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: Innerarity Townhome Association, Inc.
c/o John McDaniel
5615 Bauer Road
Pensacola, Florida 32507
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Perdido Bay. The project is located at Parcel ID 15-3S-32-1900-000-500 at 15900 Innerarity Point Road, in Section 15, Township 3 South, Range 32 West, in Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From Downtown Pensacola, head west on East Garden Street and veer southwest on SR-292/Barrancas Avenue. Continue west on SR-292 for 10.2 miles. Turn west on Innerarity Point Road and continue for 3.1 miles. The site is located on the north side of the road.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude 30.314254°
Longitude -87.473179°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Marina
Overall: Construct a private marina to accommodate residents of an existing multi-family development on Innerarity Island in Perdido Bay, in Pensacola, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The subject site consists of an 1,825.5-linear foot shoreline riparian to Perdido Bay with an existing upland multi-family residential development. The eastern 951 feet of shoreline is armored with combination of limestone rip rap and a vinyl seawall. The western 874.5 feet of shoreline remains natural and includes a combination of open beach and emergent tidally influenced wetlands. A 68-unit townhome development occupies the eastern two-thirds of the upland subject property. The site is surrounded by Perdido Bay to the north, Innerarity Point Road to the south, and residential developments to the east and west. The existing marsh at the center of the project site is not within the footprint of the proposed work. There is no seagrass in the vicinity of the project.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to construct a 30-slip private marina associated with the existing upland multi-family residential development. The proposed 9,089.8-square foot structure would be located at the eastern end of the site and would consist of a 522.3-foot by 6-foot access pier, a 260-foot by 10-foot terminal pier, a 12-foot by 12-foot terminal platform, an 8-foot by 4-foot platform, a 20-foot by 12-foot platform, thirty-one (31) 3-foot by 30-foot finger piers, a 5-foot by 30-foot finger pier, and 32 mooring pilings forming thirty (30) 34-foot by 14-foot uncovered slips. No dredging is proposed.
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 contractor will employ best management practices included but not limited to silt fencing and turbidity curtains to prevent erosion and sedimentation into adjacent waters. Materials and equipment will be stored in uplands. No SAVs or emergent wetland vegetation within area of potential affect.”
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: Due to the nature of the project, the applicant did not offer compensatory mitigation.
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 would not likely adversely affect the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) as determined using the 2013 Manatee Key, following couplets A > B > C > G > H > I > J> L > N > O > P. The Corps has also determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi), Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), Kemp’s Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), and Smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata). The Corps will request the 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 proposed project would impact approximately 0.21 acre of estuarine subtidal habitat due to shading and 93 square feet of estuarine subtidal habitat due to the installation of pilings, utilized by various life stages of 4 shark species (Atlantic sharpnose, blacktip, bull, spinner), four shrimp species (brown, white, pink, Royal red), coastal migratory pelagic species, red drum, and 43 species of reef fish. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed 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.
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.
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 North Jefferson Street, Suite 301, Pensacola, Florida, 32502 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, Holly Millsap, in writing at the Pensacola Permits Section, 41 North Jefferson Street, Suite 301, Pensacola, FL 32502, by electronic mail at Holly.M.Millsap@usace.army.mil, or by telephone at (850) 470-9823.
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.