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: Tavistock East Services, LLC
9801 Lake Nona Road
Orlando, Florida 32827
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The 88± acre Sunbridge Utility Site and Access Road project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Kissimmee River Hydrologic Unit (Hydrologic Unit Code 03090101); project is located southeast of Lake Mary Jane. The project site is located south of the Orange-Osceola County Line and east of Narcoosee Road, within Sections 2, 10 & 11, Township 25 South, Range 31 East, in Osceola County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: The project is not accessible by public road but is located east of the intersection of Cyrils Drive and Absher Road.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude 28.3377º
Longitude -81.1873º
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Infrastructure.
Overall: The overall project purpose is the development of an access road and utilities site within north-central Osceola County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The Sunbridge Utility Site and Access Road project area currently supports five land use types/vegetative communities. These land use types/vegetative communities were identified utilizing the Florida Land Use, Cover and Forms Classification System, Level III (FLUCCS, FDOT, January 1999). The on-site upland land use types/vegetative communities are classified as Woodland Pasture (213), Shrub and Brushland (320), and Pine Flatwoods (411). Approximately 2.84 acres of aquatic resources are found in the project area, including land use types/vegetative communities classified as Reservoirs (530) and Wetland Forested Mixed (630).
Woodland pastures (213) and Shrub and Brushland (320) total approximately 83.47 acres and are described as historically grazed rangeland with scattered or limited canopy. The subcanopy includes wax myrtle, sapling-size red maple, pine and oak species. The understory is dominated by saw palmetto with occasional areas of open grasslands.
A majority of the on-site wetlands would be most consistent with the Wetland Forested Mixed (630) FLUCCS classification. Vegetation observed within this community type includes swamp tupelo, sweetbay, dahoon, loblolly bay, slash pine, swamp bay, highbush blueberry, gallberry, saw palmetto, cinnamon fern, swamp fern, Virginia chain fern, netted chain fern, sugarcane plumegrass, yelloweyed grass, blue waterhyssop, blackberry, grape vine, greenbrier, and climbing fern.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to fill 2.84 acres of waters of the United States for construction of the access road to the proposed utility site.
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:
“In order to provide an economically feasible project that satisfies the stated purpose, impacts to 2.21 acres of CORPS jurisdictional wetlands and 0.63 acre of non-jurisdictional surface water are unavoidable. The project limits have been reduced to only include those areas proposed for construction and will require full use of the area to support the proposed access road, utility site, and associated surface water management system. Construction of the proposed Sunbridge Utility Site and Access Road project is not expected to result in significant adverse impacts to natural communities. Impacts are limited to those necessary to gain access to the utility site via the access road improvements. The access road has been located along an existing field road and will cross wetlands at existing wetland crossings, thereby minimizing impacts.”
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
“Mitigation to offset the functional loss incurred via the project’s direct and secondary wetland impacts consist of the purchase of credits from a mitigation bank. The project proposes to purchase 1.81 Wetland Rapid Assessment Procedure (WRAP) credits from the TM Econ Mitigation Bank.”
CULTURAL RESOURCES:
The Corps is not aware of any known historic properties within the permit area, which is defined by the project boundaries. A Cultural Resources Assessment Survey report was finalized August 2017 and submitted to the State Historic Preservation Officer for review. 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 action area includes the entire 88± acre project site. The Corps has determined the proposed project “may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect” (NLAA) wood stork (Mycteria americana). The proposed activity is within the Core Foraging Area (CFA) of one rookery; the project supports marginally Suitable Foraging Habitat (SFH) for wood stork. Based on the Effect Determination Key for the Wood Stork in South Peninsular Florida (dated May 2010), the Corps determination sequence is as follows: A (Project impacts SFH at a location greater than 0.47 miles from a colony site) > B (Project impact to SFH is greater in scope than 0.5 acres) > C (Project impacts to SFH within the CFA of a colony site > E (Project provides SFH compensation) = NLAA. The project provides SFH compensation within the CFA consisting of enhancement, restoration or creation (and federal mitigation bank credits) that provides an amount of habitat and foraging function equivalent to that of the impacted SFH; in accordance with the Clean Water Act section 404(b)(1) guidelines, and is not contrary to the habitat management guidelines. The Corps has U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) concurrence for the proposed activities through use of the aforementioned determination key.
The Corps has determined the proposed project “may affect” the Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi). Based on the Eastern Indigo Snake Programmatic Effect Determination Key (dated August 1, 2017), the Corps determination sequence is as follows: A (The project is not located in open water or salt marsh.) > B (The permit will be conditioned for use of the Service’s Standard Protection Measures for the Eastern Indigo Snake during site preparation and construction.) > C (The project will impact more than 25 acres of eastern indigo snake habitat.) = NLAA. The Corps will initiate formal consultation with USFWS pursuant to the aforementioned determination key.
Based on existing habitat types and/or provided survey information, the Corps preliminarily determined the project will have no effect on bluetail mole skink (Eumeces egregious lividus) and sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi), red-cockaded woodpecker (Leuconotopicus borealis), Everglades Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus), Audubon’s crested caracara (Polyborus plancus audubonii), and Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens).
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 proposal would impact approximately 2.84 acres of wetland forested mixed community located in the headwaters of the Kissimme River. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the Kissimmee River. 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 Cocoa Permits Section, 400 High Point Drive, Suite 600, Cocoa, Florida 32926 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, Jeffrey Collins, in writing at the Cocoa Permits Section, 400 High Point Drive, Suite 600, Cocoa, Florida, 32926; by electronic mail at Jeffrey.S.Collins@usace.army.mil; by fax at (321) 504-3803, or by telephone at (321) 504-3771 extension 13.
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 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.