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 & Light Company
Attn: Michael Sole
700 Universe Blvd JES/JB
Juno Beach, FL 33408
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Indian River Lagoon. The project site is located at 3650 Aico Road, (Sections 28 and 33, Township 34 South, Range 39 East), Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From I-95 in northern St. Lucie County, take Indrio Road west approximately 0.3 miles to Aico Road. Go south approximately 2 miles on Aico Road, the site entrance will be on the left.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude: 27.4882°
Longitude: -80.4428°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: To provide clean and renewable solar energy through construction and operation of the Interstate Solar Energy Center.
Overall: To provide clean and renewable solar energy to the grid in St. Lucie County Florida through construction and operation of the Interstate Solar Energy Center.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The subject property is a 540 acre undeveloped agriculture site that includes agriculture, rangeland, upland forest, wetlands and utilities land uses. There are approximately 144 acres of improved pasture, 77 acres of unimproved pasture, 70 acres of woodland pasture, 39 acres of citrus groves, 3 acres of upland shrub and brush land, 99 acres of pine flatwoods, 8 acres of electrical power transmission lines, and 28 acres of wetlands. Of the 28 acres of onsite wetlands, approximately 18 acres are mixed wetland shrubs in the northern and central portions of the sites and approximately 9 acres of freshwater/graminoid prairie marsh are mostly located in the southern and southwestern portion of the site.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to construct a 74.5 megawatt solar photovoltaic energy center that will include fixed solar arrays, a collector substation, unpaved access paths, and approximately 550-foot long transmission line interconnection. The project will impact 3.16 acres of herbaceous wetlands and 9.58 acres of manmade ditches.
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 Interstate Solar Energy Center layout has been designed to avoid and minimize wetland impacts to the greatest extent practicable. Approximately 75 percent of the onsite wetlands have been completely avoided. However, given the distribution of onsite wetland communities, it was not possible to entirely avoid wetlands without compromising the energy production capability of the facility. The vast majority of impacts will be to low-quality, man-made agricultural ditches.
Impacts to wetlands and water bodies were eliminated or reduced to the extent practicable by using the following standards:
• Conducting an alternatives analysis to identify a commercially available site with an adjacent existing transmission corridor that will meet Project objectives, while avoiding and minimizing environmental impacts to the maximum extent practicable.
• FPL has restricted the footprint of the solar array to a portion of the site that has already been disturbed by agricultural and/or ranching activities to the maximum extent practicable.
• Use of existing roads for access to the greatest extent practicable. Impacts from access pathways were confined to those areas absolutely necessary for proper site access and security.
• Implementing best management practices (BMPs) and effective soil erosion control measures, including routine inspections during construction and until soil stabilization has occurred. These procedures are intended to minimize the extent and duration of project-related disturbance on wetlands and water bodies, control erosion and sedimentation, and enhance revegetation.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: FPL proposed to offset impacts to the waters of the United States via the purchase of 3.94 herbaceous wetland credits from the Basin 22 Mitigation Bank. The Basin 22 Mitigation Bank is located in the same drainage basin (Basin 22-Central Indian River Lagoon) as the proposed impacts.
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 has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the endangered wood stork (Mycteria americana), and the threatened eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais couperi) The Corps has already received programmatic concurrence from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for these determinations and no further consultation is required.
NOTE: This public notice is being issued based on information furnished by the applicant. This information has 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 Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard, STE 500, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410, 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, Ms. Linda C. Knoeck, in writing at the Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard, STE 500, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410; or 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.