Case 2:11-cv-00259-JAW Document 1-9 Filed 07/01/11 Page 1 of 106 PageID #: 161 Environmental Assessment Finding of No Significant Impact and Section 404(b)(1) Evaluation for Maintenance Dredging Kennebec River Sagadahoc County, Maine US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS New England District June 2011 Case 2:11-cv-00259-JAW Document 1-9 Filed 07/01/11 Page 2 of 106 PageID #: 162 Environmental Assessment Finding of No Significant Impact Section 404 (b)(1) Evaluation Maintenance Dredging of the Kennebec River Federal Navigation Channel Sagadahoc County, Maine Prepared by: New England District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 696 Virginia Road Concord, Massachusetts 01742 June 2011 Case 2:11-cv-00259-JAW Document 1-9 Filed 07/01/11 Page 3 of 106 PageID #: 163 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Page I. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1 2.0 PURPOSE AND NEED 5 2.1 Project Need 5 2.2 Authorized Federal Navigation Project 5 3.0 PROPOSED PROJECT DESCRIPTION 6 4.0 ALTERNATIVES 8 4.1 No Action 8 4.2 Dredging the Federal Navigation Channel 10 4.2.1 Maintaining the Channel to Authorized Dimensions 10 4.2.2 Maintaining the Channel to Authorized Dimension Plus Advanced Maintenance Dredging at Doubling Point 11 4.3 Alternative Dredging Methods 11 4.3.1 Hydraulic Cutterhead Dredge 11 4.3.2 Hopper Dredge 12 4.3.3 Mechanical Dredge and Attendant Scow 12 4.3.4 Dragging 13 4.4 Alternative Disposal Methods 13 4.4.1 Riverine Disposal 13 4.4.2 Nearshore Disposal 14 4.4.3 Beach Disposal 14 4.4.4 Open Water Disposal at Sequin Island 15 4.4.5 Open Water Disposal at Portland Disposal Site 15 4.4.6 Upland Disposal 16 5.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT 17 5.1 Physical and Chemical Environment 17 5.1.1 Dredge Sites 18 5.1.1.1 Doubling Point 19 5.1.1.2 Popham Beach 20 5.1.2 Disposal Sites 21 5.1.2.1 Bluff Head 21 5.1.2.2 Jackknife Ledge 22 5.2 Biological Resources 22 5.2.1 General Habitat 22 5.2.2 Fisheries Resources 23 5.2.2.1 Finfish 23 5.2.2.1.1 Recreationally Important Fish 24 5.2.2.1.1.1 Striped Bass 24 5.2.2.1.1.2 Bluefish 24 5.2.2.2 Shellfish 25 5.2.2.3 Lobsters 28 5.2.3 Avian Species 28 5.2.4 Seals 29 i Case 2:11-cv-00259-JAW Document 1-9 Filed 07/01/11 Page 4 of 106 PageID #: 164 5.2.5 Dredge Sites 29 5.2.5.1 Doubling Point 29 5.2.5.2 Popham Beach 30 5.2.6 Disposal Sites 30 5.2.6.1 Bluff Head 30 5.2.6.2 Jackknife Ledge 31 5.3 Threatened and Endangered Species 31 5.3.1 Birds 31 5.3.2 Fish 32 5.3.2.1 Shortnose Sturgeon 33 5.3.2.2 Atlantic Salmon 35 5.3.2.3 Atlantic Sturgeon 37 5.4 Essential Fish Habitat 39 5.5 Historic and Archaeological Resources 40 5.6 Social and Economic Resources 40 5.7 Air Quality 41 5.7 Noise 42 6.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES 42 6.1 Physical and Chemical Effects 42 6.1.1 No Action Alternative 42 6.1.2 Dredge Sites 44 6.1.1.1 Doubling Point 45 6.1.1.2 Popham Beach 47 6.1.3 Disposal Sites 47 6.1.3.1 Bluff Head 48 6.1.3.2 Jackknife Ledge 49 6.2 Biological Effects 50 6.2.1 No Action Alternative 50 6.2.2 Dredge Sites 50 6.2.2.1 Resources 51 6.2.2.1.1 Benthos 51 6.2.2.1.2 Finfish 51 6.2.2.1.3 Lobsters 52 6.2.2.1.4 Shellfish 53 6.2.2.1.5 Seals 53 6.2.2.2 Doubling Point 53 6.2.2.3 Popham Beach 54 6.2.3 Disposal Sites 54 6.2.3.1 Resources 54 6.2.3.1.1 Benthos 54 6.2.3.1.2 Finfish 54 6.2.3.1.3 Shellfish 55 6.2.3.1.4 Lobsters 57 6.2.3.1.5 Seals 57 6.2.3.2 Bluff Head 57 6.2.3.2 Jackknife Ledge 58 ii Case 2:11-cv-00259-JAW Document 1-9 Filed 07/01/11 Page 5 of 106 PageID #: 165 6.3 Threatened and Endangered Species 59 6.3.1 Birds 59 6.3.2 Shortnose Sturgeon 59 6.3.3 Atlantic Salmon 61 6.3.4 Atlantic Sturgeon 61 6.4 Essential Fish Habitat 62 6.4.1 No Action Alternative 62 6.4.2 Dredging the Kennebec With In-River & Nearshore Disposal 62 6.5 Historic and Archaeological Resources 63 6.6 Social and Economic Resources 63 6.7 Noise 65 7.0 AIR QUALITY 65 7.1 General Conformity 66 8.0 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND PROTECTION OF CHILDREN 66 9.0 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS 67 10.0 ACTIONS TAKEN TO MINIMIZE IMPACTS 67 11.0 COORDINATION 67 11.1 Coordination Letters 68 11.2 Correspondence/Personal Communication 68 11.3 Public Notice 70 11.4 Comments Received 70 12.0 REFERENCES 76 13.0 COMPLIANCE TABLE 88 Appendix A - Coordination Appendix B - Sediment Grain Size Graphs Appendix C – Suitability Determination and Memo Appendix D – Essential Fish Habitat Assessment Appendix E- Endangered Species Coordination (Biological Assessment and Biological Opinion) Appendix F - Side-Scan Sonar Survey of Nearshore Disposal Site Appendix G – Hydrographic Surveys II. Finding of No Significant Impact III. Clean Water Act 404 (b) (1) Evaluation iii Case 2:11-cv-00259-JAW Document 1-9 Filed 07/01/11 Page 6 of 106 PageID #: 166 Environmental Assessment - Kennebec River FNP. Environmental Assessment 1.0 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this Environmental Assessment (EA) is to present information on the environmental features of the project area and to review design information to determine the potential impacts of the proposed project on the environment. This EA describes project compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and all appropriate Federal and State environmental regulations, laws, and executive orders. This report provides an assessment of the potential environmental effects of maintenance dredging the Federal Navigation Project (FNP) in the Kennebec River, Bath and Phippsburg, Maine. Methods used to evaluate the environmental resources of the area include biological sampling, sediment analysis, review of available information, and coordination with appropriate environmental agencies and knowledgeable persons. This report provides an assessment of environmental impacts and alternatives considered along with other data applicable to the Clean Water Act Section 404 (b) 1 Evaluation requirements. The authorized FNP in the lower Kennebec River is located in Sagadahoc County below Bath, Maine (Figure 1). The FNP consists of a channel 27 feet below Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) and 500 feet wide extending from the river mouth to just above the Route 1 highway bridge in Bath. Frequent shoaling of the Kennebec River means that maintenance dredging is required every few years. Typically, maintenance dredging occurs during a one month period between late fall and spring. The two areas most frequently in need of dredging are: 1) south of the city of Bath near Doubling Point, and 2) the mouth of the Kennebec River near Popham Beach (near North Sugarloaf Island). Historically dredged material removed from the channel at Doubling Point has been disposed of at an in-river disposal area located just north of Bluff Head. This area is also known as the Kennebec Narrows or Fiddlers Reach (Figure 2). Material dredged from the channel at the river mouth near Popham Beach has been placed at a previously used nearshore disposal site just south of Jackknife Ledge (Figure 3). The frequent need for maintenance dredging in the Kennebec River prompted the preparation of a generic EA in March 2002 to cover maintenance dredging in the Kennebec River for ten years (i.e. until the year 2012). The generic EA concluded that in order to protect the shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum), a species listed as endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), maintenance dredging in the Doubling Point area should only occur between November 1 and April 30. However due to extensive shoaling of the FNP and the critical need to move a U.S. Navy destroyer in the fall of 2011, it is anticipated that dredging of the FNP will need to be performed in August 2011, outside of the recommended dredging window for shortnose sturgeon. Since the 2002 EA was prepared, the upper Kennebec River remnant population of the Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment (GOM DPS) of Atlantic salmon was included in the endangered species listing pursuant to the ESA by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (US FWS). This listing provides measures to protect the Atlantic salmon in the Kennebec River from adverse effects of dredging as well as other activities. In addition, the GOM DPS of Atlantic sturgeon is proposed to be listed as threatened by the NMFS. Therefore, dredging of the FNP will need to be conducted in accordance with the requirements of the ESA. This EA will 1 Case 2:11-cv-00259-JAW Document 1-9 Filed 07/01/11 Page 7 of 106 PageID #: 167 Environmental Assessment - Kennebec River FNP. • 1 n ~ .~ ." •• ' ''''.......~I , , ' , , • • "~N "'< """, ""~ I • ._- - . ., r- -- o' • " - Figure 1. Map of the Kennebec River Federal Navigation Channel 2 Case 2:11-cv-00259-JAW Document 1-9 Filed 07/01/11 Page 8 of 106 PageID #: 168 __ UnIt of Federal Cha mel • _.