JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District (USACE), is issuing a Notice of Availability for the draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Proposed Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) to support the Interim Operations Plan for the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) A-2 Stormwater Treatment Area (STA). Additionally, Jacksonville District will host two public meetings.
The A-2 STA is a feature within the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Phase of the CEPP. The purpose of CEPP is to improve the quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of water flows to the northern estuaries, Water Conservation Area 3, Everglades National Park (ENP), and Florida Bay.
The purpose of the proposed A-2 STA Interim Operations Plan, which would update the CEPP Project Operating Manual (POM), is to provide operating criteria for A-2 STA infrastructure as a federal project feature, after the A-2 STA initial vegetation grow-in period and prior to completion of the CEPP EAA Reservoir.
During interim operations, the A-2 STA will be used to treat Lake Okeechobee water sent south according to the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM) regulation schedule and delivered to the A-2 STA via the Miami Canal. The A-2 STA treatment cells would be operated to distribute flows and water levels within the STA to optimize the removal of phosphorus.
Additionally, the A-2 STA may also receive water from EAA Reservoir construction dewatering. Prior to the completion of the EAA reservoir construction, a subsequent POM update and NEPA evaluation will be performed to integrate A-2 STA operations with the EAA Reservoir and other CERP and non-CERP infrastructure.
The draft SEA and proposed FONSI are available for your review on the Jacksonville District's environmental planning website under Palm Beach County, and then scroll down to the last entry and click any of the blue links to access A-2 STA documents:
http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/About/Divisions-Offices/Planning/EnvironmentalBranch/Environmental-Documents/
Jacksonville District is requesting that any comments be submitted in writing to:
A2-STAInterimOpsPlan@usace.army.mil
Correspondence may be sent to:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Jacksonville District
701 San Marco Blvd.
Jacksonville, FL 32207-8175
Questions concerning the project can also be submitted to Mr. Jacob Thompson at 904-232-1893. The deadline for comments is March 1, 2026.
There will be two public meetings for the Interim Operations Plan for the CEPP A-2 STA:
Wednesday, February 11th from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Microsoft Teams
https://dod.teams.microsoft.us/l/meetup-join/19%3adod%3ameeting_782d378c22fe4a61bf56f5a2d6a16176%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22fc4d76ba-f17c-4c50-b9a7-8f3163d27582%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22bf179866-19bf-4126-9658-57a595ce7518%22%7d
Meeting ID: 993 269 050 608
Passcode: Md7NT642
Dial in by phone at +1 601-262-2433 ID: 179 011 082#
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Wednesday, February 11th from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Microsoft Teams
https://dod.teams.microsoft.us/l/meetup-join/19%3adod%3ameeting_a5d1c012e6df4ce3ad58f358e45e51a3%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22fc4d76ba-f17c-4c50-b9a7-8f3163d27582%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22bf179866-19bf-4126-9658-57a595ce7518%22%7d
Meeting ID: 993 689 561 219
Passcode: ar7wm7u4
Dial in by phone at +1 601-262-2433 ID: 987 461 039#
For more information on CEPP, visit www.saj.usace.army.mil/CEPP
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