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US Army Corps of Engineers

Jacksonville District Website

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Public Notice Archive

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.

FINAL PROGRAMMATIC BIOLOGICAL OPINION ("JAXBO")

Published Nov. 30, 2017

Expiration date: 12/30/2017

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BACKGROUND: Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. §1531 et seq.), requires that each federal agency ensure that any action authorized, funded, or carried out by the agency is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat of those species. When the action of a federal agency may affect a protected species or its critical habitat, that agency is required to consult with either the NMFS or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), depending upon the protected species or critical habitat that may be affected. On November 20, 2017, the NMFS approved a programmatic biological opinion (PBO), herein, referred to as “JaxBO.” This public notice announces the District’s intent to use JaxBO, when applicable, to address consultation requirements for threatened and endangered species and their designated critical habitat occurring throughout the State of Florida, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In accordance with Section 7(a)(2) of the ESA, programmatic consultations allow for streamlined review of groups of frequently occurring or routine activities or Federal action agency policies, plans, regulations or programs that have well-understood and predictable effects on ESA-listed species and designated critical habitat. Programmatic consultations may be used to evaluate the effects of authorizing certain categories of frequently occurring activities or action Agency policy or programs, where specifics of any individual future project, such as the specific location, are not definitively known at the time of the programmatic consultation.

This PBO requires adherence to certain project design criteria (PDCs), which may include technical and engineering design specifications as well as requirements on how an individual project must be sited, constructed, or otherwise carried out to avoid or minimize adverse effects to ESA-listed species or designated critical habitat. The PDCs serve the following two purposes: First, they ensure that the actions under consultation are sufficiently similar so that their effects can be analyzed together. Second, the PDCs help protect species and critical habitat, and ensure that the action agency is meeting its obligation under Section 7(a)(2); in designing the PDCs, NMFS and the action agency work to establish conditions that avoid adverse effects on listed species or designated critical habitat or,

The JaxBO addresses consultation for ten categories of “in-water” activities that occur throughout Florida, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These activities are regulated pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344).

ACTIVITIES COVERED BY THIS PBO:

Activities Covered by JaxBO
Number	Type	Description
1	Shoreline Stabilization	The installation, repair (including all forms of maintenance), replacement, and removal of vertical seawalls and shoreline stabilization materials used to protect shorelines
2	Pile-supported Structures	The construction of docks, marinas, minor structures, chickees (i.e., over-water camping platforms), ATONs, and private aids-to-navigation (PATONs) including pile-supported signs or anchored floating buoys. Activity 2 includes the installation, repair (e.g., maintenance), replacement, and removal of these structures
3	Maintenance, Minor, and Muck Dredging	The dredging of an area previously dredged under a permit by the USACE at the site of the previously authorized dredging, to the same depth and within the same footprint, but under a new authorization. Maintenance dredging may be necessary around docks to moor vessels, around boat ramps, and around other structures necessary to maintain adequate depth for vessel movement
4	Water-Management Outfall Structures and Associated Endwalls	The installation, repair (including all forms of maintenance), replacement, and removal of water-management outfall structures. These structures are typically placed by trenching or excavating a conduit or discharge pipe from the stormwater system or mosquito ditch to an open water body for discharge or by installing a culvert to connect 2 water bodies to improve water circulation and water quality or restore hydrology
5	Scientific Survey Devices	The installation, repair (including all forms of maintenance), replacement, and removal of scientific survey devices include scientific measuring devices such as staff gages, tide and current gages, meteorological stations, water recording and biological observation devices, water quality testing and improvement devices, and vibracore devices.
6	Boat Ramps	The installation, repair (including all forms of maintenance), replacement, and removal of boat ramps
7	Aquatic Habitat Enhancement, Establishment, and Restoration Activities	The construction of oyster reefs on un-vegetated bottom in tidal waters; constructing living shorelines, including using vegetative plantings and fill material to construct breakwaters parallel to the shore; enhancing or establishing submerged aquatic vegetation; constructing artificial reefs; and filling in areas to restore natural contours or improve water quality
8	Transmission and Utility Lines	The installation, repair (including all forms of maintenance), replacement, and removal of transmission and utility lines including aerial and subaqueous lines
9	Marine Debris Removal	The removal by divers, snorkelers of debris from a multitude of sources and events, including storm damage, lost fishing gear, or illegal dumping
10	Temporary Platforms, Fill, and Cofferdams	The placement of temporary platforms and fill; installation of pile jackets around piles to protect them (e.g., cathodic protection used for bridge supports); and installation of cofferdams to dewater an area for construction

SPECIES AND CRITICAL HABITAT ADDRESSED BY THIS PBO:

