Amendment 0002_Water Quality Certification.pdf

May 1, 2020 Mr. Thomas M. Creamer, Chief Operations, Readiness, and Regulatory Functions Division Department of the Army New York District, Corps of Engineers Jacob K. Javits Building 26 Federal Plaza New York, New York 10278-0090

RE: Federal Consistency Determination / Water Quality Certification File: 1200-17-0007.1 CDT200001 Project: Cheesequake Creek, NJ, Federal Navigation Project FY 20

Dear Mr. Creamer:

This letter is forwarded in response to your February 25, 2020 request for a Federal Consistency Determination (FC), as required by Section 307 of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act (16 USC 1451 et seq.) and Water Quality Certification (WQC) as required by Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act (33 USC 1251 et seq. The request included the sediment testing data as well as specifications for the maintenance dredging of shoals in the Cheesequake Creek Channel seaward of the Route 35 Bridge, the Public Notice for the project, and Statement of Compliance. The proposed maintenance dredging would involve the removal of approximately 9,000 cubic yards of material to a depth of -5 feet mean low lower water (MLLW) plus two-foot allowable over dredge.

The request for a FC/WQC for the contract was published in the DEP Bulletin on April 15, 2020 with the close of the 15-day comment period ending on April 30, 2020. No comments were submitted during the DEP public notice.

Beneficial Use Location for Non-HARS Material

Regarding the 9,000 cy of non-HARS material that was tested in accordance with the NJDEP upland sediment sampling plan dated October 6, 2017, the NY District has requested that the federal consistency determination be generic in terms of the potential upland placement site(s) for this material. A subsequent request to amend any approved consistency determination must be submitted to the Department by the NY District once the apparent low bidder for the contract has identified a fully permitted and approved secure upland placement site(s). The request to amend this determination will be submitted by the Corps a minimum of two weeks prior to the award of the contract. The Department agrees with this approach.

PHILIP D. MURPHY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION CATHERINE R. McCABE Governor Commissioner

SHEILA Y. OLIVER

Lt. Governor

New Jersey is an Equal Opportunity Employer l Printed on Recycled Paper and Recyclable

Division of Land Use Regulation Mail Code 501-02A

P.O. Box 420 Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0420 www.nj.gov/dep/landuse

File: 1200-17-0007.1 CDT200001

Federal Consistency and Water Quality Certification

The Rules on Coastal Zone Management (N.J.A.C. 7:7) constitute New Jersey’s enforceable policies under its federally approved Coastal Zone Management Program. This request for Federal Consistency Determination and Water Quality Certification has been reviewed under the following Rules on Coastal Zone Management: Finfish migratory pathways (7:7-9.5), Navigation Channels (7:7-9.7), Ports (7:7- 9.11), Submerged Infrastructure Routes (7:7-9.12), Historic and Archaeological Resources (7:7-9.13), Maintenance dredging (7:7-12.6), Dredged material placement on land (7:7-15.12), Marine Fish and Fisheries (7:7-16.2), and Water Quality (7:7-16.3). Based on the materials submitted within the subject federal consistency request, I have CONDITIONALLY determined that the dredging of this Contract is consistent with the Rules on Coastal Zone Management and New Jersey’s federally approved Coastal Management Program.

I have also reviewed this Contract for potential water quality impacts. Provided that the following conditions are met, I have determined that this project is not likely to cause a violation of New Jersey’s Surface Water Quality Standards (N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.1 et seq.). Therefore, this determination includes the State’s Water Quality Certification pursuant to Section 401 of the federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 USC 1251 et seq.) subject to the following conditions. It is noted that this Water Quality Certificate is valid for a term of five years and expires five years from the date on the first page of this determination.

PROJECT SPECIFIC CONDITIONS:

1. Dredging is prohibited from Jan 1 through June 30 and October 15 through December 30 of any given year, to minimize adverse effects to the species listed in the table below. This restricted time period consists of the following:

Species Prohibited Period

Anadromous Species March 1 through June 30

Winter Flounder January 1 through May 31

Diamond Back Terrapins- overwintering October 15 through December 31

2. All sediments from this project shall be removed using a closed clamshell bucket.

3. The dredge shall be operated to control the rate of descent of the bucket so as to maximize the vertical cut of the clamshell bucket while not penetrating the sediment beyond the vertical dimension of the open bucket (i.e. overfilling the bucket).

4. Where a bucket is required, it shall be lifted slowly through the water, at a rate of 2 feet per second or less.

5. Dredged material shall be placed into the barge in a manner that prevents spillage of the material overboard by placed in the clamshell bucket into the barge cargo compartment and minimizing height from which the dredged material will be dropped into the barge.

6. The discharge (i.e. “overflow”) of water from the barge/scow into which dredged material is placed is prohibited.

File: 1200-17-0007.1 CDT200001

7. All barges or scows used to hold or transport dredged material or decent water shall be of solid hull construction or be sealed with concrete.

8. The gunwales of the dredge scows shall not be rinsed or hosed during dredging except to the extent necessary to ensure the safety of workers maneuvering on the dredge scows.

9. All water shall be held in the decant holding scow a minimum of 24 hours after the last addition of water to the scow. The decant water may only be discharged after this 24-hour retention period.

10. During pumping of the decant water from the holding scow, great care shall be taken to avoid re-suspending or pumping sediment which has settled in the decant holding scow.

11. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS: At the completion of the project, the permittee shall submit the following information to the Department. This information shall be submitted within three months of completion of dredging:

Start and finish date of work order(s) Post-dredge hydrographic survey

APPROVED PLANS:

The drawing(s) hereby approved consists of two sheets entitled:

“MAINTENANCE DREDGING OF CHEESEQUAKE CREEK, NJ, FEDERAL NAVIGATION

PROJECT, DREDGING AREA,” dated March 2, 2020

a. Sheet 3 of 4

b. Sheet 4 of 4

Should you have any questions regarding this determination and certification, please do not hesitate to contact Gary Nickerson of my staff at Gary.Nickerson@dep.nj.gov or (609) 292-3904.

Sincerely, Suzanne U. Biggins Supervising Environmental Specialist

Office of Dredging and Sediment Technology c: Scott Douglas, NJ DOT Office of Maritime Resources mailto:Gary.Nickerson@dep.nj.gov