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) and as described below:
APPLICANT: DR Horton, Inc.
Mr. Philip Fremento
4220 Race Track Road
St. Johns, Florida 32259
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States (wetlands and surface waters) associated with Camp Branch Creek. The project site is located at south of Normandy Boulevard, between McClelland Road and Winding Mare Boulevard, in Sections 25, 26 and 36, Township 3 South, Range 23 East, Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From Jacksonville travel west on Normandy Boulevard west towards Maxville, Florida. The proposed project can be accessed from Winding Mare Boulevard.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 30.205519°
Longitude -81.962693°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: The basic project purpose is residential development.
Overall: The overall project purpose is expansion of an existing residential development, with associated infrastructure, in southern Duval County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The proposed project site supports the following ecosystems: Coniferous pine plantation, Cypress domes, Mixed forested wetlands, Non-forested wetlands, and borrow pits. The proposed project site is bordered to the north by Normandy Boulevard, to the west by McClelland Road, to the east by residential development and to the south by silviculture.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to discharge fill material into 8.26 acres of forested freshwater wetlands and 2.48 acres of surface waters to construct a residential development with associated roadway and stormwater infrastructure.
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:
“All impacts to jurisdictional wetlands take place at the boundary of the wetland in areas that have been planted and managed as silviculture for greater than 30 years. Impacts were located in these areas because of their relative low quality compared to other, less disturbed, wetlands within the property”.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
“USACE permit SAJ-2005-6720-NBF was issued utilizing RGP-90, which required mitigation at a 1:1 ratio. Pursuant to special condition 2 of the original permit, 2.54 WRAP credits were allocated from Loblolly Mitigation Bank for the impacts associated with SAJ-2005-6720-NBF. Because only the first phase of the permitted project was constructed, approximately 1.23 credits of the original 2.54 credits remain unused. Based on the attached WRAP scoring, the proposed 9.12 acres of wetland impact will require 5.33 WRAP credits as compensatory mitigation. As SAJ-2005-6720-NBF has 1.23 unused credits allocated to the overall parcel, the applicant wishes to utilize this remaining balance of mitigation bank credits to compensate for the proposed impacts and to purchase an additional 4.10 WRAP credits from Loblolly Mitigation Bank”.
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 proposal would have no effect on any listed threatened or endangered species or designated critical habitat.
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 the Atlantic Ocean. 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 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 30 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, Shannon White, in writing at the Jacksonville Permits Section, P.O. Box 4970, Jacksonville, Florida 32232; by electronic mail at shannon.c.white@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (904)232-1681.
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.