Public Notice Notifications

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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-2018-02770 (SP-KRD)

Published Oct. 15, 2018
Expiration date: 10/5/2018

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:
Lee County Electric Cooperative
Mr. Dennis Spencer
PO Box 3455
North Fort Myers, Florida 33917

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Horsepen Strand/Bird Rookery Swamp. The project site is located on a 4.77-acre parcel along Everglades Boulevard, north of 48th Avenue NE and south of 50th Avenue NE, Section 8, Township 48 South, Range 28 East, in Collier County, Florida.

Directions to the site are as follows: From I-75, head east on Immokalee Road and turn left on Oil Well Road. From Oil Well Road, turn north onto Everglades Blvd. and the project site will be located on the east side of Everglades Boulevard between 48th Avenue NE and 50th Avenue NE.

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude 26.321126
Longitude -81.544721

 

PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: To construct an electrical substation.
Overall: To construct a Lee County Electric Cooperative substation in Collier County, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The 4.77± acre project site is located within a portion of Section 8, Township 48 South, Range 28 East, in Collier County, Florida. The parcel is bordered to the west by Everglades Boulevard, and to the north, south, and east by single family homes and vacant land. The site has been disturbed in the past and consist of hydric pine flatwoods invaded by exotics. The entire parcel contains a palustrine forested non-tidal wetland system consisting of hydric pine flatwoods invaded by exotics. The canopy of this association is comprised of slash pine (Pinus elliottii), melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquenervia), widely scattered cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto) and cypress (Taxodium sp.). The understory is open, and ground cover vegetation includes beakrush (Rhynchospora sp.), flatsedges (Cyperus spp.), redroot (Lachnanthes caroliniana), redroot (Lachnanthes caroliniana), nut rush (Scleria sp.), and widely scattered saw palmetto (Serenoa repens).

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to discharge fill material into 4.28-acres of non-tidal forested wetlands to construct the Lee County Electric Cooperative’s Everglades Blvd Electrical Substation and stormwater detention basin. The remaining 0.49-acres of forested wetlands will be avoided.

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 has avoided 0.498-acre of the 4.77-acres of forested wetlands on site.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: The applicant proposes to provide compensatory mitigation via the purchase of 2.85 federal wetland credits from the Panther Island Expansion 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 Corps has determined that the proposed project is located with the consultation areas of the following listed species:
    • Audubon’s Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway)
    • Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon corais couperi)
    • Everglades Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus)
    • Florida bonneted bat (Eumops floridanus)
    • Florida Panther (Puma concolor coryi) – Focus Area
    • Florida Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens)
    • Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) – Core Foraging Areas (CFAs)

The project site does not contain any designated critical habitat for the species listed above.

The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect (MANLAA) the Florida Panther (Puma concolor coryi). The Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) concurrence with this determinations pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Florida Panther - The project is located within the Florida panther secondary focal areas. Potential impacts to the panther were evaluated using the February 19, 2007 Florida Panther Effect Determination Key which keyed out A>C>May Affect because the project is greater than 1 acre. However, since the project will have little impact on vehicle patterns that already exist in the area, the Corps has determined that the project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the Florida panther. The Corps will request concurrence with this MANLAA determination pursuant to Section 7 of the ESA.

The Corps has determined the proposal may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect (MANLAA) or would have no effect on the following listed threatened or endangered species and no further consultation with USFWS will be required. The corresponding effect determinations for these species are as follows:

Audubon’s Crested Caracara – The project site is located within the caracara consultation area. The Audubon’s crested caracara is a raptor that typically nests in solitary or small groups of cabbage palms within larger areas of open grasslands. The applicant stated that no Audubon’s crested caracara or their nests were observed onsite and the quality of the potential habitat is poor. Therefore, since the site does not support suitable habitat that would be utilized by the caracara, the Corps has determined that the project will have no effect on this species and no further consultation will be required.

Eastern Indigo Snake - Use of the July 2017 Revised Eastern Indigo Snake Programmatic Effect Determination Key resulted in the following sequential determination: A>B>C>D>NLAA with no further consultation is necessary for the effects of the proposed action on the eastern indigo snake. This determination is based on the project’s impacts to less than 25 acres of eastern indigo snake potential habitat, the site having no known active or inactive gopher tortoise burrows, and the applicant’s willingness to adhere to the Service’s Standard Protection Measures for the Eastern Indigo Snake during site preparation and project construction.

Everglades Snail Kite - The project site is located within the snail kite’s consultation area but does not support suitable habitat that would be utilized by the species. Nesting almost always occurs over water, which deters predation. Nesting substrates include small trees (usually < 10 m in height). Based on a lack of foraging opportunities (primarily open marshes) nearby there is a very low potential for this species to be present with the study area, so the Corps has determined that the project will have no effect on this species and no further consultation with USFWS will be required.

Florida bonneted bat - The project is located within the consultation area of Florida bonneted bat (FBB), but is not within a designated focal area. Potential impacts to the FBB were evaluated using the 2013 FBB consultation guidelines key, the project keys out 2>a>MANLAA (may affect, but not likely to adversely affect). Potential roost sites for the FBB include, but are not limited to, large cavity trees or trees with hollows, snags, abandoned buildings, bridges and overpasses. Per U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service guidance, a series of meandering transects were completed across the site in search of potential natural roosting structures by the applicant. No bats or their cavities, hollows, or other suitable structures were observed. Therefore, the Corps has determined that the project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the Florida bonneted bat and no further consultation will be required.

Florida Scrub-Jay - The project is located with the Florida Scrub-Jay consultation area. However, the project site does not support suitable scrub habitat utilized by the Scrub-Jay, so the Corps has determined that the project will have no effect on the scrub-jay and no further consultation will with USFWS will be required.

Wood Stork - The project is located within the wood stork colonies buffer areas or core foraging areas. The wood stork key outlined in the USFWS May 18, 2010 South Florida Programmatic Concurrence Letter was used to conduct a sequential effect determination for the species. Use of the key resulted in the following determination: A>No Effect since the site does not support suitable foraging habitat and no individual were observed on-site. The Corps has determined that the project will have no effect on the wood stork and no further consultation with USFWS will be required.

The Corps has determined that the project will have no effect to ESA listed species under the jurisdiction of National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), as this project is not located near or adjacent to any tidal of freshwater waterways that could support these species.

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): This notice initiates consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service on EFH as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996. The proposal would not impact any habitat utilized by EFH species. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have an effect on EFH or Federally managed fisheries. Our final determination relative to project impacts and the need for mitigation measures is subject to review by and coordination with the NMFS.

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 to date. A preliminary jurisdictional determination has been requested by the applicant.

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 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, as well as the compensatory mitigation proposed.

QUESTIONS concerning this application should be directed to the project manager, Katy Damico, in writing at the Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Blvd, Fort Myers, Florida 33919; by electronic mail at Katy.R.Damico@usace.army.mil; by facsimile transmission at (813) 769-7061; or, by telephone at (813) 769-7076.

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.