Section 404/Clean Water Act: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Vicksburg District) Public Notices Drew County, Arkansas Engineered Wood Product Mill Application

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (Vicksburg District) (“Corps”) issued a March 20th Public Notice (“Notice”) regarding a Section 404 Clean Water Act application by Weyerhaeuser NR (“Weyerhaeuser”).

The application requests authorization for the placement of dredged and fill material into Waters of the United States associated with the construction of a new Engineered Wood Product Mill.

The stated overall project purpose is to increase the production and availability of TimberStrand (Laminated Strand Lumber) within Drew County, Arkansas.

The applicant is stated to be proposing to construct a new mill and associated roads, parking, storage areas and rail spurs.

The project would impact 7.87 acres of jurisdictional wetlands. 1.98 acres of impact would be forested wetlands currently in a pine plantation with trees approximately 25 years old. 5.89 acres of impact would be shrub/herbaceous wetlands in a recently harvested pine plantation.

In terms of avoidance and minimization, the Notice states that Weyerhaeuser has provided certain information in support of such efforts described as follows:

…During the planning process, alternative sites were considered for the construction of the planned development. These sites potentially contained significantly more jurisdictional wetlands and other waters of the U.S. and therefore were eliminated from consideration. As a result, FC&E identified the chosen site as the best suited for the planned facility. Upon selecting a site, avoidance and minimization factors were considered before identifying the chosen site design as the best suited for the planned development. As described within the wetland permit application, the chosen site design supported the design criteria while minimizing potential impacts to wetlands and “other waters” within the site. The site footprint was continuously refined to achieve the smallest footprint that met the project goals while meeting the applicable design constraints such as rail spur access and stormwater pond locations/site drainage.

Mitigation is stated to be planned by acquisition from an approved mitigation bank located within the same watershed as the impacts prior to the commencement of the planned project.

The Notice also addresses:

• Cultural resources.
• Endangered Species.
• Navigation.
• Section 408.
• Water Quality Certification.
• Evaluation.
• Solicitation of Comments.

A copy of the Notice can be downloaded here.