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-2016-02868 (SP-ACM)

Published Jan. 8, 2018
Expiration date: 1/29/2018

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: Boman Najmi
                      Lux Biscayne Properties LLC
                      PO Box 3431
                      Crofton, MD 21114

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Sam Knight Creek which leads into the Myakka River. The project area is located in Sections 10/11/14 and 15, Township 40 South, Range 21 East, Charlotte County, Florida. More specifically, the project is located at the northeast corner of intersection of State Route 776 and Biscayne Boulevard.

Directions to project area: From I-75, take exit 164 south toward Punta Gorda, turn left onto US 17 S / Duncan Rd for 2.3 miles and turn right onto US 41 N Tamiami Trail for 8 miles, bear left onto SR-776 W / El Jobean Road for 3 miles, then turn right onto Biscayne Drive and arrive at project on right.

APPROXIMATE COORDINATES: Latitude: 27.002758 º
                                                       Longitude: -82.187513 º

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic: Residential/Commercial Development

Overall: To construct a mixed use single family and commercial development with associated utilities, storm-water features, and access roads in Murdock, Charlotte County, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project area consist of approximately 125 acres. The majority of the site consist of a hardwood conifer mix comprised of slash pine (Pinus elliottii), live oak (Quercus virginiana), and laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia). The site also contains approximately 4.21 acres of perennially wet freshwater surface waters. Surrounding land use is primarily single family residents and undeveloped platted lots. The southern border of the property joins State Route – 776 and directly below this is Same Knight Creek and portions of Tippecanoe Bay.

BACKGROUND: There are no associated Corps permits within the project area.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to discharge dredged and or fill material into 1.35 acre of FLUCCS code 615 (stream and lake swamps (bottomland)
for the construction of a single family residential commercial development with associated attendant features within the 125 acre parcel.

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 proposed site plan allows for the preservation of 2.88 acres of jurisdictional wetlands with an abutting upland buffer with an average of 25 feet, with a minimum distance of 15 feet. This provides for the preservation of nearly 70 percent of the jurisdictional aquatic resources on-site.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION - The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:

As compensatory mitigation for the proposed impacts to aquatic resources on site, the applicant will purchase credits from a Corps approved regional mitigation bank.

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 project site fall within the designated consultation area for the Florida scrub jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), an ESA listed species. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has determined that the project “may affect” the scrub jay and hereby is requesting initiation of formal consultation pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) (NE) Utilization of the FWS South Florida Programmatic Wood stork key resulted in (A>B) with a “no effect” determination for the wood stork. In accordance with the key no further consultation with the FWS is required.


ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): The project would only impact freshwater aquatic features; therefore, the Corps has determined that no substantial adverse impacts to EFH will result from the proposed action.

NOTE: This public notice is being issued based on information furnished by the applicant. This information has been verified and evaluated to ensure compliance with laws and regulation governing the regulatory program. The jurisdictional line has been verified by Corps personnel.

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 Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Boulevard, Suite 310, Fort Myers, Florida 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 aquatic resources. 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, Russel Rouan in writing at the Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Boulevard, Suite 310, Fort Myers, Florida 33919, by electronic mail at Russel.W.Rouan@usace.army.mil, by fax at (239)334-0797, or by telephone at (239) 334-1975 extension 0011.

IMPACT ON NATURAL RESOURCES: Preliminary review of this application indicates that an Environmental Impact Statement will not be required. 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. By means of this notice, we are soliciting comments on the potential effects of the project on threatened or endangered species or their habitat

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 of 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 decision, comments are used to assess impacts on 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 and/or an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act 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.