(Note: This is an OCR scan of a paper copy of the Joint Public
Notice issued by the Corps of Engineers. Please excuse any spelling
errors caused by the OCR software incorrectly interpreting letters and
characters)
Public Notice
US Army Corps of Engineers..
File No. 2005-01814 Public Notice 05-70
Date: August 26, 2005
Nashville District
Application No. 2005-01814
Expires: September 26, 2005
Please address all comments to:
Nashville District Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch, 3701 Bell
Road, Nashville, TN 37214 Attn: Lisa Morris, telephone 615/369-7504;
Fax 615/369-7501 NOTE: Comments previously submitted to TVA regarding
this proposal will be considered with the comments received on this
public notice.
JOINT PUBLIC NOTICE US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS TENNESSEE VALLEY
AUTHORITY ST ATE OF ALABAMA
SUBJECT: Proposed Harbor Limits, Marina Slips and Floating Wave Breaks,
Fishing and Mooring Piers, Floating Fuel Dock, Boat Ramp, Roads,
Dredging
and Retaining Wall for Boat Lift Dry Storage and Associated Upland
Development at Elk River Mile 1.5, Right bank, Lauderdale County, AL
(Elk River Marina)
TO ALL CONCERNED: The application described below has been submitted
for a Department of the Army (DA) permit pursuant to Section 10 of the
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
(CW A), a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) 30-year easement on
approximately 92-acres of TVA land, XWR-21PT, and approval pursuant to
Section 26a of the TVA Act, and a state of Alabama Department of
Environment and Conservation water quality certification pursuant to
Section 401 of the CW A. Before any federal permit can be issued, the
state must certify that applicable water quality standards will not be
violated by the proposed work. By copy of this notice, the applicant
hereby applies for the required certification. .
APPLICANT: Mr. Gilbert Bubba Doss Bubba's Marine Construction, LLC 2400
Highway 101 Rogersville, AL 35652
LOCATION: Elk River Mile 1.5, Right Bank, Wheeler Lake, Lauderdale,
Alabama. The Elk River is a tributary of the Tennessee River at Mile
285.0, Right Bank. USGS Quad- Rogersville, AL, lat: 34-47-00; Ion
87-17-00. TVA Tract No. XWR-21PT.
DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED WORK: The applicant proposes to develop
approximately 92-acres of TVA land through a 30-year easement, Tract
No. XWR-21PT. TVA would establish harbor limits for the proposed
marina. The development would be called Elk River Marina.
The entire property consists of approximately 92 acres of unimproved
timberland that contains an estimated 3,950 usable linear feet of water
frontage. Plans for the upland property include the construction of
roads, an RV park (potential of 200 campsites), nature trails, a marina
store, restaurant, and boat dry storage facility to be constructed in
several phases. The commercial water use facilities include
construction of a 50 boat slip marina, a concrete wave break, a
concrete trash break with fuel dock, two fishing-mooring piers,
dredging and a retaining wall to accommodate a fork boat lift launching
area, a launching ramp, and rip rap. A future phase may include the
construction of 50 additional boat slips.
The following is a description of the proposed commercial water use
facilities. The marina would consist of four docks - 40 covered boat
slips and 10 uncovered boat slips for sailboats:
Dock A - 118' x 68' with 30' slips for 10 boats
Dock B - 118' x 68' with 30' slips for 10 boats
Dock C - 193' x 128' with 60' slips for 20 boats
Dock D - 168' x 233'with 80' slips for 20 boats
A 400'L x 8'W floating fuel dock; a 400'L x 8'W floating wind and wave
break; and an 800'L x 8'W floating wave break (all held in place by
spud poles) would be installed around the marine slips. A boat lift
launch area would be constructed in a small cove to the east of the
slips in front of the proposed dry storage building. Normal summer pool
(NSP) of the lake is Elevation 556.
To accommodate the boat lift, a 300' long area across the NSP shoreline
would be dredged to bottom Elevation 545, out 70', requiring the
removal of approximately 2,700 cubic yards of material. Spoil would be
removed by hydraulic dredge and pumped to an upland location above
Elevation 560 and stabilized or utilized throughout construction as
backfill above the 560 contour in some inland areas needing fill. A
300' long sheet pile retainer wall would be constructed along the
dredged shoreline with another constructed in front of the ship store.
