Public Notice Notifications

The Jacksonville District currently has five categories of public notice notification mailing lists. If you wish to receive email notifications when new public notices are added to this page, please send a request to Regulatory Webmaster.  Each category is described below. Be sure to specify which list(s) you want to be included on.

Florida - This includes all public notices for projects being reviewed for Standard Permits within the State of Florida.

Antilles - This includes all public notices for projects being reviewed for Standard Permits within the Antilles area (this includes Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands).

Tropical Storms & Other Emergencies - These public notices provide information on procedures for emergency permitting requirements due to specific tropical storm events or other emergency situations.

Special Issues - These are public notices that involve the Regulatory program but which are generally not limited to one particular geographic area. These would include public notices for the establishment or modification of Restricted Areas/Danger Zones, re-issuance of General Permits or Nationwide Permits, changes to guidance and policies, etc.

Administrative Penalty - These public notices provide information associated with Administrative Penalties. An Administrative Penalty can be assessed to address violations associated with issued Department of the Army permits.

SAJ-2016-02126 (SP-KAE)

Published April 20, 2017
Expiration date: 5/5/2017

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Jacksonville 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) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403) as described below:

APPLICANT: City of Port Saint Lucie
                      c/o Colt Schwerdt
                      121 SW Port St. Lucie Blvd
                      Port St. Lucie, FL 34984

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project site western boundary is the confluence of City Canals E-3 and E-3 B (southeast of the SW Californian Blvd & SW Del Rio Blvd intersection) and the eastern boundary is the confluence of the E-3 Canal and SW California Blvd, in Sections 1 and 6, Township 37 North, Ranges 39 and 40 East, in Port Saint Lucie, within Port Saint Lucie County, Florida.

Directions to the site are as follows: Take I-95 to Crosstown Parkway in Port Saint Lucie. Head east until SW Cashmere Boulevard, turn right. Go to end of street and turn left on SW Del Rio Boulevard. Turn right on SW California Boulevard and the canal will be on the right hand side of the road.

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:

Latitude:     27.286128°N
Longitude: -80.384761°W

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic: The basic project purpose is for canal maintenance and safety.

Overall: The overall project purpose is for canal maintenance and safety located within the City of Port Saint Lucie, in Saint Lucie County.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The E-3 Canal Bank Stabilization Project is located in the City of Port St Lucie. The project segment of the E-3 canal is approximately 1.46 miles long. The upstream limits begin at the confluence of the E-3 and E-3B Canals, generally located southwest of SW Beeker St. /SW Sudder Ave, and the downstream project limits are at the intersection of the E-3 Canal with SW California Blvd. The E-3 canal is connected to the E-4 canal via double 91” x 58” elliptical concrete pipes crossing SW California Blvd. The E-4 Canal continues southeast and then northeast until it intersects the Monterrey Waterway. The Monterrey Waterway flows southeast until it meets the SFWMD C-24 canal. A control structure at the confluence of the Monterrey Waterway and the C-24 maintains the surface water elevation of the Monterrey Waterway at 9.36’ NAVD.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant is proposing to replace an existing open water canal system with a dual culvert system that shall be buried for the entire length of the E-3 Canal, approximately 1.46 miles. The project has been divided into three (3) phases with increasing sizes of culverts to accommodate the increasing runoff form contributing areas discharging into the system. Conveyance swales will be provided to direct runoff into the proposed ditch bottom inlets. Existing corrugated metal pipe (CMP) cross drains that discharge into the E-3 Canal will be replaced with high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes. Existing HDPE cross drains will be extended to connect to the proposed culverts. All canal banks located within the canal transitions between the end of the proposed culverts and the existing canal at the end of each phase will be stabilized and armored at all side canal connections. The total amount of fill to be discharged for all phases is 82,686 cubic yards with 4,696 tons of riprap for armoring and stabilization at the side canal connections. The applicant is proposing to impact a total of 2.71 acres of waters located within the project scope boundary.

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION INFORMATION – The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment:

The applicant will adhere to construction methodologies following City of Port Saint Lucie and Florida Department of Transportation technical specifications. Construction activities will be performed, for the most part, during the dry season to minimized impacts to the water quality. Silt fences will be installed along the limits of the construction during each phase to avoid sedimentation into the adjacent properties. The silt fence will be inspected weekly and after every rain event to verify integrity. Silt fences will be repaired immediately if a breach has been detected. Floating turbidity barriers will be installed and Soil tracking devices will be installed at every egress location to avoid tracking soils offsite.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION –
The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required:

Efforts to minimize impacts to intersecting canals and ditches will be made through the installation of riprap to protect against washouts and erosion. Large portions of the proposed fill activity will take place within canals that were dug from upland sources and therefore will not require compensatory mitigation.

CULTURAL RESOURCES:
The Corps is not aware of any known historic properties within the permit area. By copy of this public notice, the Corps is providing information for review. Our final determination relative to historic resource impacts is subject to review by and coordination with the State Historic Preservation Officer and those federally recognized tribes with concerns in Florida and the Permit Area.

ENDANGERED SPECIES:
The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the woodstork (Mycteria americana). The Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

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 jurisdictional line has not been verified by Corps personnel. Drawings associated with this project may be too large of a file size to incorporate in this public notice and will be available upon request.

AUTHORIZATION FROM OTHER AGENCIES: Water Quality Certification may be required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and/or one of the state Water Management Districts.

COMMENTS regarding the potential authorization of the work proposed should be submitted in writing to the attention of the District Engineer through the Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410 within 15 days from the date of this notice.

The decision whether to issue or deny this permit application will be based on the information received from this public notice and the evaluation of the probable impact to the associated wetlands. This is based on an analysis of the applicant's avoidance and minimization efforts for the project, as well as the compensatory mitigation proposed.

QUESTIONS concerning this application should be directed to the project manager, Kelly Egan, in writing at the Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410; by electronic mail at Kelly.egan@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (561) 472-3514.

IMPACT ON NATURAL RESOURCES: Coordination with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Marine Fisheries Services, and other Federal, State, and local agencies, environmental groups, and concerned citizens generally yields pertinent environmental information that is instrumental in determining the impact the proposed action will have on the natural resources of the area.

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 or the criteria established under authority of Section 102(a) of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. A permit will be granted unless its issuance is found to be contrary to the public interest.

The US Army Corps of Engineers (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 also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: In Florida, the State approval constitutes compliance with the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan. In Puerto Rico, a Coastal Zone Management Consistency Concurrence is required from the Puerto Rico Planning Board. In the Virgin Islands, the Department of Planning and Natural Resources permit constitutes compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Plan.

REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARING: Any person may request a public hearing. The request must be submitted in writing to the District Engineer within the designated comment period of the notice and must state the specific reasons for requesting the public hearing.