Pier 17 Fender System Improvements Permit Application
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Pier 17 Fender System Improvements Permit Application Prepared for: South Street Seaport, LP 199 Water Street, 28th Floor New York, NY, 10036 McLaren No. 210036.00 March 2021 Prepared by: 530 Chestnut Ridge Road, Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey 07677 Tel: (201) 775-6000 Fax: (201) 746-8522 TABLE OF CONTENTS Agency Submittal Information iii Project Narrative Section I New York District Section II United States Army Corps of Engineers Joint Application for Permit Environmental Questionnaire List of Adjacent Property Owners New York State Section III Department of Environmental Conservation Short Environmental Assessment Form (SEQR) Environmental Remediation Database Forms New York State Department of State Section IV Coastal Management Program Federal Consistency Assessment Form Addendum to Federal Consistency Assessment Form New York City Section V Waterfront Revitalization Program Consistency New York City WRP Consistency Assessment Form Addendum to NYC WRP Consistency Assessment Form Flood Evaluation Worksheet Site Photos Section VI Drawings Section VII Essential Fish Habitat Worksheet Section VIII Previously Issued NYSDEC Permit Appendix A March 2021 Agency Submittal Information ii March 2021 Agency Submittal Information Attention: Regulatory Branch U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District Office (USACE) 26 Federal Plaza, Room 16-406 New York, NY 10278-0090 (917) 790-8511 Attention: Regional Permit Administrator New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) NYS DEC Region 2 1 Hunter’s Point Plaza 47-40 21st Street Long Island City, NY 11101-5407 (718) 482-4997 Attention: Consistency Review Unit Division of Coastal Resources New York State Department of State (NYSDOS) One Commerce Plaza 99 Washington Ave, Suite 1010 Albany, NY 12231-00001 (518) 474-6000 Attention: Bureau of Land Management New York State Office of General Services (NYSOGS) 26th Floor, Corning Tower Empire State Plaza Albany, NY 12242 (518) 408-1782 Attention: Director of Waterfront and Open Space New York Department of City Planning 120 Broadway, 31st Floor New York, NY 10271 (212) 720-3626 iii March 2021 Section I Project Narrative March 2021 Pier 17 Fender System Improvements PROJECT PURPOSE: Pier 17 is located in Manhattan, New York in the East River. The pier spans the underlying transit tunnels of the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s 8th Avenue Line. The South Street Seaport, LP is proposing to enhance the existing pier to allow for the berthing of larger commercial and recreational vessels, including a Norwegian 3-Masted Barque vessel that is approximately 320 feet long and 40 feet wide. The pier in its current condition cannot withstand the mooring and berthing load of a vessel of this size. Therefore, improvements to the fender system are proposed so that the Norwegian vessel, as well as other similarly sized vessels, can safely berth against the pier. EXISTING CONDITIONS & NEED FOR ACTION: The fendering system along the north face of the existing pier consists of forty-six 12-inch diameter timber fender piles connected by timber chocks and wales, running along the 358 LF pier. The timber fendering connects to two-foot-long timber blocking at 8 foot intervals, which abut the existing concrete pier. The existing pier consists of timber decking on top of a concrete deck and planks, supported by concrete filled steel pipe piles. The existing timber fender system is in good condition but is not robust enough to accommodate vessels as large as a Norwegian 3-Masted Barque to berth against the pier. As the applicant wants to increase the berthing capacity of the pier to, improvements must be made to the existing fender system. PROPOSED PLAN: The project proposes to remove sections of the existing timber fender system and replace them with a more robust fendering system. A total of 246 feet of the existing fendering system will be removed, including 29 timber piles. Six of the timber piles will be reinstalled to ensure the integrity of the remaining timber sections. In the voids created in the existing fendering system, a new fender system comprised of foam filled floating fenders attached to concrete pile caps, supported by new concrete filled steel pipe piles will be installed. There will be thirteen distinct locations, each supported by two concrete filled 24-inch diameter steel pipe piles, for a total of twenty-six piles. 