CONCORD, Mass. – The town of Phillips is 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 the replacement of a culvert beneath Reeds Mill Road in Phillips, Maine.
The town of Phillips proposes to place temporary and permanent fill below the ordinary high water line of Warm Brook in Phillips in order to replace an existing deteriorated culvert beneath Reeds Mill Road. The existing undersized 5-foot diameter culvert and 2-foot diameter overflow pipe will be replaced with a 19.5-foot span embedded concrete box culvert. Dewatering the work site will require the installation of temporary sandbag cofferdams. The project will result in approximately 1,400 square feet of permanent and 1,400 square feet of temporary stream bed impact.
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.
This proposed work may impact Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for Atlantic salmon. This habitat consists of stream bottom composed of mixed sand, gravel, cobble and boulders. Long-term impact to this species is expected to be minimal with appropriate erosion control measures, in stream work windows, and other best management practices. Therefore, the Corps has made a preliminary determination that the site-specific adverse effect will be minimal. Further consultation with the federal resource agencies regarding EFH conservation recommendations is being conducted and will be concluded prior to the final permit decision. Similarly, consultation will be initiated regarding the presence of salmon as they are a federally listed endangered species.
The public notice, with additional information, can be viewed on the Corps website at
http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/PublicNotices.aspx. 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.
Public comments referencing this permit request by the town of Phillips (File # NAE-2014-02076) should be forwarded no later than Nov. 5, 2014 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Maine Project Office (ATTN: Leeann Neal), 675 Western Ave., #3, Manchester, Maine 04351. Additional information is available from Permit Project Manager Leeann Neal at 207-623-8367 or by email to leeann.neal@usace.army.mil.