Public Notices Manager

POH-2010-00112

Published Aug. 29, 2011
Expiration date: 9/30/2011

Interested parties are hereby notified that an application has been received for a Department of the Army permit for certain work in waters of the United States as described below and shown on the attached drawings.

APPLICANT: Department of Accounting & General Services (DAGS), State of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1151 Punchbowl Street, Honolulu, HI, 96813-3047

AGENT: Oceanit, 828 Fort Street Mall, Suite 600, Honolulu, HI 96813

LOCATION: In Kolea Stream, at TMK 211001050 (20.87168 °N/ -156.18962 ° W), County of Maui, Hana District, Maui Island.

WORK: The proposed project is to breach Kolea Reservoir, an impoundment of Kolea Stream waters and construct a new stream channel section providing unimpeded flow of Kolea Stream to the Pacific Ocean (Attachment). The proposed improvement project consists of: 1) grading of about 9,600 cubic yards of soil, gravels and boulders within the 0.93 acre area reservoir to de-construct the reservoir structures , 2) discharge of about 9,077 cubic yards of earth to fill the drained reservoir basin and re-establish upland slopes, 3) discharge of about 211 cubic yards of rock to construct a new riprap apron and 6 check dams in the new 15-foot wide, 245-foot long artificial stream channel, and 4) place temporary structures in Kolea Stream to reduce impacts to the aquatic environment.

PURPOSE: To eliminate the hazard of a reservoir breach that could disrupt the use of Hana Highway downstream and to minimize stream bed and bank erosion and reduce sediment migration to receiving ocean waters 0.73 miles (3,845 feet) downstream.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: A Stream Channel Alteration Permit (SCAP, SDWP.2789.6) was issued on June 29, 2011from the Commission on Water Resource Management (COWRM), Department of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawaii.

MITIGATION: The applicant has proposed the following mitigation efforts to reduce impacts to the aquatic environment: construct a temporary stream water bypass berm upstream of the reservoir, place siphon and drain lines for the temporary diversion of stream flows from the work area, construct a sediment containment berm downstream of the grading area, and install erosion control measures consisting of 62,745 square feet grass-seeded surface, 16,695 square feet of erosion control grass mats, and 217 lineal feet of silt fencing.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: A permit for the described work will not be issued until a certification or waiver of certification as required under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (Public Law 95-217), has been received from the Clean Water Branch, Department of Health, State of Hawaii

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT ACT CERTIFICATION: Section 307(c)(3) of the Coastal Zone, Management Act of 1972, as amended by 16 U.S.C. 1456(c)(3), requires the applicant to certify that the described activity affecting land or water uses in the Coastal Zone complies with the State of Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program. A permit will not be issued until the Office of State Planning, Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism has concurred with the applicant's consistency determination.

PUBLIC HEARING: 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 clearly and concisely, the reasons and rationale for holding a public hearing.

CULTURAL RESOURCES:

The Area of Potential Effect (APE) considered by this Department of Army (DA) permit application includes Kolea Reservoir (SIHP-50-50-13-6683), a property likely to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. A determination from the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), dated 24 November 2010, acknowledges that the Kolea Reservoir will not be adversely affected by this proposed project provided the Applicant ensures that appropriate documentation is conducted before its destruction. These documentation measures are stipulated in the Programmatic Agreement Between Department of Land and Natural Resources and The Hawaii Historic Preservation (SHPD) Regarding sic(Desposition) of Dam Decommissioning Projects, nd.

Further, the proposed project is not expected to result in the temporary or permanent loss of aquatic organisms or habitat which may be of significance to Native Hawaiian practitioners as a traditional cultural property for subsistence and access purposes. The Corps has determined, therefore, that issuance of a DA permit for the Breach of Kolea Reservoir Project will have “No Adverse Effect” on any eligible or listed historic and traditional cultural properties on the Hawaii and National Registers of Historic Places. Written comments and concurrence for this determination from SHPO and interested parties are requested.

This notice has been sent to the State Historic Preservation Officer, the State Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hui Malama I Na Kupuna and the Aha Kiole Advisory Committee. Any comments they have regarding historic properties and cultural resources will be considered before a final decision is made on the DA permit.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires federal agencies to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and/or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) pursuant to Section 7 of ESA on all actions that may affect a species listed (or proposed for listing) under the ESA as threatened or endangered or any designated critical habitat.

The Corps has assessed potential impacts to Federal candidate, proposed, and listed endangered and threatened species in the project area. As the jurisdictional waters to be affected by this project are not tidally influenced or estuarine, there are no marine protected species that have the potential to occur within the project area. The Corps has determined that this proposed project will also have No Effect on protected marine species and their designated critical habitat.

The Corps has assessed potential impacts to federally-listed and proposed species in the project area. No vascular plant species, insect, mollusk, fish, amphibian, avian or mammal species listed or proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) were recorded, observed or known to exist within, or transit through, the project area (AECOS, Inc., Report No. 1228, 15 Jun2 2010, Biological Surveys for the Kolea Reservoir Dam Removal Project, East Maui). The project, as proposed, is not likely to produce potential stressors that would reasonably be expected to interact directly with individual protected species.

In accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, this project will therefore have No Effect on USFWS-protected species. There is no designated or proposed critical habitat for any ESA-listed species within the project area. Therefore this proposed project will also have No Effect on their designated critical habitat.

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT: The proposed work was also evaluated for possible effects to Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1996 (MSFCMA), 16 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq. and associated federal regulations found at 50 CFR 600 Subpart K. The Corps has determined that the proposal would not adversely affect EFH in accordance with the requirements of the MSFCMA.

SPECIAL AREA DESIGNATION: The project area is located within the State Land Use Conservation District, Protective and Resource Subzones

AUTHORITY: This permit application will be reviewed under the following authority: Section 404, Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344), discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States. The Corps’ public interest review will consider the guidelines set forth under Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act (40 CFR 230).

EVALUATION: The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impacts, 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 the cumulative effects thereof; among those 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.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 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 activity. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps to determine whether to issue, modify, condition or deny a permit for the work. 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 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 activity.

COMMENT AND REVIEW PERIOD: Conventional mail or e-mail comments on this public notice will be accepted and made part of the record and will be considered in determining whether it would be in the public interest to authorize this proposal. In order to be accepted, e-mail comments must originate from the author's e-mail account and must include on the subject line of the e-mail message the permit applicant's name and reference number as shown below.  All e-mail comments should be sent to Farley.K.Watanabe@usace.army.mil.  Conventional mail comments should be sent to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch, Building 230, Ft. Shafter, HI  96858.  Both conventional mail and e-mail comments must include the permit applicant's name and reference number, as shown below, and the commenter's name, address, and phone number.  All comments whether conventional mail or e-mail must reach this office, no later than the expiration date of this public notice to ensure consideration.  Please include the following name and reference number:  POH-2008-00324.

Comments on the described work, with the reference number, should reache this office no later than the expiration date of this Public Notice to become part of the record and be considered in the decision.  Please contact Farley Watanabe at (808) 438-7701 if further information is desired concerning this notice.

Project drawings, photographs and maps (10 pages) are attached to this Public Notice.