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-2019-03365(SP-EPS)

Published Aug. 28, 2020
Expiration date: 9/17/2020

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:  Walton County Public Works

                       c/o Greg Graham

                       117 Montgomery Circle

                       DeFuniak Springs, FL 32435

 

WATERWAY AND LOCATION:  The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Choctawhatchee Bay.  The project site is located on the north shore of Choctawhatchee Bay, at the Grady Brown County Park, south of Freeport, immediately west of the US Highway 331 causeway, in Walton County, Florida. 

 

 

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:          Latitude           30.432764°

                                                                                  Longitude -86.155428°

 

PROJECT PURPOSE:

 

Basic:  Recreational improvements

 

Overall:  To improve water-based recreational opportunities in the Walton County portion of Choctawhatchee Bay.

 

EXISTING CONDITIONS:  The project would occur in open waters of Choctawhatchee Bay and the existing boat basin at Grady Brown County Park.  A sandy beach fronts Choctawhatchee Bay and there are no wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation or other special aquatic sites within the proposed work areas.  The existing area surrounding the project area consists of the county park, and residential areas.  The project site has been extensively modified by previous work, including dredging of channels dating back to at least the 1940’s, and filling along the shoreline for activities including the adjacent causeway.  More recent work was authorized by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection under State Programmatic General Permits for dredging, docks and bulkheads entirely within the boat basin.

 

PROPOSED WORK:  The applicant seeks authorization to dredge 2441 cubic yards of sandy sediment from 1.64 acres of bay bottom for a -5-foot deep channel to an existing boat basin at Grady Brown Park, to fill a total of 0.49-acre of open waters with 2602 cubic yards of sand to renourish the existing beach fronting Choctawhatchee Bay, to build a 150-foot long riprap groin, and to backfill behind 340 linear feet of new bulkhead within the boat basin and on Choctawhatchee Bay.  The dredging would be performed hydraulically using a floating Piranha Mini Dredge with a 400-foot discharge hose to the upland spoil disposal site.  The upland spoil site/dewatering basin would be constructed with clean sand transported from offsite.  The dredged material would dewater through at least 2 feet of sand into a 6-inch sock pipe functioning as a side drain filter buried beneath the perimeter of the upland spoil site/dewatering basin.  The filtered water would then discharge to Choctawhatchee Bay behind a turbidity curtain containment area.  The sandy dredged material would be used for backfill and beach nourishment along with the clean sand brought onto the site to construct the upland spoil site/dewatering basin.  The groin would be constructed of Alabama Class III riprap and would function to protect the channel.  Five pilings holding aids to navigation and/or No Wake signs would be installed around the boundaries of the channel.  Turbidity curtains would be installed and maintained around all work areas for the duration of the project.

 

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 project avoids impacts to wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation and other special aquatic sites.  Best Management Practices including turbidity curtains would be used for the duration of the project.

 

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

 

There are no wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation or other special aquatic sites proposed for impact.

 

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 threatened West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), the threatened Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi), the endangered smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), threatened Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), endangered Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), and endangered Kemp’s ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) or its designated critical habitat.  The Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife/National Marine Fisheries Service concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. 

 

 

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 impact approximately 2.13 acres of nearshore bay bottom utilized by various life stages of shrimp, reef fish, red drum, and coastal migratory/pelagic fish.  Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico.  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.

 

SECTION 408: The applicant will not require permission under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (33 USC 408) because the activity, in whole or in part, would not alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.

 

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. 

 

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 Pensacola Permits Section, 41 N. Jefferson Street, Suite 301, Pensacola, FL 32502 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, Ed Sarfert, in writing at the Pensacola Permits Section, 41 N. Jefferson Street, Pensacola, FL 32502; by electronic mail at edward.p.sarfert@usace.army.mil; by facsimile transmission at (850)433-8160; or, by telephone at (850)439-9533. 

 

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.