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Army Corps raises Wisner Road issue
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - April 25, 2012)
Army Corps raises Wisner Road issue
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
An April 26 letter from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers appeared to undermine Chardon Township's chances for finding grant money to shore up a portion of Wisner Road that is slipping into a ravine.
But a subsequent response from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency indicated that it would have no bearing on the grant application, and Chardon Township Trustees questioned the substance of the letter.
Township Trustee Charles Strazinsky Jr. said last week that the letter informed local officials that they violated federal law in 2006 when fill was added along a tributary of the Chagrin River.
"Based on observations of the site on July 5, 2011, by myself and a review of in-office resources, it was determined that the tributary within your project area is subject to regulation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers," wrote Tina P. Stonemetz, a biologist with the monitoring and enforcement section. "More specifically, the stream is part of a surface water tributary system to the Chagrin River, a navigable water of the United States. The investigation further determined that fill was discharged into 450 linear feet of intermittent stream without proper Department of the Army authorization."
The apparent violation appeared to halt a planned grant application through the Ohio EPA for additional work along Wisner Road, between Mitchells Mill and Mentor roads.
The township had partnered in the grant application with the Chagrin River Watershed Partners, which said the violation may have killed the township's chances for the grant.
"After reviewing the attached U.S. Army Corps of Engineers letter addressed to the township regarding the Wisner Road project, the referenced violations would prohibit the township from applying for Ohio EPA Surface Water Improvement Fund grant monies to restore the stream and adjacent road embankment," Matt Scharver, of the watershed partnership wrote.
"It might have screwed up this grant opportunity," Mr. Strazinsky said of plans to shore up the road. "We don't have that kind of money."
But he said he has since talked with EPA officials, who told him the letter of violation would have no bearing on the grant application, and the township is now proceeding with it.
Local officials questioned whether the violation actually occurred.
Trustee Steven Borawski, who oversaw the 2006 project, said it was done by using Federal Emergency Management Agency funds in an emergency situation. It was completed more than 300 feet above the Chagrin River, he said. Three hundred feet is the traditional high-water mark used by the Army Corps to determine its jurisdiction.
Former township Road Superintendent Donald Mohney said FEMA officials had said there would be no problem working above the high-water mark.
"I think she's wrong about the violation," Mr. Borawski said of the Army Corps letter.
Current Road Superintendent John Washco said the work was performed 610 feet above where the tributary feeds into the Chagrin River.
Township officials also researched and found that a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official had issued a permit for the work to Geauga County engineers.
Mr. Strazinsky said he checked with the Army Corps about the work and learned that fill was added that was not part of the permit.
Despite the violation, Ms. Stonemetz wrote that the Army Corps would not take any further action against the township.
"The fill on the project site remains unauthorized and may be considered in future applications to perform work within this tributary," she wrote. "If you propose any additional in-water work to stabilize or modify the stream, I highly recommend that you submit an application for the Department of Army authorization prior to initiating any work.
"Should any additional work begin in an area which is within D.A. jurisdiction without proper authorization, you will incur additional violations of federal law. If that happens it will be considered a knowing and willful violation, and as a result, your project may be stopped, a full or partial restoration of the jurisdictional area may be required and/or you may be subject to civil penalties."
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