Rip rap would be placed along the shoreline behind the marina slips. At
the mouth of the cove to the west of the boat slips, three fishing
pier/mooring docks on steel piling with concrete decks would each
extend 50' from the shoreline with a 200' x 8' platform.
A 30' wide boat launching ramp (top Elevation 560; bottom Elevation
549) and parking lot would be constructed adjacent to the marina store,
and 300 feet of the shoreline would be stabilized from lake bottom
Elevation 553 to top Elevation 556 using 67 cubic yards of stones
(sizes 6" to 18" diameter) over filter fabric. In addition, a paved
two-lane road would be constructed from the current end of County Road
77 through the property to give access to the marina. The road would
cross an unnamed tributary with a 48" diameter drain culvert on a
rip rap base and backfilled with gravel then finished with 6" of
crusher
run gravel. Plans of the proposed work are attached.
The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation
of the probable impacts including cumulative impacts of the 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 work, must
be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors
which may be relevant to the work 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, floodplain values, land use,
navigation, shore 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.
In addition, the evaluation of the impact of the activity on the public
interest will include application of the guidelines promulgated by the
Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency, under authority of
Section 404(b)(1) of the CW A (40 CFR Part 230). A permit will be
granted unless the District Engineer determines that it would be
contrary to the public interest.
The Corps of Engineers 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 of Engineers 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 (EA) 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.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOD) between the Corps and TVA,
TVA will be the lead agency in conducting the environmental review and
the Corps will be a cooperating agency.
TVA anticipates the release of the draft EA in October 2005. The draft
EA will be made available on the TVA website at
http://www.tva.com/environment/reports/index.htm. The EA will be put
into a final form prior to a final decision concerning issuance or
denial of the requested permits.
On May 31,2005, the applicant submitted a land use request for the
92-acre tract of TVA land for use as a recreational development (Elk
River Resort). TVA solicited public scoping comments from June 26,
2005 through July 29, 2005. However, TVA continued to receive comments
through mid-August of2005 and are using these comments to identify
environmental issues to be analyzed in their EA. Issues were identified
for the following resource areas:
recreation, navigation and boating safety/congestion, water quality,
roads/traffic, terrestrial ecology/natural resources, threatened and
endangered species, cultural resources, solid waste disposal, visual
resources, noise, security concerns, property
access/property values, and land use. These issues will be addressed in
an EA that TVA is preparing and a draft EA will be made available for
public review and comment, including an open house (in Mid-October) to
receive comments from the public and other interested parties. The
draft EA will also consider comments generated from this public notice.
The National Register of Historic Places has been consulted and no
properties listed in or eligible for the National Register are known
which would be affected by the proposed work. TVA is conducting a
Phase I archaeological survey for the 92 acres of TVA land and
shoreline fronting the proposed development. TVA will provide a survey
report and determination of their findings to the office of the State
Historic Preservation Officer. The EA will include a summary of the
survey and TVA's determination of findings.
Based upon available information, the proposed work would not destroy
or endanger any federally-listed, threatened, or endangered species or
their critical habitats, as identified under the Endangered Species
Act. Some members of the public commented that several species of
federally-endangered species could be potentially affected by the
proposed action. TVA is conducting site surveys and will address any
potential impacts to any threatened or endangered species in the EA. At
this time, the preliminary analysis conducted by TVA does not indicate
any potential affects to any threatened and endangered species.
Therefore, initiation of formal consultation procedures with the US
Fish and Wildlife Service is not planned at this time.
In addition to the DA permit, the TVA permits, and the water quality
certification, other federal, state, and/or local approvals may be
required for the proposed work. In addition to other provisions of its
approval, TVA would require the applicant to employ best management
practices to control erosion and sedimentation to prevent adverse
aquatic impacts.
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 hearing. Written statements
received in this office on or before September 26, 2005, will become a
part of the record and will be considered in the determination. Any
response to this notice should be directed to the Regulatory Branch,
Attn: Lisa Morris, at the above address. It is not necessary to comment
separately to TVA since copies of all comments will be sent to them
and become part of their records on the proposal.
To provide electronic comments, go to:
http://www.tva.comlenvironment/reports/index.htm, select the
appropriate project: Elk River Resort Request for Recreational Easement
and Approval for Marina Facilities. Point of contact with TVA is Debra
Rutherford, Project Leader, PO Box 1010, Muscle Shoals, AL 35662,
telephone (256) 386-3058.
