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: Florida Inland Navigation District
c/o Mr. Mark Crosley
1314 Marcinski road
Jupiter, Florida 33477
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The 95.8-acre Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) Dredged Material Management Area (DMMA) BV-11 project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Indian River Lagoon Hydrologic Unit (Hydrologic Unit Code 0308020203). Located on the western shore of Merritt Island about one-quarter mile east of the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), site BV-11 lies about 3.25 miles north of SR 528 just west of North Courtenay Parkway. The project site is located within Section 27, Township 23 South, Range 36 East, in Brevard County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: Heading south on US-1 S (North Cocoa Boulevard, take a left onto FL-528 E / A1A (Martin Anderson Beachline Expressway) towards Cape Canaveral. Heading east, continue for 2.5 miles, take exit 49 and then turn left on FL-3 N (Courtenay Parkway). From here travel 3.0 miles and turn left onto Porcher Road. Continue for 0.4 mile and turn right at the stop sign onto North Tropical Trail. Continue for 0.1 mile and the access gate will be on the right.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude: 28.45321°
Longitude: -80.71421°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Dredge disposal.
Overall: Construction of a DMMA for containment of dredged material from Reach III of the ICWW in northern Brevard County, Florida.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The project proposes construction of a DMMA to dewater and store sediments dredged from Reach III of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICWW) (a federal project) in Brevard County. The proposed project area covers about 39.9 acres of the 95.8-acre property; including the DMMA containment basin and associated access roads, stormwater drainage system, and clearing limits. The remaining property will maintain existing vegetation and serve as a buffer to other properties. The DMMA includes an earthen dike between 12 and 16 ft in height, surrounded by an access road, stormwater management system and a seepage ditch. After construction and in between maintenance dredging operations, stormwater in excess of the design capacity of the stormwater management system will discharge into an existing ditch through the pipeline easement. Project construction will not alter most of the pre-existing ditch except for replacement of the culverts beneath North Tropical Trail leading from the DMMA property to the pipeline easement. During dredging operations (authorized under separate permit) temporary pipelines will extend through the pipeline easement to the IRL. The long-term storage facility will provide capacity for the management of 502,000 cubic yards of dredged material.
The naturally vegetated buffer areas that surround the containment basin visually isolate the DMMA from adjacent properties, maintaining much of the viewshed of the site from adjacent properties and minimizing potential disturbance from facility activities. The outside edge of construction (i.e., perimeter ditch) lies a minimum of ~170 feet from the property boundary (except at pipeline/access roads), of which at least the outermost edge will remain as undisturbed vegetation. In addition, the DMMA will be a minimum of 300 feet from the nearest adjacent privately-owned lands. Maintenance of the natural conditions in the buffer also results in maintenance of remaining wetlands in the buffer area. Following the final site grading, the contractor will establish permanent vegetation (e.g., grass, sod, etc.) at the project site.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The 96-acre property – a former citrus grove – contains relatively consistent topography with most elevations ranging from 3 to 7 feet North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 1988). Higher elevations occupy the middle of the site and lower elevations occur at the edges. The site is bordered by low-density residential properties to the north and south, mostly undeveloped land except for two commercial properties to the east, and North Tropical Trail and abandoned citrus groves to the west. The northern property boundary includes a drainage ditch and a portion of a stormwater retention pond associated with the adjacent residential development. The BV-11 site interior consists predominantly of disturbed uplands, periodically (quarterly +/-) maintained (mowed) by FIND. Several wetland features occur on-site including a band of forested wetlands along the eastern property boundary. The remaining wetlands consist of disturbed, man-altered/created communities associated with previous land uses (citrus production). A 60-foot wide, 1,000-foot long pipeline easement extends west off the northwest corner of the property. A ditch within and running approximately parallel to the pipeline easement connects to the main BV-11 property through a culvert underneath North Tropical Trail. The ditch carries stormwater off the property west to the IRL.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to place fill in 2.17 acres of waters of the United States for construction of a DMMA for dredged material from Reach III of the ICWW in northern Brevard County.
