Public Notice Notifications

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Florida - This includes all public notices for projects being reviewed for Standard Permits within the State of Florida.

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SAJ-1987-00200 (SP-CSH)

Published Dec. 11, 2018
Expiration date: 1/1/2019

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: Spray Miser International, Inc
Attn: George Lorton
1601 Sahlman Drive
Tampa, Florida 33605

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Port Tampa Ship Canal, a private canal serving an industrial port complex on the east side of Old Tampa Bay. The project site is located 6100 Port Tampa Drive, in Section 19, Township 30S, Range 18E, Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida.

Directions to the site are as follows: From I-75 take Exit 50 for the Leroy Selmon Crosstown Expressway; proceed west on the Crosstown Expressway to exit for US 92 / Gandy Blvd; proceed west on US 92 to Westshore Blvd; turn left (south) on Westshore Blvd and proceed to West Commerce Street; turn right (west) onto West Commerce Street and proceed to Port Tampa Drive; turn right (north) onto Port Tampa Drive; the project site is located within the waters of the Port Tampa Ship Canal.

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude 27.861700º
Longitude -82.548640º

 

PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Navigation
Overall: Maintenance dredge Port Tampa Ship Canal to maintain navigable depth

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project area consists primarily of bulkhead and dock areas in a man-made canal, with a typical depth of -34 feet. No seagrasses or mangroves are located in the project area.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks 10-year authorization to conduct annual maintenance dredging within the Port Tampa Ship Canal. Up to 20,000 cubic yards of sediment would be removed to maintain the original dredged depth of -34 feet MLW. The Port Tampa Ship Canal is 3600 feet long and ranges from 160 to 268.5 feet wide. The total dredge footprint covers 18.3 acres.

The dredged material will be removed using an open clam-shell bucket dredge. The dredged material will be loaded into an open hold scow or hopper barge and then off-loaded to trucks. The sediment will be transported to an approximately 13-acre diked upland disposal area approximately 3,000 feet northeast of the canal.

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: Dredging will be in limited areas of the dead-end canal only when requested by the Tampa Bay pilots. The volume and dimensions of the spoil material will vary with each dredge event. The amount dredged will depend on the amount of accumulated sediment in the canal. The dredging of the canal is only performed if the Tampa Bay Pilots indicate that the canal depth (-34 feet MLW) has caused the ships to touch bottom. This may happen once a year or maybe every two to three years. The volume dredged will only be the amount required to obtain the Tampa Bay Pilot approval.

Turbidity monitoring data from previous canal maintenance dredging, which began in 1974, has always been in compliance with all regulatory limits (<29 NTU). In addition, floating turbidity barriers will be used, as specified in previous permits, only during the off-loading at the end of the canal as an extra precaution. Maintenance dredging will be performed during daylight hours only.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required: ”Compensatory mitigation is not required as this canal has been in use and dredged since 1974 without any adverse environmental or aquatic impacts to the canal or adjacent areas.”

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 preliminarily determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the smalltooth sawfish or three species of swimming sea turtles (Green, Hawksbill and Loggerhead). The Corps will request National Marine Fisheries Service concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

The Corps has preliminarily determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the West Indian Manatee. Since the proposal by the applicant is for in-water construction, potential impacts to the endangered manatee were evaluated using the Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, and the State of Florida Effect Determination Key for the Manatee in Florida (Key), dated April 2013. Use of the Key resulted in the following sequential determination: A-B-C-G-N-O-P > “May affect, not likely to adversely affect”, no further consultation with the Service is necessary.

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 Old Tampa Bay. 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-1987-00200 (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-Nussbaum 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.