CONCORD, Mass. – The city of Burlington, Parks, Recreation and Waterfront, is seeking a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District to conduct work in waters of the U.S. to reconstruct an existing bike path in Burlington, Vermont.

The city of Burlington, Parks, Recreation & Waterfront, is proposing to place fill material in about 30,206 square feet (0.69 acre) of waters of the United States in conjunction with the reconstruction, widening and realignment of about 1.31 miles of an existing bike path between Queen City Park Road and Maple Street in Burlington. This work is proposed in Burlington Bay of Lake Champlain and adjacent wetland generally west of the Barge Canal area in Burlington.  

The application for the federal permit was filed with the Corps in compliance with Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, which provides for federal regulation of any work in, or affecting navigable waters of the U.S.; and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which regulates the discharge or fill of material in U.S. waters, including wetlands.

The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact 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 may reasonably 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.

The Corps 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 to determine whether to issue, modify, condition or deny a permit for this proposal. The public notice, with more specifics on the proposed work by the city of Burlington, Parks, Recreation and Waterfront, can be viewed on the Corps website at https://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/PublicNotices/.

Public comments on this work proposed by the city of Burlington, Parks, Recreation and Waterfront (file # NAE-2013-01918) should be forwarded no later than July 25, 2019 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Vermont Project Office (ATTN: Michael Adams), 11 Lincoln Street, Room 210, Essex Junction, Vermont. Additional information is available from Permit Project Manager Michael Adams at 802-872-2893 or by email to: michael.s.adams@usace.army.mil.