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City of Meriden seeks Corps permit to discharge fill material for work to reduce flood risk to downtown area

Published April 3, 2012

CONCORD, Mass. – The city of Meriden is seeking a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District to conduct work in waters of the United States in conjunction with activities to reduce flood risk in downtown Meriden, Conn.

 

The proposed work by the city of Meriden includes excavation and the discharge of excavated and fill material into Harbor Brook for the purpose of flood risk reduction for the city of Meriden downtown area through the relocation of compensatory flood storage generally consistent with the one percent chance flood event to other locations within the Harbor Brook watershed, while ensuring there is no increase in peak flood flow downstream of Hanover Pond.

 

The project is proposed to take place in three phases from 2012 to 2021. The work is proposed in Harbor Brook between Hanover Pond and Baldwin Pond in Meriden.  

 

The city of Meriden proposes to modify approximately 3.4-miles of Harbor Brook, resulting in 8.83 acres of permanent impacts below the ordinary high water mark and 1,323 square feet of permanent impacts and 783 square feet of temporary impacts to federal wetlands. These permanent and temporary impacts will result from a range of activities including creation of floodplain shelves; regrading the stream bed channel and associated bank grading; reestablishment of a low-flow channel; accumulated sediment removal; bank stabilization with coir logging; placement of rip rap; multiple bridge removal and replacements to accommodate the new proposed base flow; removal of retaining walls; day lighting 3.2 acres of piped stream; culvert, manhole and outfall installation; energy dissipater, sediment trap, dewatering pump and access road construction; and construction of a linear multi-use trail along the entire length of Harbor Brook.

 

In order to compensate for lost flood storage as a result of the project, the city of Meriden proposes to construct a 1.68 acre wetland floodwater storage area by excavating approximately 1 acre of upland forest on the right bank of Harbor Brook at Falcon Park and installing a flow control system at the Westfield Road bridge; this will result in 0.14 acre of impacts (part of the total 8.8 acres) below the ordinary high water mark and provide 21.8 acre-feet of storage volume. In addition, the former HUB site on Pratt Street will provide 53 acre-feet of flood storage volume.

 

These activities by the city of Meriden will result in a reduction of the floodplain inundated by the 1 percent annual chance event from 225 acres to 95 acres and will remove 300 structures from the base flood inundation area. Fifty structures will remain unprotected from the base flood; the city of Meriden will pursue flood proofing of residential structures.

 

The application for the federal permit was filed with the Corps in compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which regulates the discharge or fill of material in United States waters, including wetlands. The public notice, with more specifics on the proposed work, can be viewed on the Corps website at  http://www.nae.usace.army.mil. Select Regulatory and then public notices or go directly to http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Regulatory/Public%20Notices/.

 

Public comments on the Corps permit review (File # NAE-2007-2588) should be forwarded no later than May 3, 2012 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Regulatory Division (ATTN: Amy Bourne), 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751. Additional information is available from Permit Project Manager Amy Bourne at 978-318-8651 or toll free 800-343-4789 or 800-362-4367 (if calling from within Massachusetts) or by email to: amy.c.bourne@usace.army.mil.


Contact
Tim Dugan
978-318-8264
cenae.pa@usace.army.mil

Release no. 2012-027