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: Florida Power and Light Company
700 Universe Boulevard
Juno Beach, Florida 33408
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with wetlands and agricultural ditches. The project site is located on an undeveloped parcel along Highway 60 at the Okeechobee/Indian River County border within Sections 1, 2, 11, and 12, Township 33 south, Range 35 east, Okeechobee County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: Take State Road 60 approximately 24 miles west of Vero Beach to 226th Court and head south to the Okeechobee/Indian River County border.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude: 27.639027°
Longitude: -80.784373°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: The basic project purpose is to provide electricity.
Overall: The overall project purpose is to provide additional baseload generation to maintain FPL system reliability in the most cost-effective manner within FPL’s service territory.
EXISTING CONDITIONS:
The Okeechobee Clean Energy Center (OCEC) Site is comprised of approximately 2,341 acres, 70% of which is comprised of citrus groves and pastures, with additional areas of irrigation and drainage ditches, herbaceous and forested wetlands, upland forest, shrub and brushland, and palmetto prairie.
Approximately 189 acres of the Site are proposed for construction of the natural gas plant (OCEC Unit 1) within an area dominated by active citrus groves and cattle pasture bisected by manmade irrigation/drainage ditches and three small areas of mixed wetland forested wetlands surrounded by drainage ditches. The remainder of the Site includes areas of open space adjacent to Unit 1, a 376-acre mitigation area, and approximately 1,629 acres designated for potential future solar generation. The existing conditions within the proposed construction area are further described below.
Areas of active citrus groves comprise approximately 124.9 acres of the area proposed for the OCEC Unit 1. Within the area designated as open space adjacent to Unit 1, an additional 49.8 acres of citrus groves are proposed to be removed. These areas were historically cleared and graded to create elevated rows of citrus trees and irrigation ditches. Natural vegetative communities have been removed and are routinely controlled through application of herbicides, although a variety of weedy herbaceous and shrub species occur within the citrus groves, such as bahia grass, beggarticks (Bidens alba), caesarweed (Urena lobata), woodland false buttonweed (Spermacoce remota), and the exotic species Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius) and cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica).
Approximately 47.7 acres of improved and unimproved pasture occurs within the area proposed for the OCEC Unit 1. These improved pasture areas have been historically converted from natural vegetation to bahia grass (Paspalum notatum) and support active cattle grazing. Additional species include scattered shrubs and trees, including wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera), groundsel tree (Baccharis halimioflia), laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia), live oak (Quercus virginiana), cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto), and a variety of common herbaceous species, such as broomsedge bluestem (Andropogon virginicus), dogfennel (Eupatorium capillifolium), slender flattop goldenrod (Euthamia caroliniana), carpet grass (Axonopus spp.), and blackberry (Rubus cuneifolius).
Irrigation and drainage ditches occur throughout the citrus grove and improved pasture areas within the proposed location of the OCEC Unit 1 and adjacent lands designated as open space areas, comprising approximately 20.02 acres. These ditches support a variety of nuisance/exotic and native herbaceous species, such as Peruvian primrose willow (Ludwigia peruviana), cattail (Typha latifolia), marsh pennywort (Hydrocotyle umbellata), water spangles (Salvinia minima), duckweed (Lemna minor), torpedo grass (Panicum repens), soft rush (Juncus effusus), smartweed (Polygonum spp.), dayflower (Commelina diffusa), alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides), Mexican primrose willow (Ludwigia octovalvis), arrowhead (Sagittaria lancifolia), pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), leather fern (Acrostichum danaeifolium), and Virginia chain fern (Woodwardia virginica). Occasional shrub species occur along the edges of the ditches, including the exotic Brazilian pepper as well as coastal plain willow (Salix caroliniana), wax myrtle, groundsel tree, and sapling red maple (Acer rubrum).
Three areas of mixed wetland hardwoods occur within the proposed location of the OCEC Unit 1, comprising approximately 4.7 acres. These forested wetlands are surrounded by drainage ditches connecting to the network of citrus irrigation ditches. The canopy is dominated by red maple, with occasional subdominant species including cabbage palm, American elm (Ulmus americana), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), and laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia). Brazilian pepper typically forms a dense shrub layer along the perimeter of these mixed hardwood wetlands, with additional shrub species present including wax myrtle and groundsel tree. The groundcover within the interior of the wetlands includes a variety of species such as swamp fern (Blechnum serrulatum), cinnamon fern (Cinnamomea camphora), royal fern (Osmunda regalis), sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense), arrowhead, Virginia chain fern, marsh pennywort, leather fern, and the exotic old world climbing fern (Lygodium microphyllum).
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to place 121,000 cubic yards of fill material over 20.02 acres of agricultural ditches and 4.7 acres of mixed wetland hardwoods habitat in order to construct a natural gas power plant. Approximately 0.11 acres of temporary impact to ditches would occur associated with culvert improvement along the existing access road and installation of the on-Site segment of a natural gas pipeline. Natural gas will be provided by an independent supplier and the off-Site supply pipeline will be permitted separately and operated by the supplier.
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:
Efforts to avoid and minimize wetland and surface water impacts initially focused on selection of a site that maximized acreage of uplands and provided opportunities to co-locate with existing infrastructure (transmission lines, access roads) to reduce the area of required construction disturbance. Within the project site, further avoidance and minimization efforts focused upon locating the construction area so as to maximize utilization of previously-disturbed upland areas (citrus grove and improved pasture). A 376-acre mitigation area in the northeast corner of the site was avoided.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
The 376-acre mitigation area in the northeast corner of the site that is being avoided is proposed to be enhanced and preserved as mitigation. The proposed impacts to the agricultural ditches result in a functional loss of 9.41 UMAM functional units. The proposed impacts to the mixed wetland hardwoods result in a function loss of 3.16 UMAM functional units. The proposed 376-acre mitigation area results in 14.4 UMAM functional units.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps is not aware of any known historic properties within the permit area. The applicant conducted both a Phase I cultural resource assessment of the area proposed for construction of OCEC Unit 1 and access road and a desktop cultural resource assessment of the remainder of the Site. Based on the assessment, it was determined that no significant archaeological or historic resources that would be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places occur within the Site. The cultural resource assessment was submitted to the State Historic Preservation Officer for concurrence. 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: The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the Wood Stork, Everglade Snail kite, and the Audubon Crested Caracara. The Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
The Corps has determined the proposal would have no effect on any listed threatened or endangered species or designated critical habitat.
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 site does not contain essential fish habitat. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the South Atlantic Region. 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. The jurisdictional line [has/has not] been verified by Corps personnel.
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 Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410 within 15 days from April 10, 2017.
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, Samantha L. Rice, in writing at the Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410; by electronic mail at Samantha.L.Rice@usace.army.mil; by facsimile transmission at (561)626-6970; or, by telephone at (561)472-3530.
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.