Jacksonville District is preparing a National Environmental Policy Act assessment for the C-44 Reservoir/Stormwater Treatment Area Project Final Project Operating Manual

U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District is preparing a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assessment for the C-44 Reservoir/Stormwater Treatment Area Project (C-44R/STA) Final Project Operating Manual (POM). The C-44R/STA is a component of the Indian River Lagoon-South (IRL-S) Project under the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The project was authorized in Section 1001(14) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, Public Law 110-114 and Section 8401(6)2. of the Water Resources Development Act of 2022, Public Law 117-3263. The purpose of the C-44R/STA is to capture and attenuate freshwater flows to the St. Lucie Estuary (SLE) and provide treatment of water prior to release into the estuary.

A Preliminary POM has been developed for use during the operations, testing, and monitoring phase for the C-44R/STA and is currently in use. The Preliminary POM will be updated to a Final POM. The Final POM will optimize operations based on updated environmental targets for the SLE, changes to the Lake Okeechobee regulation schedule, and other IRL-S project features expected to come online in order to maximize benefits to the SLE.  This effort will include updating operating criteria for the C-23 Estuary Discharge Diversion Project which is scheduled for completion in 2025.  

We invite the participation of Federal and State agencies, Native American Tribes, local agencies, interested parties and individuals to provide comments and to identify any issues or concerns on the final POM. Please share this notice with any interested party.

Your comments may be transmitted electronically to IRL-S_C44_ProjectOperatingManual@usace.army.mil no later than 30 days from the date of this letter. All comments will be summarized, addressed, and used to inform development of alternatives for the C-44R/STA POM.

Public scoping meetings will be held on February 8, 2024 from 3:00pm to 4:00pm virtually at https://usace1.webex.com/usace1/j.php?MTID=m68668d0416d6ffb2ce1586b4cedfdd8d and again from 6:00pm to 7:00pm virtually at https://usace1.webex.com/usace1/j.php?MTID=ma86529dfd0fcfe014e4c2f5283dae24b.

The C-44 POM Public Scoping Letter is available at: https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/About/Divisions-Offices/Planning/Environmental-Branch/Environmental-Documents/ under Martin County, on the bottom row.