Permission to Build!
TAMWORTH, NH – The United States Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) has granted Club Motorsports Inc. (CMI) a permit to proceed with work on Valley Motorsports Park, a private driving and exhibition facility in Tamworth, NH.
The ACOE permit, the last of three major state and federal environmental permits, was issued to the project following more than 18 months of rigorous review under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The review included multiple ACOE site visits to verify wetland delineations, two public comment periods to address key public interest factors, as well as a full public hearing in Tamworth on October 6, 2004.
The NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) has already issued two major permits for the motorsports country club project; the “Wetlands and Non-Site Specific Permit” (also known as the Dredge and Fill Permit) in July 2004 and the “Site Specific Permit” (also known as the Alteration of Terrain Permit) in September 2004. In a related April 2005 ruling, the NH DES Wetlands Council voted 8-0 to deny the appeal of the Wetlands Permit, which was filed by FOCUS: Tamworth.
“We are extremely pleased that Valley Motorsports Park has met the Army Corps’ rigorous environmental permitting standards,” said CMI President and CEO Lloyd Dahmen.
“We and our environmental experts and engineers have spent more than 6,000 hours working to develop and propose a project that is sensitive to the environment. In many instances, the technology and techniques we will use to protect the environment go above what is required. Receiving the Army Corps’ permission to proceed is a validation of our efforts to be environmentally sensitive and shows our company’s commitment to the entire permit process.
Without question this is a major step forward for our project.
We thank the ACOE for their thorough and complete review of our application. We recognize that the Corps has made a tremendous effort to carefully follow their stringent process and fairly address all the public input that was submitted.”
Dahmen noted that according to the permit, the ACOE agreed that Valley Motorsports Park’s construction and operation will not cause or contribute to significant degradation of water bodies, and that CMI has taken appropriate and practicable steps to minimize potential adverse impacts of the discharge on the aquatic ecosystem.
(Editors – the ACOE permit is attached on this page as a PDF)
As part of its review, the Army Corps examined wetlands that will be affected by the Valley Motorsports Park, and agreed with NH DES and the Tamworth Conservation Commission that the development will impact less than three-quarters of an acre of wetlands. In granting the Wetlands Permit in July 2004, NH DES wrote, “…that the project will not significantly impair the existing wetlands, surface waters, and groundwater resources.”
Despite affecting only 0.73 acres of wetlands on its 251-acre site, CMI has agreed, as part of its “Mitigation Plan,” to place a 107-acre parcel in Sandwich into a Conservation Easement, protecting the land in perpetuity from any future development.
A first-of-its-kind concept for New England, the Valley Motorsports Park development is located in wooded land on the north face of Mount Whittier off Route 25 in Tamworth, approximately two miles west of the intersection of Routes 25 and 16. Described as a “ribbon through the woods,” the road course would be available for use by its members, much like a golf course country club.
The $28 million development includes a more than three-mile, 18-turn, European-style road course for drivers and motorcyclists to develop and practice their driving skills and attend performance and safety driving schools. In addition, Valley Motorsports Park will feature a vehicle dynamics area for driver development, short and long-term garage buildings, locker room and shower facilities, vehicle maintenance facilities, and a professional driving school. The Clubhouse will feature spectacular views of the White Mountains, function rooms, a pool, tennis courts, an automobile museum, additional locker – rooms, a closed circuit media center, and an elegant restaurant.
Editors - For more information on Valley Motorsports Park or Club Motorsports, Inc., visit www.clubmotorsports.comor contact Scott Tranchemontagne at (603) 625-5713 x222. For membership inquiries, contact a CMI representative at 603-437-3278.
