Public Notice Notifications

The Jacksonville District currently has five categories of public notice notification mailing lists. If you wish to receive email notifications when new public notices are added to this page, please send a request to Regulatory Webmaster.  Each category is described below. Be sure to specify which list(s) you want to be included on.

Florida - This includes all public notices for projects being reviewed for Standard Permits within the State of Florida.

Antilles - This includes all public notices for projects being reviewed for Standard Permits within the Antilles area (this includes Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands).

Tropical Storms & Other Emergencies - These public notices provide information on procedures for emergency permitting requirements due to specific tropical storm events or other emergency situations.

Special Issues - These are public notices that involve the Regulatory program but which are generally not limited to one particular geographic area. These would include public notices for the establishment or modification of Restricted Areas/Danger Zones, re-issuance of General Permits or Nationwide Permits, changes to guidance and policies, etc.

Administrative Penalty - These public notices provide information associated with Administrative Penalties. An Administrative Penalty can be assessed to address violations associated with issued Department of the Army permits.

SAJ-2017-01313 (SP-PRJ)

Published May 31, 2017
Expiration date: 6/21/2017
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:  CP and HC Residential Lots, LLC
                       2379 Beville Road
                       Daytona Beach, Florida 32119

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Black Branch Swamp. The project site is located along Easthampton Boulevard just south of the intersection of Easthampton Boulevard and Eric Drive, in Sections 1 and 12, Township 12 South, Range 30 East, Palm Coast, Flagler County, Florida.

Directions to the site are as follows: Traveling from Jacksonville take I-95 South to
US-1 South. Turn east onto Royal Palms Parkway and turn south onto Belle Terre Parkway. Then turn west onto Easthampton Boulevard and follow Easthampton Boulevard to Eric Drive. The project site is located just south of the intersection of Easthampton Boulevard and Eric Drive.

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:  Latitude 29.480452°
                                                                          Longitude -81.235217°

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic: The basic project purpose is to construct a residential development.

Overall: The overall project purpose is to construct a residential development in Palm Coast, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project site contains three land use/land cover types classified by the Florida Land Use, Cover and Forms Classification System (FLUCFCS, 1999): Pine Flatwoods, Ditch, and Wetland Forested Mixed. The Pine Flatwood community is dominated by slash pine and loblolly pine and also includes hardwoods such as live oak and water oak throughout. The Ditch community is an unvegetated ditch that is runs along the northern property line. The Wetland Forested Mixed community is approximately 11.85 acres of contiguous mixed forested wetlands. The canopy is made up of bald cypress, black gum, slash pine, and loblolly bay. The groundcover in this community is made up of sawgrass, fetterbush, maidencane, blue flag iris, netted chainfern, Virginia chainfern, cinnamon fern, and royal fern. The soils on the project site include Samsula and Hontoon soils, depressional; Placid, Basinger, and St. Johns soils, depressional; and Myakka-Myakka, wet, fine sand. The Samsula and Hontoon soils have a depth to water table of approximately 0 inches. The Placid, Basinger, and St. Johns soils have a depth to water table of approximately 0 to 12 inches. The Myakka-Myakka soils have a depth to water table of approximately 6 to 18 inches. The project site is bordered by residential development on the north, west, and east. In addition, there is sparse development located south of the project site.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to place fill material in 3.99 acres of waters of the United States in association with the construction of a residential development.

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:

The applicant used various design plans and elements to reduce and minimize impacts to waters of the United States. The applicant also took into consideration the quality of the wetlands when they were creating plans that would avoid and minimize impacts to waters of the United States.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:

The applicant proposes to purchase 2.53 federal mitigation bank credits from the Fishtail Swamp Mitigation Bank (SAJ-2007-05851) as compensatory mitigation for impacts to 3.99 acres of waters of the United States.

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:

The Corps is not aware of any listed threatened or endangered species or designated critical habitat located in the project area. The Corps will provide the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service a copy of this public notice for review.

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. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in Black Branch Swamp. 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 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 Jacksonville Permits Section, P.O. Box 4970, Jacksonville, Florida 32232, 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, Paula Johnson, in writing at the Jacksonville Permits Section, P.O. Box 4970, Jacksonville, Florida 32232; by electronic mail at paula.r.johnson@usace.army.mil or by telephone at (904)232-2503.

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.