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SAJ-2018-02591 (SP-JCP)

Published Dec. 10, 2018
Expiration date: 12/26/2018
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: Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND)
Mr. Mark Crosley
1314 Marcinski Road
Jupiter, FL 33477

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The MSA 434/434C South Offload and Nearshore Disposal project would affect waters of the United States (WOUS) associated with the Atlantic Ocean and Halifax River near Ponce de Leon Inlet Hydrologic Basin (10-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (0309020102)). The project site is located east of Williamson Blvd and north of Beville Road at the existing Daytona International Airport in Section 25 and 36, Township 15S, Range 32E, Daytona Beach, Volusia County, Florida.

Directions to the site are as follows: The FIND-owned MSA 434/434C South island site is located east of the lnlet Shores sub-division and west of the U.S. Coast Guard Station at Ponce de Leon and Smyrna Dunes Park. The nearshore placement area is located in the Atlantic Ocean just off of the beach, south of Ponce de Leon Inlet between FDEP Range Monuments R-158 and R- 174.

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
MSA 434/434C Island Nearshore Disposal Site
Latitude 29.16887° Latitude 29.16887°
Longitude -81.05478° Longitude -81.05478°


PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic: Management of Dredged Material Management Area (DMMA)

Overall: Restoring designed storage capacity of DMMA and nearshore beach sand replenishment in Volusia County.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project area is an existing Dredged Material Management Area (DMMA) for FIND, known as Maintenance Spoil Area (MSA) 434/434C. It is primarily a spoil island with a large berm surrounding dredged sand from Ponce Inlet and the Intracoastal Waterway (IWW). There is minor vegetation associated with the spoil area, however, the berm has become vegetated with several colonizer species such as sand-spur, Brazilian pepper, and other weedy species. The project area also includes the dredged material placement area which is a nearshore area between the -8 and -22 contours along the beach between FDEP Range Monuments R-158 and R- 174. This area is primarily sand beach unconsolidated bottom.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant (FIND) seeks authorization to remove the dredged material that has been stored in MSA 434/434C (approximately 653,000 CY) and move it to the nearshore placement area via hydraulic dredge and pipeline. The material will be mixed with water and pumped as a slurry to the nearshore area via pipeline. There are two options for the creation of the slurry. Option 1 is to create the slurry within the MSA (inside the berms) and Option 2 is to create an intermodal offloading area on the west side of the island adjacent to the island shoreline and mechanically excavate the material from the MSA and mix it in the intermodal area and pump from that location (this method was utilized previously in 2005-2006 when the previous emptying of the MSA was completed).

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:

(Per the applicant’s application package)
“In-water activities may include a fixed hydraulic dredge to slurry the sand, a barge to construct and remove the HDPE pipeline from the ICWW waters and nearshore Atlantic Ocean, daily travel along the pipeline route to check pipeline integrity and visits to the pipeline at the placement point to move the discharge point and add pipe sections. The pipeline on the beach is buried and the only other beach activity would be limited to operation of a muffled booster pump. As with the ongoing project using the same pipeline route, warning signs will be posted providing a buffer zone between any beachgoers and the pipeline and (if used) booster pump.”

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:

“Due to the restoration aspect of this project (beach re-nourishment) no compensatory mitigation is offered.”

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 (SHPO) and those federally recognized tribes with concerns in Florida and the Permit Area. A marine archaeological survey was completed and is being coordinated with both the Corps Regulatory archaeologist and SHPO.

ENDANGERED SPECIES:
The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), the wintering piping plover (Charadrius melodus), and the southeastern beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus niveiventris) or their designated critical habitat. The Corps determination is based on the Biological Opinion issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on June 17, 2009 for the same project at that time, the Statewide Programmatic Biological Opinion for Sand Placement activities (SPBO – March 2015), and the USFWS concurrence with that determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect swimming sea turtles: Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricate), Kemps Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), Smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) and the Northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), or their designated critical habitat. The Corps will coordinate with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) through their US Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District Programmatic Biological Opinion (JAXBO) program for concurrence of a may affect, not likely to adversely affect determination.

The Corps has determined the proposal would have no effect on any other 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. 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 is required from the FDEP.

COMMENTS regarding the potential authorization of the work proposed should be submitted in writing to the attention of the District through the Cocoa Permits Section, 400 High Point Drive, Suite 600, Cocoa, FL 32926 within 15 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, John Palmer, in writing at the Cocoa Permits Section, 400 High Point Drive, Suite 600, Cocoa, FL 32926, by electronic mail at John.Palmer@usace.army.mil, by fax at (321) 504-3803, or by telephone at (321) 504-3771, extension 10.

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.