CONCORD, Mass. – The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) has revised its request in seeking a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District to conduct work in waters of the U.S. in conjunction with airport runway and taxiway extensions and improvements in Coventry, Vermont. A public notice with a detailed project description was published on April 8, 2014 and can be viewed at: http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/PublicNotices/tabid/11771/Article/23022/nae-2009-02555.aspx.

Vermont AOT proposes to place fill material in a total of 3.68 acres of wetlands adjacent to unnamed tributaries to the Barton River and South Bay of Lake Memphremagog in conjunction with the construction of runway and taxiway extensions, safety area improvements, and new landside facilities at the Newport State Airport off of Airport Road in Coventry. About 0.74 acre of wetland will be temporarily impacted during the removal of an existing powerline, and approximately 38.43 acres of forested wetland will be cleared to comply with Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 77, Objects Affecting Navigable Airspace.

The applicant originally proposed to compensate for unavoidable impacts to waters of the U.S. by making a payment to the Vermont In-Lieu Fee program. Since the issuance of the original public notice the applicant has revised their proposed mitigation plan to include the following measures in addition to payment into the In-Lieu Fee Program: tree clearing areas within airport property will be actively managed to maintain a healthy scrub-shrub vegetation community for the longer term future; certain croplands, mostly non-wetland, will be allowed to revert to shrub cover, thereby contributing to an existing wildlife corridor; Vermont AOT also will secure an agreement with an adjacent 66-acre parcel to maintain that parcel in forest cover in perpetuity, thus preserving a portion of the existing wildlife corridor.

The basic purpose of the proposed project is to provide airport facilities that will safely accommodate current and projected aviation demand at the Newport State Airport. 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 U. S. waters, including wetlands.

The public notice can be viewed at http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/PublicNotices.aspx. Public comments on this project proposed by the Vermont Agency of Transportation (File # NAE-2009-2555) should be forwarded no later than July 10, 2014 to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Vermont Project Office (ATTN: Marty Abair), 11 Lincoln Street, Room 210, Essex Junction, Vermont 05452. Additional information is available from Permit Project Manager Marty Abair at 802-872-2893 or by email to martha.a.abair@usace.army.mil.