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-2021-03299(SP-LCK)

USACE Jacksonville District Regulatory
Published March 1, 2022
Expiration date: 3/31/2022
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:
50 Isle of Venice, LLC.
Attn: John Brown
74 Fiesta Way
Fort Lauderdale, FL 3330

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project is located within waters of the U.S. associated with a residential manmade canal (Rio Cervantes), adjacent to 50 Isle of Venice Drive in Ft. Lauderdale (Section 12, Township 50 South, Range 42 East), in Broward County, Florida.

Directions to the site are as follows: US-1, south on NE 17th Way, east on NE 8th St. South on North Victoria Park Road, South onto SE15th Ave., east on East Las Olas Blvd., north on Isle of Venice Drive.

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude 26.1220°
Longitude -80.1201°

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic: The basic project purpose is to improve water access and shoreline stabilization of a multi-family residence.

Overall: The overall project purpose is to improve water access and shoreline stabilization of a multi-family residence at 50 Isle of Venice Drive, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The adjacent upland is a multi-family lot that has 119 linear feet of existing shoreline that is stabilized with a concrete seawall. There is 157 square feet of existing wood finger piers with eight (8) mooring piles. A seagrass survey was conducted in August 2021 and indicated that no seagrass was located within the survey project area. The benthic substrate consisted of silt and oyster shells. Depths within the survey area varied from 5-7”, with depths increasing towards the center of the Rio Cervantes waterway.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant proposes to improve water access of an existing eight (8) slip multi-family residence by conducting the following activities:
1. Removal of existing wood finger piers (157 SF);
2. Installation of a 119 linear foot concrete panel seawall with 3-foot wide concrete cap, thirteen (13) king piles, and thirteen (13) batter piles that extends nine (9) feet from the existing seawall, and place approximately 152 cubic yards of backfill behind the new seawall;
3. Installation of four (4) finger piers measuring 24-feet by 4-feet each (total ±376 SF), with 16 concrete piles;
4. Installation of five (5) wood mooring piles.

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:

A seagrass survey was conducted in August 2021 and indicated no seagrasses were present within the survey area. The substrate was composed of silt and oyster shells with minimal light penetration to the bottom. Turbidity barriers will be installed prior to commencement of in-water work, using the smallest footprint possible to encompass the work while minimizing temporary impediments to navigation. Turbidity curtains will encompass the entire area. All construction will occur during daylight hours and installation of the proposed seawall panels will be driven in and then backfill will be placed behind the wall. The proposed structures will take up less than 25% width of the waterway.

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

No impacts to submerged aquatic vegetation are proposed or anticipated, therefore no compensatory mitigation should be required.

CULTURAL RESOURCES:

The Corps is evaluating the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This public notice serves to inform the public of the proposed undertaking and invites comments including those from local, State, and Federal government Agencies with respect to historic resources. Our final determination relative to historic resource impacts may be subject to additional coordination with the State Historic Preservation Officer, those federally recognized tribes with concerns in Florida and the Permit Area, and other interested parties.

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), and would not adversely modify its designated critical habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s has given concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and no further consultation is required.

The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the endangered smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), swimming sea turtles: the endangered green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), the endangered hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), the endangered leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), and the threatened loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). The Corps will request concurrence with these determinations from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Protected Resources Division 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 proposed backfill would impact approximately 802 square feet of un-vegetated benthic habitat 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 Fisheries. 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: The project is not located within 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 been verified by Corps personnel.

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 Blvd, STE 500, Palm Beach Gardens, 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, Ms. Linda Knoeck, in writing at the Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Blvd, STE 500, Palm Beach Gardens, 33410; by electronic mail at Linda.C.Knoeck@usace.army.mil.

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.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: This public notice serves as the notification to the EPA pursuant to section 401(a)(2) of the Clean Water Act. Water Quality Certification may be required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and/or one of the state Water Management Districts.

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.