Public Notice: Water Quality Certification of the Carbon River Road Repair in Washington
Summary
On July 11, 2024, EPA received a request from the Federal Highway Administration, Western Federal Lands Highway Division, for a water quality certification for the Mount Rainier ERFO Repairs 2022 project, related to a request for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Clean Water Act Section 404 permit.
Section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act requires applicants for federal permits and licenses that may result in discharges into waters of the United States to obtain certification that the discharge will comply with applicable provisions of the Clean Water Act. Where no state agency or Tribe has authority to give such certification, EPA is the certifying authority.
In this case, a portion of the proposed project is within Mount Rainier National Park. Therefore, EPA is a certifying authority for this proposed project. The Washington Department of Ecology is the certifying authority for project activities occurring outside of Mount Rainier National Park.
According to the application, the Federal Highway Administration proposes to impact waters in order to complete bank stabilization and repairs to Carbon River Entrance Road, allowing access to the Carbon River area of Mount Rainier National Park. The project is located in the Carbon River, in Pierce County, Washington (latitude 46.995003, longitude -121.916280).
EPA is requesting comments on Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification for this proposed project.
Project Description
The Federal Highway Administration Western Federal Lands Highway Division proposes to impact approximately 0.08 acres of waters by discharging approximately 700 cubic yards of fill material. The project will complete actions related to emergency work conducted in 2022 to address roadway wash-outs from 2020 and 2021 by:
- Extending the length of bioengineered bank stabilization.
- Completing a culvert repair.
- Re-grading the road to improve stormwater management.
Restoration will be provided through revegetation activities during and after construction.
A copy of the application is available upon request by contacting Jeff Brittain (brittain.jeffrey@epa.gov), 206-553-0532.