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: Archdiocese of Miami
Attn: Mr. Robert Brown
9401 Biscayne Blvd.
Miami Shores, FL 33138
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the discharge of fill material. The project is located within a 19.60 acre parcel of undeveloped land containing approximately 18.43 acres of Waters of the U.S. (PCN: 503914020010), Weston (Section 14, Township 50 South, Range 39 East), in Broward County Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: Take I-95 South and exit on I-595 and continue west take I-75 South and exit on Royal Palm Blvd. and continue west. Turn left onto Boneaventure Blvd. Turn right on South Post Road. Turn left onto SW 26th Street, parcel of land is immediately on the right.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude: 26.089°
Longitude: -80.410°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: The basic project purpose is to construct a commercial development.
Overall: The overall project purpose is to construct a commercial development to serve Weston parishioners in worship and school in Weston Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The subject property is approximately 19.56 acres and is comprised of 2.09 acres of upland fill along its southern and eastern boundaries and contains 17.47 acres of wetlands. The wetland system consists of exotic hardwood wetland system. The onsite vegetation is heavily overgrown with exotic pest plants species; Brazilian Pepper, Melaleuca and Old World Climbing fern. The existing area surrounding the project site consists of a road immediately to the east and north; to the west is a parcel of land similar in character as the subject site, which is earmarked for the C-11 Impoundment, a CERP project. To the immediate south is the abandoned roadway alignment for SW 26 Street that is also part of the parcel; beyond that is a fill pad, borrow pit and fallow agricultural areas that are also to be incorporated into the proposed C-11 Impoundment.
PROJECT HISTORY: The Corps issued a Department of the Army (DA) permit on June 7, 2012, and expires on June 7, 2017, that authorized the impact of 12.78 acres of jurisdictional wetlands for the construction of a church, school, rectory and support facility known as St. Katherine Drexel Church. To offset wetland impacts the applicant was required to enhance 4.69 acres of onsite herbaceous wetlands, restore 1.03 acres of herbaceous wetlands, and purchase 3.05 freshwater credits from the PFL Everglades Mitigation Bank (EMB). The Project has two phases:
Phase 1: Impacts are a total of 9.17 acres of wetlands which will be compensated by both the construction of 5.72 acres of wetlands (4.69 acres enhancement and 1.03 acres of restoration) and the purchase of 1.93 credits at the FPL EMB.
Phase 2: Impacts to 3.61 acres of wetland at the north end of the property which will be compensated from the purchase of 1.12 credits from the FPL EMB.
To date the 9.17 acres of wetlands in Phase I have been filled and developed and mitigation associated with Phase 1 has been completed. The portion of the project involving Phase 2 has not been initiated yet, however credits at the FPL EMB have been set aside.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks a modification to the existing authorization to extend the expiration date an additional 5 years.
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: Avoidance and minimization of onsite aquatic habitats were evaluated with the existing authorization. The Corps has already determined tha the existing authorization has avoided and minimized impacts to onsite wetlands to the maximum extent possible to still achieve their overall project purpose. Since this is a modification to time frame to complete work and no new actions are being proposed, further avoidance and minimization of wetlands are not required.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: To date the 9.17 acres of wetlands in Phase I have been filled and developed and mitigation associated with Phase 1 has been completed. The portion of the project involving Phase 2 has not been initiated yet, however credits at the FPL EMB have been set aside.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: The activity is of such limited scope there is little likelihood of impact upon a historic property; therefore, the proposed project would have “No Potential to Cause Effect”.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the endangered wood stork (Mycteria Americana) or its suitable foraging habitat, and the threatened eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais). The Corps has programmatic concurrence with these determinations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Service's pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and no further consultation with FWS is required.
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 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 BLVD, STE 500, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410 within 15 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, Ms. Linda C. Knoeck, in writing at the Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA BLVD, STE 500, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410; by electronic mail at Linda.C.Knoeck@usace.army.mil; 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.