Albuquerque District Permit Application No. SPA-2025-00474
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Albuquerque District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received an application for a Department of the Army permit pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §1344) for the Conroy Excavation Yard Expansion Project. The purpose of this public notice is to solicit comments from the public regarding the work described below.
APPLICANT: Jay Conroy
Conroy Excavating
PO Box 777
Tabernash, CO 80478
AGENT: Jon Stuart
Freestone Aquatics
PO Box 271229
Littleton, CO 80127
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The proposed project would affect wetlands associated with Crooked Creek located at 125 County Road 522 in the Town of Tabernash, Latitude 39.993421, Longitude -105.849451, Grand County Parcel No. 158901200053, Grand County, Colorado.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The applicant currently utilizes the eastern side of the subject parcel to store machinery and materials associated with the Conroy Excavation business.
Based on a delineation provided by the agent, there are an estimated 4.12 acres of palustrine wetlands and 0.37 acre of Crooked Creek located on the subject parcel. The confluence of Crooked Creek and Pole Creek is in the northeast corner of the parcel. These streams have an active floodplain and snowpack influences the duration and severity of runoff. Some beaver activity has been observed in Crooked Creek which affects hydrology by moving more water outside of the normal stream channel. Highway 40 crosses Crooked Creek just below the confluence of Pole Creek and precipitation running off from highway 40 also contributes to the hydrology of the site.
The plant communities on the property are typical of floodplains at these altitudes. Yellow willow (Salix lutea) is the dominant shrub in wetlands and northwest territory sedge (Carex utriculata) is the dominant species in emergent wetlands. The upland areas of the property are dominated by western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii) and mountain brome (Bromun inermis).
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: As stated in application documents, the basic project purpose is to expand available storage area for an existing business.
Overall: As stated in application documents, the overall project purpose is to expand the available storage area for a commercial excavation and landscape maintenance company in Grand County Colorado.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant requests authorization to fill approximately 2 acres of wetlands with clean fill dirt to facilitate the expansion of the storage area.
AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment:
• The proposed activities will avoid all Waters of the U.S. that are not associated with the project area.
• BMP’s to be performed short-term (during construction) include:
-- Silt fence will be installed along the project perimeter to retain any undesired discharge into the adjacent Water’s of the U.S.
-- Toe of slope for project fill will be offset to the interior of the silt fence 15’ to provide buffer from construction activities and silt fence.
-- Stability and integrity of silt fence will be monitored daily to ensure proper function.
• BMP’s to be performed long-term (following project completion)
-- Straw wattles will be placed along the entire toe-of-slope for all placed fill following construction.
-- A 15’ buffer will be maintained between the straw wattles and the silt fence in perpetuity following construction efforts. This 15’ buffer will allow for as needed maintenance to occur to prevent any undesired discharge into adjacent Water’s of the U.S.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has proposed to compensate for the
loss of 2.0 acres of wetlands by purchasing credits from the Colorado Western Slope In-lieu Fees Program’s Colorado Headwater’s service area. The amount of credits proposed for purchase was not identified in the application and the Corps will work with the applicant to identify the appropriate number of credits needed to offset wetland losses, as applicable.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps is evaluating the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This public notice serves to inform the public of the proposed undertaking and invites comments including those from local, State, and Federal government Agencies with respect to historic resources. The District Engineer’s final eligibility and effect determination will be based upon coordination with the State Historic Preservation Officer and/or Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, as appropriate and required, and with full consideration given to the proposed undertaking’s potential direct and indirect effects on historic properties within the Corps-identified permit area.
The Corps consulted district files and records, the latest version of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), applicant submitted documentation, and state records of NRHP listed, eligible, or potentially eligible historic properties to determine if the proposed undertaking may have an effect upon them. The permit area has not been recently surveyed for historic properties; further identification efforts may be required.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has performed an initial review of the application, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC) to determine if any threatened, endangered, proposed, or candidate species, as well as the proposed and final designated critical habitat may occur in the vicinity of the proposed project or otherwise affected by the proposed project. Based on this initial review, the Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project will not affect any federally-listed species or critical habitats. Pursuant to Section 7 ESA, any required consultation with the USFWS will be conducted in accordance with 50 CFR part 402.
This notice serves as request to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for any additional information on whether any listed or proposed to be listed endangered or threatened species or critical habitat may be present in the area which would be affected by the proposed activity.
NAVIGATION: The proposed structure or activity is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation channel.
SECTION 408: The applicant will not require permission under Section 14 of the Rivers
and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 USC 408) because the activity, in whole or in part, would
not alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.
WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: Individual Water Quality Certification (WQC) may be required from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). The applicant submitted a WQC application to CDPHE on May 6, 2026. CDPHE is currently processing that application and is expected to render a decision by July 25, 2026.
NOTE: This public notice is being issued based on information furnished by the applicant. This information has not been verified or evaluated to ensure compliance with laws and regulation governing the regulatory program. The geographic extent of aquatic resources within the proposed project area that either are, or are presumed to be, within the Corps jurisdiction has not been verified by Corps personnel.
EVALUATION: The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits, which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal, must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors which may be relevant to the proposal will be considered including cumulative impacts thereof; among these are conservation, economics, esthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historical properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food, and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership, and in general, the needs and welfare of the people. Evaluation of the impact of the activity on the public interest will also include application of the guidelines promulgated by the Administrator, EPA, under authority of Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act. A permit will be granted unless its issuance is found to be contrary to the public interest.
COMMENTS: The Corps is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, State, and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and other Interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps to determine whether to issue, modify, condition, or deny a permit for this proposal. To make this determination, comments are used to assess impacts to endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public interest factors listed above. Comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and/or an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.
The Albuquerque District will receive written comments on the proposed work, as outlined above, until August 22, 2026. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Benjamin Wilson at Benjamin.R.Wilson@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District, Attention: Benjamin Wilson, 400 Rood Avenue, Grand Junction, CO 81501. Please refer to the permit application number in your comments.
Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider the application. Requests for public hearings shall state, with particularity, the reasons for holding a public hearing. Requests for a public hearing will be granted, unless the District Engineer determines that the issues raised are insubstantial or there is otherwise no valid interest to be served by a hearing.