4 foot by 4 foot by 14 foot pile caps above each pair of piles will support one 5 foot diameter by 10 foot foam filled floating fender, connected with mounting chains and hardware. The two piles supporting each floating fender will have 1 foot by 1 foot FRP wales along the outer face to allow the load of the berthing vessel to be absorbed by the steel pipe piles and distribute the load on the foam fenders. A concrete pad and T-head mooring bollard with a 30-ton capacity will be placed on top of each concrete pile cap. The elevation of the new structures will be designed to meet the existing pier elevation. These improvements to the fendering system at Pier 17 will allow vessels as large as a Norwegian 3-Masted Barque to berth against it. ALTERNATIVES ASSESSMENT: Alternative 1 - No Action With no action, the berthing capacity of Pier 17 will remain the same. Only smaller vessels will be able to utilize the Pier. As the applicant would like to berth the large Norwegian 3-Masted Barque and similarly sized vessels in the future, it is necessary to improve the current fender system to Section I March 2021 Page 1 of 4 Pier 17 Fender System Improvements increase the load capacity. Therefore, this alternative was not chosen as it does not align with the applicant’s goal. Alternative 2 – Timber Pile Reinforcement Reinforcing the existing timber piles was considered to decrease in-water construction. However, even with reinforcements to the existing timber piles, the timber piles would still be taking on the load of any vessel that berthed at the Pier. The timber piles are not strong enough for larger vessels like the Norwegian 3 Masted Barque to berth, even with reinforcements. As the applicant’s main goal is to improve the pier for berthing of larger vessels, this alternative does not achieve the applicant’s goals and it was not chosen. Alternative 3 – Alternative Location Several piers were considered as the location for the Norwegian 3 Masted Barque to dock. However, Pier 17 was chosen due to its proximity to the historic South Street seaport district. Within the district, several piers were considered but Pier 17 provided adequate room for the Norwegian vessel, and other similarly sized vessels, to berth at with the proposed improvements to the fender system. Therefore, despite considering other New York piers, Pier 17 was chosen due to its close vicinity to the historic South Street seaport district and its capability to allow the Norwegian vessel to berth there with improvements to the existing fender system. Alternative 4 – Installation of Steel Pipe Piles and Floating Fenders (Proposed Action) This alternative proposes improving the existing timber fender system with the installation of steel pipe piles and foam filled floating fenders. Each floating fender will be attached to two steel pipe piles. This will allow the new fenders to absorb some of the berthing energy and the new steel pipe piles to take on the load of vessels when they berth at the pier. These proposed improvements will allow the Norwegian 3 Masted Barque and other large vessels to berth at Pier 17. The proposed project includes the minimum number of piles necessary to absorb the loads of these large piles to minimize the amount of in water fill. As this project meets the applicant’s goal to allow larger vessels to berth at Pier 17, this is the preferred alternative. ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNIFICANCE: The proposed project will have 42 CY of cut and 128 CY of fill below MHW, resulting in a net fill of 86 CY. There will be a total of 43 CY of cut and 130 CY of fill below MHWS, resulting in a net fill of 87 CY below MHWS. The fill below MHW and SHT comprises all structures including concrete filled steel pipe piles and FRP wales. There will be net total of 940 square feet of overwater coverage as a result of the project. Please find details of each source of cut and fill summarized in the Table 1 below. Section I March 2021 Page 2 of 4 Pier 17 Fender System Improvements Table 1: PROPOSED CUT AND FILL ANALYSIS There will be net total of 940 square feet of overwater coverage as a result of the project. Please find the overwater coverage below detailed in Table 2 below. Table 2: PROPOSED OVERWATER COVERAGE Increases in suspended sediment during pile driving are anticipated to be minimal, to be concentrated within the vicinity of pile driving activity, and to dissipate quickly and without significant adverse impacts to water quality or aquatic biota. Underwater noise levels due to pile driving and other construction activities would not result in significant adverse impacts to aquatic biota of the East River. Underwater noise levels during construction will be minimized by use of a vibratory hammer to the maximum extent possible and limiting use of an impact hammer. Excavation and fill will be conducted with Best Management Practices in place to ensure minimal impacts to the environment. Localized turbidity from in-water work will be minimized through the use of turbidity curtains which prevent sediment plumes from migrating beyond the immediate work area. Section I March 2021 Page 3 of 4 Pier 17 Fender System Improvements CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCE: Construction is anticipated to start in April 2021 and end in December 2021. While the final BMP selection and location will be determined by the contractor, the following, Best Management Practices (BMPs) will likely be utilized to minimize environmental impacts on the tidal wetland area.