Weymouth Public Notice: Proposed Shoreline Walkway

Press release from the Town of Weymouth:

PUBLIC NOTICE ‐ALTERATION OF A U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CIVIL WORKS PROJECT PURSUANT TO 33 USC 408PROPOSED ROCK REVETMENT AND PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY, TOWN OF WEYMOUTH — Interested parties are hereby notified that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District (USACE) is evaluating plans pursuant to r 33 U.S.C. 408 (Section 408) to allow the town of Weymouth to construct a proposed rock revetment and pedestrian walkway.

This project consists of the construction of about a 1,000‐foot‐long rock revetment and walkway along the shoreline of Hingham Bay (Weymouth Fore River). About half of the proposed revetment and walkway will be located along a previouslydeveloped area that consisted of a continuous series of concrete bath houses and concrete seawalls situated at the toe of the coastal bank. The remaining half of the proposed revetment and walkway is located in the same location as an existing rock revetment.

The walkway is proposed to include an 8‐foot‐wide, pre‐cast concrete walkway constructed on the top of the revetment to allow pedestrian access between two sandy town beaches, Wessagussett Beach and George E. Lane Beach. The proposed revetment site was previously filled with sand, but most of this sand fill had been completely eroded from this section of the beach many years ago and this area was abandoned for public access to the waterfront. The southwestern half of the facility will be installed as new construction, and the northeastern half will include the reconstruction of an existing rock revetment that was constructed in 1960 with federal funds.

This notice is being issued pursuant to 33 U.S.C. 408, USACE Engineering Circular (EC) 1165‐2‐220,Executive Order 11988 — Floodplain Management, and Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 1500‐1508) for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et. seq.) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Procedures for Implementing NEPA (33 CFR 230). Section 408 allows USACE to grant permission for the alteration, occupation, or use of USACE civil works projects if it is determined that the activity will not be injurious to the public interest and will not impair the usefulness of the Federal project. A decision on a Section 408 request is a Federal action, and therefore subject to NEPA and other environmental compliance requirements.

The Federal project was designed to protect the adjacent coastal bank and includes the existing stone revetment and sand beach areas that were constructed with federal funds in the 1960s. The action that affects the Federal project includes reconstruction of the existing stone revetment, construction of the concrete pedestrian path, and partial nourishment of beach areas. USACE has determined that the action is categorically excluded under NEPA, and therefore, an Environmental Assessment is not required for this action.

The public is invited to provide comment. To request more information contact: Kevin DiRocco, Levee Safety ProgramManager, New England District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742, (978) 318‐8396, Kevin.J.DiRocco@usace.army.mil. The comment period will end on April 16, 2020.Letters should be postmarked by this date.

This press release was produced by the Town of Weymouth. The views expressed here are the author’s own.