AGENCY COORDINATION

Coordination with federal, state, and local agencies and government entities has been and will continue to be an integral part of the Nice Bridge Improvement Project. Agency coordination has occurred through Interagency Meetings and written correspondence. Agencies, including the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), have provided comments and concurrence on the Combined Purpose and Need, Alternates Retained for Detailed Study Package, the draft Environmental Assessment/Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation (EA), the Preferred Alternate/Conceptual Mitigation package, and the Finding of No Significant Impact/Final Section 4(f) Evaluation (FONSI).

Coordination meetings held with regulatory agencies included a field view and Virginia resource resolution meetings.

April 20, 2009- A field view was conducted with the Army Corp of Engineers, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) - Critical Areas to review project impacts and potential sites for wetland mitigation. A total of five preliminary mitigation sites were reviewed. Each of these sites was included in the draft wetland Compensatory Mitigation Plan (CMP), which is included as Appendix D of the EA for additional agency comment and public review. The final CMP will be completed as part of the Section 404 (Clean Water Act) permit application process.

• September 14, 2009- A meeting was held to begin discussing the impacts to the properties adjacent to US 301 in Virginia. If a northern alternate is selected there would be impacts to parkland; a southern alternate would impact Naval Support Facility Dahlgren. Agencies with a direct or regulatory interest in these impacts include: the National Park Service, Federal Highway Administration, Naval Support Activity South Potomac, King George County, Virginia, Virginia Tourism Corporation, and the Virginia Department of Transportation, as well as the Authority. This group will continue to meet as needed to identify solutions and mitigation for properties affected in Virginia.
• November 16, 2009 - A second meeting was held to discuss potential property impacts in Virginia from the project. The team presented an overview of comments received at the Public Hearing and during the public comment period. The discussion focused on right-of-way and mitigation, and the process to begin resolving mitigation needed for the project. As mitigation for the project is identified, the group will meet to discuss potential options.

Coordination with regulatory agencies will continue to take place throughout the Nice Bridge Improvement Project to ensure they are kept informed and up-to-date on the issues and processes of the project. On September 29, 2010, agency concurrence was received on MDTA's Preferred Alternate and Conceptual Mitigation, and the project's final environmental document (FONSI) was approved by FHWA on November 27, 2012.