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: Alejandro Rodriguez
Coastal Construction, Inc
4661 SW 71 Avenue
Miami, Florida 33155
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the C-9 Canal which flows into Biscayne Bay. The project site is located at 502 NW 207th Street, legally described as NW ¼ of SW ¼ Less N35 Ft & W 35 Ft & S 25 Ft & 25 Ft to Co. in Section 36, Township 51 Range 41, Miami Gardens, Miami-Dade, Florida 33169 (Folio 34-1136-000-0030).
Directions to the site are as follows: Take I-95 North to exit 12 C US-441, turn left onto NW 207th Street, in 0.3 miles arrive at the site
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 25.963447°
Longitude -80.212093°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: To construct a residential development and associated Storm Water Management System (SWMS).
Overall: To construct a residential development and associated SWMS in Miami Gardens, Miami-Dade County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The wetland system consists of a wet prairie community and a melaeuca wetland. The onsite vegetation consists of Coinwort (Centella Asiatica), Beak Sedge (Rhynchospora spp.), and various Sedges (Carex sp.), Melaleuca, and Australian Pines, swamp fern (Blechnum serrulatum) and scatteredsawgrass (Cladium jamaicense).
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to impact 37.01 acres of freshwater wetlands with 246,114 cubic yards of fill for construction of a residential development and a SWMS.
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:
As part of the design process, the applicant reviewed the development footprint to
determine if the proposed project design could be modified in an effort to avoid
high quality or regionally important wetland or upland habitats. This review and
analysis revealed that the project is located entirely within low quality, historically
impacted wetlands. The proposed dredging and filling will be performed in such a
way as to preserve water quality from potential contamination during construction.
Pre-construction meetings will stress the importance of staying within the project
boundaries, and silt fencing will be installed and regularly inspected at the outer
edges to ensure no impacts outside of the project boundaries.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
Should the Corps determine the proposed project warrants authorization mitigation would be required to offset impacts associated with the 37.01-acre freshwater wetland. The applicant has proposed to replace the loss of wetland functions by contributing to a federally approved mitigation bank which services the project location. Time lag and risk would be a required component of any mitigation requirement. The appropriate amount and location of mitigation will be determined after consultation with federal, state, and local agencies.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps is not aware of any known historic properties within the permit area. By copy of this public notice, the Corps is providing information for review. Our final determination relative to historic resource impacts is subject to review by and coordination with the State Historic Preservation Officer and those federally recognized tribes with concerns in Florida and the Permit Area.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: Potential impacts to the endangered Wood Stork were evaluated using Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, and the State of Florida Effect Determination Key for the Woodstork in Florida, May 18, 2010 (Key). Use of the Key resulted in the sequence A>B>C>E “may affect, not likely to adversely affect”, pending FWS approval of woodstork credit purchase. The Corps will request concurrence with this determination from the Fish and Wildlife service pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by separate letter.
Potential impacts to the endangered Eastern Indigo Snake were evaluated using Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, and the State of Florida Effect Determination Key for the Eastern Indigo Snake in Florida, dated August 13, 2013 (Key). Use of the Key resulted in the sequence A>B>C>D>E “may affect, not likely to adversely affect”, the permit will contain the Eastern Indigo Snake condition, therefore, no further consultation is required.
The Corps has determined that the project “may affect” the Florida Bonneted Bat (Eumops floridanus). The determination is based on the location in the Bonneted Bat focal area. The Corps will request concurrence with this determination from the Fish and Wildlife service pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by separate letter.
AUTHORIZATION FROM OTHER AGENCIES: Water Quality Certification may be required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and/or one of the state Water Management Districts.
COMMENTS regarding the potential authorization of the work proposed should be submitted in writing to the attention of the District Engineer through the Miami Permits Section, 9900 SW 107th Ave, Suite 203, Miami, Florida 33176 within 21 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, Nicole Liette, in writing at the Miami Permits Section, 9900 SW 107th Ave., Suite 203, Miami, Florida; 33176 by electronic mail at Nicole.m.liette@usace.army.mil; by telephone at (305) 779-6051.
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. Evaluation of the impact of the activity on the public interest will also include application of the guidelines promulgated by the Administrator, EPA, under authority of Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act or the criteria established under authority of Section 102(a) of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. A permit will be granted unless its issuance is found to be contrary to the public interest.
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.