[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 92 (Friday, May 13, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-11697]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 13, 1994]


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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]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P