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: Ocean Front Apartments Condominiums, Inc.
C/o Mary Ann Royse, Treasurer
5800 Overseas Highway, #17
Marathon, Florida 33050
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Atlantic Ocean. The project site is located at 721 W Ocean Drive in Section 8, Township 66 South, Range 33 East; Key Colony Beach, Monroe County, Florida (RE#00078380-000000).
Directions to the site are as follows: Take U.S. 1 South to Overseas Highway; Turn left onto Sadowski Causeway; Turn right onto W Ocean Drive; Project located at Ocean Front Condominiums at 721 W Ocean Drive.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 24.719423°
Longitude -81.019141°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: To stabilize the shoreline and to improve recreational access.
Overall: To stabilize the shoreline and to improve recreational access in Key Colony Beach, Monroe County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The property is located within a developed mixed use subdivision of Key Colony Beach. The property is situated between two developed lots, a paved road, and the Atlantic Ocean. The majority of the shoreline is armored with the aforementioned seawall. A portion of the shoreline to the east of the dock is unarmored and consists of a sandy beach. No in-water work is proposed on the unarmored portion of the shoreline. There is an existing dilapidated, concrete jetty that consisted of solid concrete walls and a concrete deck with rock rubble under the deck damaged by Hurricane Irma. The sides and deck have both begun to collapse and pose an extreme hazard. In some areas, portions of the slab walls have collapsed. The existing seawall and concrete dock to the west of the jetty has also suffered significant damage. The dock has fallen completely into the water. The benthos consisted of a mix of sand and muck and supported macroalgae. No seagrasses were present. Corals were located both in the proposed construction footprint on the existing structures and on fallen debris. Siderastrea sp. & Solenastrea bournoni were the only species observed.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to create a sandy beach area along the western section of the shoreline by excavating 10.4 cubic yards of existing concrete deck and seawall with associated backfill in order to accommodate the placement of 22.6 cubic yards of sand within a 888 square foot area (from the mean high water line up to the annual highest tide line), to excavate 667 cubic yards of dilapidated concrete seawall jetty and deck to be replaced with a riprap jetty within the same profile and location resulting in the placement of 405 cubic yards of fill within a 2,000 a square foot area, and to install temporary floating turbidity barriers around all work areas that are in/over U.S. navigable waters. The proposed sand shall be placed above the mean high water line and sloped to match the adjacent sandy beach areas.
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: Prior to the start of construction, turbidity curtains will be deployed to isolate the construction site from ambient waters.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: If it is determined that the issuance of a DA permit is appropriate, mitigation will be required. The applicant has indicated that the mitigation proposal will be based on the Keys Restoration Fund (KRF). Time lag and risk will be a required component of any mitigation requirement.
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 real estate parcel number is 00078380-000000 and is on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Suitable Habitat List, dated August 2010, for Monroe County for the Eastern indigo snake, Keys tree cactus, and Keys tree snail.
The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the Keys tree cactus (Pilosocereus robinii), Keys tree snail (Orthalicus reses), Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), Kemp's Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), Smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), Roseate tern (Sterna dougallii), Red knot (Calidris canutus rufa), West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), or its designated critical habitat. A no effect determination was reached on Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi), Acorpora sp. and its designated critical habitat and corals species; (Dendrogyra cylindrus, Orbicella annularis, Orbicella faveolata, Orbicella franksi, and Mycetophyllia ferox). The Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the 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. The proposal would impact approximately 2,888 square feet of submerged bottom utilized by various life stages of marina species. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the Florida Keys. 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 Miami Permits Section, 9900 Southwest 107th Avenue, Suite 203, Miami, Florida 33176 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, Maria Bezanilla, in writing at the Miami Permits Section, 9900 Southwest 107th Avenue, Suite 203, Miami, Florida 33176; by electronic mail at Maria.I.Bezanilla@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (305) 779-6057.
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.