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-2008-02439(SP-KAE)

Published Nov. 28, 2018
Expiration date: 12/19/2018

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 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403) as described below:

APPLICANT: Village of North Palm Beach
                      c/o Chuck Huff, Director of Special Projects
                      501 US Hwy One
                     North Palm Beach, FL 33408

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the North Palm Beach Waterway, Class III Waters, adjacent to a city park located at 603 Anchorage Drive, North Palm Beach (Section 17, Township 42 South, Range 43 East), in Palm Beach County.

Directions to the site are as follows: From Interstate 95, take Exit 77 Northlake Boulevard and head east. Turn left onto Prosperity Farms Road. Turn right onto Lighthouse Drive, Turn right onto Anchorage Drive. Park will be on your right with the marina at the back of the park.

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:

Latitude:     26.813512°
Longitude: -80.068468°

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic: The basic project purpose is for increased water access.

Overall: The overall project purpose is for improved water access at Anchorage Park in North Palm Beach, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The waters on site are estuarine waters located 1.2 river miles upstream of the Intracoastal Waterway. The project site is located in manatee critical habitat and adjacent to the Earman Important Manatee Area. The existing area surrounding the project area consists of a public park with sport fields, playground, a dog park, and marina with a boat ramp. The area surrounding the park is residential.
The submerged bottom at the project site consists of sand, rock, and silt; and the shoreline at the project site is bulkheaded. Mangroves, wetland vegetation, submerged resources, or submerged grassbeds are not located within the project boundaries

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to (1) install forty six (46) timber mooring piles; (2) install forty one (41) concrete piles for the proposed docking structures; (3) install a total of 8,084 square feet of overwater structure consisting of the following structures for 38 wetslips for daytime public use at the public city park:

Kayak Launch 12' x 35'= 420 sq.ft
Finger Piers 4' x 35'=140 x 8=1,120 sq.ft.
Finger Piers 4' x 25'=100 x 9= 900 sq.ft.
Gangway 4' x 24'=96 x 3= 288 sq.ft.
Gangway 6' x 32'=192 sq.ft.
Stage Dock 6' x 45'=270 x2= 540 sq.ft.
Gway landing 6' x 16'=96 x3=288 sq.ft.
Gway landing 6' x 20'=120 sq.ft.
Fixed gway plat 7' x 8'= 56 sq.ft.
Fixed gway plat 8' x 6'= 48 sq.ft.
Floating docks 8' x 240'=1,920 x 2=3,840 sq.ft.
Floating dock 8' x 34'= 272 sq.ft.

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:

Mangroves, wetland vegetation, submerged resources, or submerged grassbeds are not located within the project boundaries; therefore, this project will not cause any adverse impacts to resources.

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

Mangroves, wetland vegetation, submerged resources, or submerged grassbeds are not located within the project boundaries; therefore, this project will not cause any adverse impacts to resources.

CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps has determined the permit area has been extensively modified by previous work and there is little likelihood a historic property may be affected.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), swimming green, Kemp’s Ridley, and loggerhead sea turtles, (Chelonia mydas, Lepidochelys kempii, Caretta caretta), and smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata). The Corps has received programmatic concurrence from both U.S. Fish and Wildlife and National Marine Fisheries Service with these determinations pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

The Corps has determined the proposal would have no effect on any other listed threatened or endangered species or designated critical habitat.

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 directly impact approximately 80.21 square feet of mud, shell, sand and rock bottom with the installation of the piles and would impact 8,084 square feet of bottom by shading which is utilized by various life stages of penaeid shrimp complex, reef fish, stone crab, spiny lobster, migratory/pelagic fish, and snapper/grouper complex. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the South Atlantic Region. Our final determination relative to project impacts and the need for mitigation measures is subject to review by and coordination with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

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 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, Florida 33410 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, Kelly Egan at the letterhead address, by electronic mail at Kelly.A.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.