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-2017-01920 (SP-KNA)

Published Oct. 23, 2017
Expiration date: 11/13/2017
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) as described below:

APPLICANT: Mr. Rudyard Saucedo
                     Rucar USA Inc.
                     2980 Golden Gate Boulevard West
                     Naples, Florida, 34120

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Horsepen Slough watershed. The project site is located at 39th Avenue Northeast, Section 15, Township 48 S, Range 27 E, Naples, Collier County, Florida.

Directions to the site are as follows: From Fort Myers take Interstate 75 South to exit 111 towards Naples Park. Turn left at end of ramp onto Immokalee Road and proceed for approximately 10.2 miles. Turn left onto 39th Ave NE and proceed for approximately 0.3 miles to the project site.

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 26.305673°
                                                                         Longitude -81.598909°

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic: Housing

Overall: To construct a single family residence with driveway and associated infrastructure in Naples, Collier County, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The wetland system consists of a palustrine forested freshwater system. The onsite vegetation consists of Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), Slash Pine (Pinus elliotti), Cabbage-palm (Sabal palmetto), and Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius). The existing area surrounding the project site consists of similar residential developments and undeveloped properties.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to discharge fill material into 0.07 acre of freshwater forested wetlands for the construction of a 20 foot by 171 foot driveway to access a single family residence.

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:

In order to avoid any jurisdictional wetlands the applicant, Rucar USA Inc., hired an environmental consultant to review the property and map out any jurisdictional wetland areas. After having the area mapped for jurisdictional wetlands, the applicant designed a site plan to avoid existing wetland areas to the maximum extent practicable. Due to the location of the wetland on the property, the applicant set the house farther back on the lot from the roadway than normal for this neighborhood. Placement of the house farther back required only the driveway portion of the site plan would impact the existing wetland. To further minimize impacts, the site plan was designed to place the driveway on the west side of the property which had the shortest distance to transverse across the wetland. The applicant minimized the wetland impact to 0.07 acre.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has provided no plan for compensatory mitigation at this time.

CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps has determined the permit area of the activity is of a limited scope that there is little likelihood of impact upon a historic property; therefore, the proposed project would have “No Potential to Cause Effect”.

ENDANGERED SPECIES:

The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the Florida Bonneted Bat (Eumops floridanus), Red-Cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis), and the Florida Panther (Felis concolor coryi). The Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): This project is located above mean high water and does not require consultation under EFH.

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.

AUTHORIZATION FROM OTHER AGENCIES: Water Quality Certification has been issued from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, File No. 0268392-002-EG.

COMMENTS regarding the potential authorization of the work proposed should be submitted in writing to the attention of the District Engineer through the Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Blvd, Fort Myers, FL 33919 within 21 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.

QUESTIONS concerning this application should be directed to the project manager, Allison C. Murphy, in writing at the Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Blvd., Fort Myers, Florida, 33919; by electronic mail at Allison.C.Murphy@usace.army.mil; by facsimile transmission at (239) 334-0797; or, by telephone at (239) 334-1975 ext. 0008.

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 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, File No. 0268392-002-EG.

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.