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 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403) as described below:
APPLICANT: City of Pensacola
c/o David Forte,
Capital Improvements Projects Manager
222 W. Main Street
Pensacola, FL 32502
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Pensacola Bay. The project is located on the west side of the Community Maritime Park site in downtown Pensacola, Florida. The site is on the south side of Main Street between Devilliers Street and Spring Street, Pensacola, in Section 44, Township 2 South, and Range 30 West, Escambia County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: The site can be accessed by traveling south on Interstate I-110 and exiting at Garden Street. Continue west on Garden Street for eight blocks. Turn left on DeVilliers Street. Drive to the end of DeVilliers Street to the project at the waterfront.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 30.402623°
Longitude -87.219982°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Docking for vessels.
Overall: To construct a protected, day-use 48-slip marina facility for the Community Maritime Park.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The site is on the west side of the ~31-acre man-made peninsula containing the Community Maritime Park. Multiple Department of the Army permits under file numbers 2001-00480 and 2007-04728 have been issued for development of this site. Bulkheads exist around the perimeter of the park site. Dredging of a portion of the proposed marina area to -7’ occurred in 2010, also under this proposed project’s same file number. This 48-slip marina and the existing 425-foot long steel dual-sheetpile crib wall with a concrete cap constructed as wave/surge protection for the docks were both authorized under this same file number in 2013. The applicant constructed the protective sheetpile crib wall but did not construct the marina portion of the project before the five-year permit expired. The footprint of the proposed marina lies completely within silty/muddy bottom, and no submerged aquatic vegetation has been observed in the project area.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to construct three dock structures containing a total of 48 slips (for vessels up to 30 feet in length) plus 72 feet of additional alongside dockage along the western side of the Community Maritime Park. A 425-foot long steel dual-sheetpile crib wall with a concrete cap has been constructed as wave/surge protection for the docks. One of the three docks would be integrated into this existing protective crib wall. This proposal is identical to the previously authorized marina, with the exception of a single additional kayak launch that has been added in this proposal.
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:
Impacts to the waters of the United States are expected to be very minor and related principally to the construction period only. The project site lies on submerged lands owned by the City of Pensacola and Pensacola Mainstreet, LLC, and occupies 0.36 acres of the seabed (2.1 acres of pre-empted seabed area). The proposed docks and [the existing] protective sheetpile crib wall are sited within an existing embayment on Pensacola Bay and do not encroach upon any navigation channel in the area. The marina facility, planned as a day-use facility to support the community park areas in the upland, will adhere to the water-quality conditions imposed by the State of Florida Environmental Resource Permit (ERP File #17-0281401-005-EI). During construction, turbidity generation will be minimized through the use of turbidity curtains.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
No mitigation is proposed for the project. Given the minor nature of the proposed structures, their anticipated impacts and the location of the proposed installation (on City- and privately-owned submerged lands within a discrete embayment off Pensacola Bay, well removed from navigation lanes), no mitigation is deemed warranted.
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 Corps has determined the proposal may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the threatened West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), the threatened Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi), the endangered smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), threatened Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), endangered Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), and endangered Kemp’s ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) or their designated critical habitat. The Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife and National Marine Fisheries Service concurrence with these determinations pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. 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. The proposal would involve piling impacts in tidal waters utilized by various life stages of shrimp, reef fish, red drum, and coastal migratory/pelagic fish. 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.
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 Pensacola Permits Section, 41 N. Jefferson Street, Pensacola, FL 32502 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, Ed Sarfert, in writing at the Pensacola Permits Section, 41 N. Jefferson Street, Pensacola, FL 32502; by electronic mail at edward.p.sarfert@usace.army.mil; by facsimile transmission at (850)433-8160; or, by telephone at (850)439-9533.
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.