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 Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403) as described below:
APPLICANT: Town of Longboat Key
Attn: Isaac Brownman
600 General Harris Street
Longboat Key, Florida 34228
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Gulf of Mexico. The project site is located along a 2,500-ft segment of Gulf of Mexico shoreline of Longboat Key from Broadway Street and North Shore Road to Greer Island, in Section 15, Township 35 South, Range 16 East, Longboat Key, Manatee County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From I-75S, take exit 220 S.R. 64, west to Anna Maria Island and S.R. 789 (south). Follow S.R. 789 southward across Longboat Pass Bridge. S.R. 789 becomes Gulf of Mexico Drive. Turn right on North Shore Road. Public access at west end of North Shore Road is center of project (approx.).
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude 27.438633°
Longitude -82.69039°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Erosion control and shoreline stabilization
Overall: To provide stabilization to the Gulf of Mexico shoreline and provide protection to upland areas from storm surge, wave impacts, and overwash at the north end of Longboat Key in the vicinity of Broadway Street, North Shore Road, and Greer Island.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The existing area surrounding the project area consists of single-family and condominium residences. The northernmost area of the project consists of mangroves (live and dead), invasive Australian Pines and sandy beach backed by a lagoon area with no immediate upland development.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to construct up to five (5) permeable rock groins along the Gulf of Mexico shoreline at the north end of Longboat Key. The proposed groins will supplement the two existing concrete permeable adjustable groins (PAGs) completed in 2015 between R-44.7 and R-44.4. The proposed groin field will be filled with beach-compatible sand from one or more of several potential sources including, upland sand mines, offshore borrow areas and local inlet borrow areas. Ultimately the sand source used for the project may depend upon the timing of groin construction relatives to other projects in development for the town of Longboat Key.
The five proposed PAGs shall be constructed of limestone boulders, ranging in length from 230 feet up to approximately 330 feet. The structures shall have short shore-parallel T-heads of the same rock construction extending approximately 50 feet perpendicular to the structure stems. The structures shall nominally be 8 feet in width at the crest, with 1:2 v:h side slopes. No chinking stone or internal cutoff wall structure is proposed. The groin structures shall be constructed upon a gravel-filled geotextile mattress to proposed stability and limit settlement of the structures.
Up to 180,000 cubic yards of beach-compatible sand may be placed initially to fill the beach cells between structures. Periodic maintenance of the fill within the groin cells will be required. The volume of maintenance material and the schedule for renourishment will vary with the final permeability of the structures, and the storm and littoral climate experience over the life of the project. The proposed project footprint occupies 2,500 feet of Gulf of Mexico shoreline (including the cell between the existing PAG structures, which will receive additional sand in this effort), covering approximately 16.8 acres of subaerial and subaqueous sandy shorelines.
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:
The continued severe erosion of the Greer Island spit is expected to result in the eventual breaching of the sandy spit feature and potentially the complete erosion of the spit feature entirely. Without some form of mechanical intervention, this breaching and erosion is highly likely to result in the loss of some or all of mangroves along the spit shoreline (beyond the loss already incurred and occurring in the area), dune vegetation along the sandy spit and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) currently residing east of the Gulf of Mexico Drive bridge and Greer Island interior lagoon. The proposed project is intended to, in part, provide increased protection to these resources and to directly stabilize the Gulf-facing shoreline of Greer Island. The impacts of the project are expected to be positive; stabilization of the shoreline is expected to reduce or eliminate the ongoing loss of those aquatic and upland resources.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required:
The shoreline and nearshore area along the limits of the proposed project (north and south of the existing concrete groins, consist of sandy-seabed devoid of submerged aquatic vegetation, hardbottom or reef resources. During construction, the placement of marine mattresses, armor stone, and beach-compatible sand fill will generate only temporary low levels of turbidity that will dissipate quickly after placement.
The northern portion of the project (north of the existing concrete groins) is intended to restore the sandy nature and orientation of the Gulf of Mexico-facing shoreline of Greer Island, and to protect the mangrove fringe and SAV beds that lie landward of the proposed structures and fill. Additionally, the project is intended to allow for some level of sand transport through the structures and the sand-filled cells between structures in order to feed sand to the adjacent shorelines.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps has determined the permit area has been extensively modified by previous work and there is little likelihood a historic property may be affected.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the Piping plover, Rufa red knot, Atlantic loggerhead turtle, Green sea turtle, Kemp’s ridley turtle, the West Indian manatee or its designated critical habitat. The Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife/National Marine Fisheries Service concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
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 Gulf of Mexico. 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 Tampa Permits Section within 21 days from the date of this notice. For electronic mail (preferred) submit comments to Caitlin.S.Hoch@usace.army.mil. For standard mail submit comments to 10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120, Tampa, Florida 33610-8302. Please reference this permit number, SAJ- 2012-01018 (SP-CSH), on all submittals.
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, Caitlin Hoch, in writing at the Tampa Permits Section, 10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120, Tampa, Florida 33610; by electronic mail at Caitlin.S.Hoch@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (813) 355-0789.
IMPACT ON NATURAL RESOURCES: Preliminary review of this application indicates that an Environmental Impact Statement will not be required. 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. By means of this notice, we are soliciting comments on the potential effects of the project on threatened or endangered species or their habitat
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 of 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 decision, comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public interest factors listed above. Comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment and/or an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act 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.