Species Covered by JaxBO
Species	ESA Listing	Presence in Florida	Present in U.S. Caribbean
Sea Turtles
Green (NA DPS and South Atlantic DPS)	T	P	P
Kemp’s ridley	E	P	NP
Leatherback	E	P	P
Loggerhead (Northwest Atlantic Ocean DPS [NWA DPS])	T	P	P
Hawksbill	E	P	P
Fish
Smalltooth sawfish (U.S. DPS)	E	P	NP
Gulf sturgeon (Atlantic sturgeon, Gulf subspecies)	T	P	NP
Shortnose sturgeon	E	P	NP
Atlantic sturgeon (All DPSs)	T/E	P	NP
Nassau grouper	T	P	P
Scalloped hammerhead (Central and Southwest Atlantic DPS)	T	NP	P
Invertebrates and Marine Plants
Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata)	T	P	P
Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis)	T	P	P
Boulder star coral (Orbicella franksi)	T	P	P
Mountainous star coral (Orbicella faveolata)	T	P	P
Lobed star coral (Orbicella annularis)	T	P	P
Rough cactus coral (Mycetophyllia ferox)	T	P	P
Pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus)	T	P	P
Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii)	T	P	NP
Marine Mammals
North Atlantic right whale	E	P	NP
Blue whale	E	P	P
Fin whale	E	P	P
Sei whale	E	P	P
Sperm whale	E	P	P
Bryde’s whale	E	P	NP
E = Endangered; T = Threatened, P = Present, NP = Not Present

Critical Habitat Covered by JaxBO
Species	Unit in Florida	Unit in U.S. Caribbean
Smalltooth sawfish	Charlotte Harbor Estuary	N/A
Smalltooth sawfish	Ten Thousand Islands/ Everglades	N/A
Gulf sturgeon	Units 9-14	N/A
Loggerhead sea turtle (NWA DPS)	Nearshore Reproductive Habitat: Units LOGG-N-14 to 32	N/A
	Breeding Habitat: Units LOGG-N-17, 19
	Migratory Habitat: Units LOGG-N-17, 18, 19
	Sargassum Habitat: Unit LOGG-S-01
Green sea turtle (NA DPS)	N/A	Culebra Island
Hawksbill sea turtle	N/A	Mona and Monita Island
Leatherback sea turtle	N/A	St Croix Island
Staghorn and elkhorn coral	Area 1: Florida	Area 2: Puerto Rico and Associated Islands
		Area 3: St, John/St. Thomas,
		U.S. Virgin Islands
		Area 4: St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Johnson’s seagrass	Units A-J	N/A
North Atlantic right whale	Unit 2	N/A
Atlantic sturgeon	South Atlantic Unit 7	N/A
N/A = Not applicable; DPS = Distinct Population Segment; NWA = Northwest Atlantic

AFFECTED DISTRICT GENERAL PERMITS: This notice also constitutes intent to modify the following District general permits to comport with JaxBO. This modification process will not change the dimensional components of work authorized by the above general permits; however, certain new or revised conditions (i.e., PDCs) may be required based on the activity. The following general permits will be subject to utilization of JaxBO:

Permit	Status	Type	Name
SPGP	Active	PGP	State Programmatic General Permit/ State of Florida
SAJ-05	Active	RGP	Maintenance Dredging in Residential Canals
SAJ-13	Active	RGP	Aerial Transmission Lines in FL
SAJ-14	Active	RGP	Subaqueous Transmission Lines
SAJ-17	Active	RGP	Minor Structures in FL
SAJ-20	Active	RGP	Private Single-Family Docks/Piers
SAJ-33	Active	RGP	Private Multi-Family or Government Docks/Piers
SAJ-34	Active	RGP	Commercial Piers
SAJ-42	Active	PGP	Minor Activities in Miami-Dade County
SAJ-46	Active	RGP	Bulkheads & Backfill in Residential Canals
SAJ-72	Active	RGP	Residential Docks in Citrus County
SAJ-82	Active	RGP	Various Minor Activities in Monroe County, FL
SAJ-91	Active	PGP	City of Cape Coral
SAJ-96	Active	PGP	Minor Activities in Pinellas County

The following general permits will not be affected by JaxBO, as consultation has been addressed via separate BOs:

Permit	Status	Type	BO	Name
SAJ-71	Active	PGP	SAJ-71	Live Rock Aquaculture in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Florida
SAJ-93	Active	RGP	SARBO	Maintenance Dredging by FIND
SAJ-99	Active	PGP	SAJ-99	Live Rock and Marine Bivalve Aquaculture
SAJ-112	Pending	RGP	SAJ-112	Subsurface Structures for Propagating Corals

Additionally, JaxBO will not replace or supersede the following BOs:

1. Gulf of Mexico Hopper Dredging Regional Biological Opinion (GRBO) (2007)
2. Regional Biological Opinion on Hopper Dredging along the South Atlantic Coast (SARBO) (1997)

EFFECTS ON AQUATIC RESOURCES: This notice is to announce a procedural change based on future utilization of JaxBO, which will serve to further streamline consultation requirements under Section 7, ESA. Therefore, the District maintains that there will be no adverse effects on aquatic resources or navigation as a result of this process change.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

To view the PBO, please visit the following web location and select “HERE” under ‘Endangered Species/ "NEW" JAXBO NMFS District-Wide-Programmatic-Biological-Opinion’
http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Source-Book/

Information on Federally protected species under NMFS purview can be found at:
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/protected_resources/index.html

RESPONDING TO THIS NOTICE: This public notice is being distributed to inform the public on the Corps’ implementation of JaxBO. Any comments on this notice should be directed to Mr. Dale E. Beter at the above address or via email at: dale.e.beter@usace.army.mil. For additional information on our regulatory program, please visit the following web location: http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory.aspx

public notice

JAXBO

Programmatic biological opinion

Jacksonville District

U.S. Army Corps of Engineeers

USACE