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:
“DMMA placement was developed considering the following: avoidance and minimization of wetland impacts and maintenance of buffers between the DMMA and upland properties. The DMMA has an irregular footprint rather than a rectangular footprint to avoid and minimize wetland impacts. Unavoidable wetland impacts considering all areas within the limits of construction will be compensated through the use of a wetland mitigation bank authorized by the FDEP and the USACE. All wetland areas outside the construction footprint will remain undisturbed.”
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
“FIND proposes the purchase of credits from the federally-approved, but out of basin, Basin 22 Mitigation Bank following guidance from USACE that mitigation bank credits are purchased from a bank that drains into the same body of water (IRL).”
CULTURAL RESOURCES:
A cultural resource assessment survey (CRAS) was completed for this site in May 1997. No sites were identified to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. A “no effect” determination was coordinated with the State Historic Preservation Officer and concurrence was provided by letter dated July 8, 1997 (Project File No. 973275).
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The applicant indicated no federally listed plant species occur on the project site. The Corps has completed preliminary federally listed species affect determinations which include the following:
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 Suitable Foraging Habitat (SFH) for wood stork. The Corps completed an evaluation of the project based upon the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) North Florida Ecological Services Field Offices Programmatic Concurrence for use with the Wood Stork (September 2008). Use of the Key for Wood Stork resulted in the following sequential determination: A (The project is more than 2,500 feet from a colony site.) > B (Project impacts SFH.) > C (Project impacts to SFH greater than or equal to 0.5 acres.) > D (Project impacts to SFH are within the Core Foraging Area of a colony site) > E (The determination is supported by SFH compensation provided within the service area of a mitigation bank which covers the CFA and/or provides an amount of habitat and foraging function equivalent to that of impacted SFH; is not contrary to the Service’s Habitat Management Guidelines For The Wood Stork In The Southeast Region and in accordance with the CWA Section 404(b)(1) guidelines) = NLAA. The Corps has FWS concurrence for the proposed activities through the use of the aforementioned determination key.
The Corps has determined the proposed project “may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect” the Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon corais couperi). Based on the Eastern Indigo Snake Effect Determination Key (dated January 25, 2010; August 13, 2013 Addendum), 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 (There are gopher tortoise burrows or other refugia.) > D (Project will impact less than 25 active and inactive burrows) > E (Permit will be conditioned such that all gopher tortoise burrows, active or inactive, will be evacuated prior to site manipulation in the vicinity of the burrow. If an indigo snake is encountered, the snake must be allowed to vacate the area prior to additional site manipulation in the vicinity. Permit is conditioned with the standard protection measure for the Indigo Snake) = NLAA. All gopher tortoise burrows, active or inactive, will be evacuated prior to site manipulation in the burrow vicinity. If excavating potentially occupied burrows, active or inactive, individuals must first obtain state authorization via a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Authorized Gopher Tortoise Agent permit. The excavation method selected should also minimize the potential for injury of an indigo snake. Holes, cavities, and snake refugia other than gopher tortoise burrows will be inspected each morning before planned site manipulation of a particular area, and if occupied by an indigo snake, no work will commence until the snake has vacated the vicinity of proposed work; the permittee agrees to use the Standard Protection Measures for the Eastern Indigo Snake (dated August 12, 2013). The Corps has USFWS concurrence for the proposed activities through use of 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 Audubon’s crested caracara (Polyborus plancus audubonii), Florida scrub jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), Piping plover (Charadrius melodus), Red knot (Calidris canutus rufa), Atlantic Salt Marsh Snake (Nerodia clarkii taeniata), and West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus).
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 2.17 acres of freshwater wetlands and surface waters which ultimately discharge to Indian River Lagoon. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on downstream EFH or Federally managed fisheries. 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 (NMFS).
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 will be required from the South Florida Water Management District.
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 S. Collins, in writing at the Cocoa Permits Section (address above), by electronic mail at Jeffrey.s.collins@usace.army.mil, or by telephone at (321) 504-3771.
IMPACT ON NATURAL RESOURCES: Coordination with USFWS, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the NMFS, 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.
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.