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: Jesus Barrios
4273 27th Ave NE
Naples, FL 34120
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with freshwater forested wetlands. The project site is located at 660 Desoto Blvd N in Section 33, Township 48 South, Range 28 East, in Naples, Collier County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From Fort Myers, FL, proceed South on I-75 to Immokalee Rd exit and make left on Immokalee Rd. Proceed on Immokalee Rd for approximately 3.25 miles to Collier Blvd and make right. Proceed on Collier Blvd for approximately 3 miles and make a left on Golden Gate Blvd. Proceed on Golden Gate Blvd for approximately 10.75 miles and then make a left on Desoto Blvd N. Proceed on Desoto Blvd N for approximately 0.8 miles and the property will be located on the right.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 26.24280°
Longitude -81.51411°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Housing
Overall: Placement of fill for a single family residence.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The wetland system consists of a 1.17 acre palustrine forested freshwater system. The onsite vegetation consists of Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), Slash Pine (Pinus elliotti), Melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquenervia), and Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius). The existing conditions surrounding the project area consists of a developed property to the north. Undeveloped properties to the east and south. The area on the west side of the property is adjacent to Desoto Blvd and has a developed property across the street.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to mechanically remove existing vegetation and discharge approximately 3,400 cubic yards of clean fill into 0.16 acres of freshwater forested wetlands for the construction of a single family residence.
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 will utilize best management practices and install silt fence barriers to prevent soil erosion into the remaining wetlands on the property. The applicant will also leave the remainder of the wetlands on the property undisturbed.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
The applicant has proposed to purchase the appropriate amount of wetland credits from a Federally-approved mitigation bank within the service area of the impacts.
CULTURAL RESOURCES:
The Corps has determined 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 Corps initiated informal consultation on 3 March 2017 with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for the Florida bonneted bat (Eumops floridanus) and the Red cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et. seq.). The result of the consultation process was that FWS provided a “may affect, not likely to adversely affect” concurrence letter dated 24 April 2017.
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 Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Blvd, Suite 310, Fort Myers, FL 33919 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, Steven Rabney, in writing at the Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Blvd, Suite 310, Fort Myers, FL 33919; by electronic mail at steven.j.rabney@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (239)800-2180 x0009.
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.