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: Corporate Coaches, Inc.
Attn.: Andrew Bardar
4500 South State Road 7
Hollywood, Florida 33314
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated within the Dania Cutoff Canal at 4500 South State Road 7, in Section 25, Township 50 South, Range 41 East, Hollywood, Broward County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: Heading north on Florida's Turnpike, take exit 53 for FL-818/Griffin Rd. Turn right onto Griffin Rd, continue for 0.5 miles, and then turn left on to N State Road 7. Continue for 0.2 miles. The destination is on the right, just before the canal.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude: 26.06537°
Longitude: -80.20663°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: The basic project purpose is for commercial development, water access for transient mooring, and shoreline stabilization.
Overall: The overall project purpose is for commercial development, water access for transient mooring, and shoreline stabilization, along the Dania Cutoff Canal in Broward County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project site consists of a marina containing 5,774 square feet of dock that accommodates 40 boat slips, within an upland cut basin and adjacent to the Dania Cutoff Canal. The Corps does not believe that benthic resources would be present as the project site is located about 8 river miles upstream from the nearest inlet, and directly downstream from a water control structure that releases freshwater discharge.
PROPOSED WORK: The scope of work includes: (1) Removal of 5,774 square feet of existing docks that accommodate 40 slips, (2) removal of an existing boat ramp, (3) placement of 1,459 cubic yards of earthen plug across the mouth of the upland cut canal, (4) placement of 31,480 cubic yards of backfill into an upland cut canal to an elevation of 4 feet NAVD, (5) placement of 848 cubic yards of riprap along 600 linear feet of shoreline along the Dania Cutoff Canal, 9.5 feet waterward from the MHWL and across the mouth of the upland cut canal, in front of the earthen plug, 7.6 feet waterward from MHWL, (6) construction of a 6-foot by 520-foot marginal dock, with three 4-foot by 7-foot access walkways, to accommodate transient mooring of 12 vessels. The total dock square footage 3,112 square feet will be over waters of the U.S. The total amount of fill will be 33,787 cubic yards into 2.10 acres of waters of the U.S.
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:
• Only clean fill materials will be used
• Erosion control measures will be used during construction
• Turbidity curtains will be used during construction
• Adherence to the Manatee Construction Conditions and JaxBO’s PDC’s for In-Water Work
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION –
The applicant has not proposed mitigation since the project will not result in a loss of aquatic resources.
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 if applicable, those federally recognized tribes with concerns in Florida and the Permit Area.
ENDANGERED SPECIES:
The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus), smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinate), and swimming green, hawksbill, Kemp’s Ridley, leatherback, and loggerhead sea turtles (Chelonia mydas, Eretmochelys imbricata, Lepidochelys kempii, Dermochelys coriacea, Caretta caretta). The Corps will request concurrence with the National Marine Fisheries Service pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act:
May affect, not likely to adversely affect:
FWS:
West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus): Use of the 2013 Manatee Key results in the following pathway: A, B, C, G, H, I, J, K, N, O, P “Paragraph 1.” The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus). The Corps has received programmatic concurrence from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
NMFS:
The Corps has determined the proposal may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the Smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinate) and swimming green, hawksbill, Kemp’s Ridley, leatherback, and loggerhead sea turtles (Chelonia mydas, Eretmochelys imbricata, Lepidochelys kempii, Dermochelys coriacea, Caretta caretta) contingent on the results from the pending benthic survey. The project will not adversely modify any species’ designated critical habitat. The Corps will request 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
2.1 acres of estuarine waters which are utilized by various life stages of penaeid shrimp complex, reef fish, stone crab, spiny lobster, migratory/pelagic fish, and snapper/grouper complex associated with mud, shell, sand and rock substrate and water column EFH. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the Dania Cutoff Canal. 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 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 Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410 within 30 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, Christian Karvounis, in writing at the Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410; by electronic mail at Christian.G.Karvounis@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (561)-472-3508.
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.