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-2021-01028 (SP-JPF)

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS - REGULATORY
Published July 27, 2021
Expiration date: 8/16/2021
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:
Cortez Road Investments and Finance, Inc.
35 Watergate Drive, Suite 806
Sarasota, FL 34236

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with an unnamed canal connected to Sarasota Bay. The project site is located at 12504 Cortez Road W, Section 3, Township 35 South, Range 16 East, Bradenton, Manatee County.

Directions to the site are as follows: From the Tampa Regulatory office, take I-75 South to State Road 70; take SR 70 west to US 41; take US 41 north to Cortez Road West; take Cortez Road W west to site.

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude 27.47075
Longitude -82.688519

PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Multi-slip marina facility
Overall: Create a 49-slip multi-family marina by adding 27 wet slips to the existing 22 slip marina, including the construction of 4352 square feet of new docks.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The system consists of a tidal, estuarine canal on three sides of an upland peninsula. There is an existing marina facility on the southeast part of the peninsula; most of the existing 22 slips are within this marina. The remainder of the shoreline is vegetated by mangroves. The applicant reported seagrass in the canal waterward of the southwest side of the property, outside of the footprint of the marina.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to construct 4352 square feet of new docks, including the placement of 216 8” pilings, to add 27 wet boat slips to an existing 22-slip facility. The marina will be for the use of residents and guests of a proposed residential community on the landward property.

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 designed the docking facility to avoid the identified area of seagrass coverage, located the parallel docks waterward of the prop roots of the mangroves on the shoreline, and stated that the dock construction and piling installation will not damage any prop roots.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required: The project avoids impact to seagrass resources and mangrove prop roots, and minimizes the amount of mangrove trimming needed for construction. The dock construction complies with the Corps-National Marine Fisheries Service dock construction guidelines.

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 project area is within the consultation areas for the piping plover, the Florida scrub jay, and the West Indian manatee. The site is within the core foraging area for at least one wood stork nesting colony. Construction and use of the docking facility have the potential to affect the Gulf sturgeon, smalltooth sawfish, and swimming sea turtles.

The project will not impact suitable habitat for the piping plover or the Florida scrub jay, and the Corps does not expect either species to be found onsite. The project will not impact suitable foraging habitat for the wood stork. Therefore, the Corps has made a determination of ‘no effect’ for these three species, and no further consultation is necessary.

The Corps evaluated the proposed work utilizing NMFS’s Jacksonville District’s Programmatic Biological Opinion (JAXBO) dated 20 November 2017. The JAXBO analyzes the effects from 10 categories of minor in-water activities occurring in Florida and the U.S. Caribbean on sea turtles (loggerhead, leatherback, Kemp's ridley, hawksbill, and green); smalltooth sawfish; Nassau grouper; scalloped hammerhead shark, Johnson's seagrass; sturgeon (Gulf, shortnose, and Atlantic); corals (elkhorn, staghorn, boulder star, mountainous star, lobed star, rough cactus, and pillar); whales (North Atlantic right whale, sei, blue, fin, and sperm); and designated critical habitat for Johnson's seagrass; smalltooth sawfish; sturgeon (Gulf and Atlantic); sea turtles (green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead); North Atlantic right whale; and elkhorn and staghorn corals in accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. Based on past permitting practices of the Corps and review of consultations with similar in-water construction activities, Project Design Criteria (PDCs) were identified in the JAXBO that typically have been applied to permitted in-water construction activities. These PDCs ensure effects of in-water construction activities are minimal in nature and do not result in adverse effects to listed species or to essential features of designated CH. For this application, the Corps conducted a project specific review to ensure that all of the PDCs were met.

The Corps has determined that the dock construction may affect but is not likely to adversely affect the Gulf sturgeon, swimming sea turtles, and smalltooth sawfish. In accordance with the project-specific review process established in the JAXBO, the Corps will e-mail PDC checklists, certification that the activity meets the applicable PDCs, and supporting documentation for the proposed activity to nmfs.ser.statewideprogrammatic@noaa.gov and jaxbo@usace.army.mil. After sending that e-mail, the Jacksonville District will have satisfied the project-specific review requirements stipulated in the JAXBO and satisfied its obligation under the ESA for the above-listed species and critical habitats within the NMFS purview.

Using The Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, and the State of Florida Effect Determination Key for the Manatee in Florida, April 2013 with May 2019 Addendum, the Corps has determined the proposal may affect the West Indian manatee (A-B-C-G-H-I-J-L-M). The Corps will request initiation of formal consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service/National Marine Fisheries Service pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by separate letter.

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 0.1 acre of unvegetated canal bottom utilized by various life stages of recreationally and commercially important species in the Gulf of Mexico. 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.

NAVIGATION: Based on available information, the waterward edge of the proposed structure is 1200 feet away from the near bottom edge of the Intracoastal Waterway Federal channel.

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. The jurisdictional line [has/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 Tampa Permits Section, 10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120, Tampa, Florida, 33610-8302 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, John Fellows, in writing at the Tampa Permits Section, 10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120, Tampa, Florida, 33610-8302; by electronic mail at john.p.fellows@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (813) 769-7070.

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.

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.