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: Mr. Edward Giunta
Circle K Stores, Inc.
12911 North Telecom Parkway
Tampa, Florida 33637
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Moses Creek. The project site is located at 6750 United States Highway 1 (US-1) South, in Section 31, Township 8 South, Range 30 East, St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: Traveling from Jacksonville take Interstate 95 south to State Road 206 (SR-206). Turn east onto SR-206 and follow to the project located on the corner of SR-206 and US-1 at 6750 US-1.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 29.756892°
Longitude -81.312428°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: The basic project purpose is commercial development.
Overall: The overall project purpose is the redevelopment of an existing service station property.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project site is approximately 4.39 acres in size and is located on the corner of United States Highway 1 (US-1) and State Road 206 (SR-206). The parcel contains uplands and wetlands and is currently developed with an existing service station, convenience store, and barbeque restaurant. The project site consists of Wetland Forested Mixed, Hardwood-Coniferous Mixed, and Convenience Store as classified by the Florida Land Use Cover and Forms Classification System (FLUCFCS). The Wetland Forested Mixed Community consists of Brazilian pepper, Carolina willows, and Chinese tallow tree. The groundcover is sparse with a few brown-hair comb ferns, royal ferns, swamp ferns, and blackberry. The soil on the project site is Pomona Fine Sand which has a depth to water table of 6 to 18 inches. The Hardwood-Coniferous Mixed Community consists of live oak, slash pine, wax myrtle, and saltbush. The groundcover in this area is dominated by Bahia grass, dollarweed, broomsedge bluestem, maidencane, and dog fennel. The Convenience Store area consists of an existing service station/convenience store, barbeque restaurant, and parking area. The project site is bordered by US-1 on the west, SR-206 on the south, a vacant parcel on the east and a vacant parcel on the north.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to place fill material in 1.30 acres of waters of the United States in association with the redevelopment of a service station property.
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:
Elimination and reduction criteria do not apply to this project as the wetlands are of generally low quality and will be mitigation by purchasing mitigation bank credits at the Brick Road Mitigation Bank where the wetlands are of greater ecological significance.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
The applicant proposes to purchase mitigation bank credits at Brick Road Mitigation Bank as compensatory mitigation for impacts to wetlands.
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 Moses Creek. 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 Jacksonville Permits Section, P.O. Box 4970, Jacksonville, Florida 32232-0019, 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, Paula R. Johnson, in writing at the Jacksonville Permits Section, P.O. Box 4970, Jacksonville, Florida 32232-0019; by electronic mail at paula.r.johnson@usace.army.mil or by telephone at (904)232-2503.
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.