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-2022-03255(SP-MCA)

CESAJ-RD-SK
Published March 30, 2023
Expiration date: 4/28/2023
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:

Teresa Baker
6309 John Chisum Lane
Austin, Texas 78749

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Florida Bay. The project site is located at 25 Jean La Fitte Drive, Key Largo Florida, 33037.R/E 00496131-001400

Directions to the site are as follows: Take U.S. 1 South to Gasparilla Drive. Turn right onto Gasparilla Drive; Turn right onto Jean La Fitte Drive. Project is located at 25 Jean La Fitte Drive.

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 25.083884 °
Longitude -80.458007 °

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic: The basic project purpose is to construct a single-family residence with associated infrastructure.

Overall: The overall purpose is for the development of a single-family residence with associated infrastructure, in Key Largo, Monroe County, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The property is located within the subdivision Buccaneer Point. The property is situated between two developed lots and a basin that flows into the Florida Bay. The lot is undeveloped except the shoreline which has been developed with a finger pier. The dominant tree species in the fill area are green buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus) with black mangroves (Avicennia germinans). There was sparse ground cover which included sea blite (Suaeda linearis) and sea purslane (Sesuvium maritimum). The soils/ substrate on site were consistent in makeup with native marl with exposed Key Largo limestones and black mangrove pneumatophores throughout the assessment area. It is a disturbed saltmarsh and buttonwood wetland.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to place 650 cubic yards of fill in 7,750 square feet of jurisdictional wetlands, for a single-family residence including development of a swale with 6 inch high retention berms and to install temporary silt fencing.

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: Prior to the start of construction, silt fencing will be deployed and they will remain in place until all construction has subsided.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: If mitigation is required by the Army Corps of Engineers, the appropriate mitigation will be determined with a UMAM and payment made to Keys Restoration Fund.

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: Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon corais couperi) Use of the Eastern Indigo Snake Programmatic Effect Determination key resulted in the following sequential determination: A > B > C > D (1), “may affect, not likely to adversely affect (MANLAA)” for the snake. This determination is partially based on the project being conditioned for use of the Service’s Standard Protection Measures for The Eastern Indigo Snake during site preparation and project construction. Therefore, no incidental take will occur, and no further consultation with the FWS is required.

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. 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 proposed activity is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation 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 not 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 Florida Keys Permits Section, 9900 Southwest 107th Avenue, Suite 203, Miami, Florida, 33176 within 30 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, Maena.C. Angelotti, in writing at the Florida Keys Permits Section, 9900 Southwest 107th Avenue, Suite 203, Miami, Florida, 33176; by electronic mail at Maena.C. Angelotti@usace.army.mil (preferred) or by telephone at 786-417-5339.

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: Water Quality Certification may be required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

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.