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-2007-05719(SP-HMM)

U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
Published May 31, 2023
Expiration date: 6/30/2023

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

APPLICANT:  The Landings Yacht, Golf and Tennis Club, Inc.
c/o Brad Davidson
4420 Flagship Drive
Fort Myers, Florida 33919

 

WATERWAY AND LOCATION:  The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Caloosahatchee River at 4420 Flagship Drive, Section 20, Township 45 South, Range 24 East, Fort Myers, Lee County, Florida.

Directions to the site are as follows:  From the Fort Myers Field Office, turn left onto Royal Palm Square Boulevard. Turn left onto FL-867 S/McGregor Boulevard. Turn right onto S Landings. Turn left onto S Landings Drive and follow down to the marina.

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:  
Latitude:  26.55145
Longitude: -81.92343

 

PROJECT PURPOSE: Basic:  Reconfigure an existing marina.  

Overall:  Reconfigure an existing marina in Fort Myers, Lee County, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS:  The proposed project area is an existing, 192-slip multi-family marina within a man-made basin that connects to the Caloosahatchee River, an estuarine waterbody. There are no submerged aquatic vegetation or mangroves in the project area. The area surrounding the project site includes single and multi-family residential properties associated with a golf, yacht, and tennis club.

PROPOSED WORK:  The applicant seeks authorization to remove approximately 2,725 square feet of existing over-water structure, including 9 finger piers, and construct approximately 3,895 square feet of new over-water structure, including 9 floating docks (2, 60-foot by 6-foot floating docks; and 7, 45-foot by 6-foot floating docks). The project includes installation of 50 new pilings by impact hammer. The number of slips will not be increased. Turbidity curtains will be used throughout construction to prevent sedimentation of the adjacent waterbody.

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 number and usage of slips will not change. The applicant has agreed to follow the Standard Manatee Conditions for In-Water Work (2011) and the Jacksonville District Programmatic Biological Opinion (JaxBO) Project Design Criteria (PDCs) applicable to piling-supported structures. Turbidity curtains will be used throughout construction to prevent sedimentation of the adjacent waterbody.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required:  No mitigation is proposed because there will be no impacts to special aquatic sites.

CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps has evaluated the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and has followed the guidelines of 33 CFR Part 325, Appendix C. Due to the area having been extensively modified by previous work (see 33 CFR Part 325, Appendix C, Section 3.b.(1)), including excavation to create the man-made basin, the Corps has determined that the project would have No Potential to Cause Effects to Historic Properties.

ENDANGERED SPECIES:  The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect (MANLAA) the West Indian manatee, small-tooth sawfish, or swimming sea turtles; or the designated critical habitat for the West Indian manatee and smalltooth sawfish. The determination for the West Indian manatee was made using “The Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, and the State of Florida Effect Determination Key for the Manatee in Florida (April 2013)”, which keyed out as follows: A-B-C-G-N-O-P-3, MANLAA. The determination for the smalltooth sawfish and swimming sea turtles was made using the “Jacksonville District Programmatic Biological Opinion (JaxBO)”, supersede process. 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, if necessary. 

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. There are no mangroves or submerged aquatic vegetation in the project area. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the Caloosahatchee River or 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: The proposed marina reconstruction is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation channel, nor will it adversely affect any other 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 Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Boulevard, Suite 310, Fort Myers, Florida 33919 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, Heather M. Mason, in writing at the Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Boulevard, Fort Myers, Florida 33919; by electronic mail at Heather.M.Mason@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (239) 850-2171. 

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 was granted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in permit number 0127890-007-EI, issued on November 15, 2022.

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: In Florida, the State approval constitutes compliance with the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection approved the project through permit number 0127890-007-EI on November 15, 2022.

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.