps personnel.
IMPACT ON NATURAL RESOURCES:
Coordination with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Marine Fisheries Services, and other Federal, State, and local agencies, environmental groups, and concerned citizens generally yields pertinent environmental information that is instrumental in determining the impact the proposed action will have on the natural resources of the area.
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, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historic 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 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.
The decision whether to issue or deny this permit application will be based on the information received from this public notice and the evaluation of the probable impact to the associated waters. This is based on an analysis of the applicant's avoidance and minimization efforts for the project, as well as the compensatory mitigation proposed.
The Corps is soliciting comments from the public, Federal, State, and local agencies and officials, 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 also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.
REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARING:
Any person may request a public hearing. The request must be submitted in writing to the District Engineer within the designated comment period of the notice and must state the specific reasons for requesting the public hearing. Requests may be emailed (preferred) to karen.m.urelius@usace.army.mil or sent by letter to the address on the letterhead. Please submit any requests for a public hearing within 30 days from the date of this notice.
COMMENTS:
Comments regarding the potential authorization of the work proposed should be submitted in writing to the District Engineer. Comments may be emailed (preferred) to karen.m.urelius@usace.army.mil or sent by letter to the address on the letterhead. Comments must be submitted within 30 days from the date of this notice.
QUESTIONS:
Questions concerning the proposed project should be directed to the project manager, Karen Urelius at karen.m.urelius@usace.army.mil or 787-370-8359.