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.

Antilles - This includes all public notices for projects being reviewed for Standard Permits within the Antilles area (this includes Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands).

Tropical Storms & Other Emergencies - These public notices provide information on procedures for emergency permitting requirements due to specific tropical storm events or other emergency situations.

Special Issues - These are public notices that involve the Regulatory program but which are generally not limited to one particular geographic area. These would include public notices for the establishment or modification of Restricted Areas/Danger Zones, re-issuance of General Permits or Nationwide Permits, changes to guidance and policies, etc.

Administrative Penalty - These public notices provide information associated with Administrative Penalties. An Administrative Penalty can be assessed to address violations associated with issued Department of the Army permits.

SAJ-2019-02861(SP-CGR)

Published Aug. 11, 2020
Expiration date: 9/9/2020
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: Mr. Noé Marcano
Mayor
Municipality of Naguabo
P.O. Box 40
Naguabo, Puerto Rico 00718

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Caribbean Sea. The project site is located in front of El Makito Restaurant, Malecón de Naguabo, Puerto de Naguabo Sector, at the Municipality of Naguabo, Puerto Rico.

Directions to the site are as follows: Take road no. PR-3 from Caguas to Malecón de Naguabo, at km. 69.5 take the street to the southeast toward the Makito Restaurant.

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude: 18.188009°
Longitude: - 65.711589°

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic: New pier

Overall: To provide dock facilities for temporary use only of vessels in transit, and to rent overnight 6 dry slips for jet-skies, and also, to promote tourism within the Playa de Naguabo Sector.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The existing area surrounding the project area consists of man-made structures such as a 50 feet x 33 feet concrete platform, restaurants, shops, a concrete maritime front with concrete walls along the shoreline, a pier and a fisherman village. The maritime bottom within the proposed site have continuous macroalgae with interspersed patches of sea grasses (Thalassia testudinum) with small pockets of sand in accordance to benthic study report submitted by the applicant. No listed corals or hard bottom habitat are present at the project site and its immediate vicinity. The existing depths fluctuate from approximately -3 feet to -9 feet.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to install a floating dock of 210’ -9” long by 42’-10” wide (including its slips and gangway), which consists of plastic cubes attached to each others, supported with 43 stainless steel pipes of 21/2” in diameter with a protection cover of a PVC pipe sleeve for a total diameter of 2 7/8”; and 16 concrete ballasts of 600 lb. each and 54 inches (04’-6”) in diameter and 8” height with two 3/8” galvanized steel support chains along the sides of the floating dock, and a 12’ x 6’ gangway (truss bridge). The concrete ballasts will be set as anchors with two chains on each concrete ballast to hold the dock. The dock has stainless steel anchor plates where the chains are attached with adjustable shackles. Each proposed steel pipe has a length of 21 feet, and once installed 3 or 4 feet of pipe will be above the dock and the remaining 17 feet or 18 feet of pile under the dock. The steel pipe area is 0.045 square feet each and total is 1.94 square feet. The installation of structures will be conducted first from the existing concrete platform and next structures will be set up from the floating structures previously installed. A manual impact hammer with a pilling bull will be used to install the piles. The proposed dock will provide spaces for a maximum of 30 vessels of a maximum size of 41 feet in length and 4 feet in draft, and 6 dry slips for jet-skies within the floating dock structure near the gangway.

CULTURAL RESOURCES:

The Corps has determined that the proposed activity within the permit area is of such limited scope there is little likelihood of impact upon a historic property; therefore, the proposed project would have “No Potential to Cause Effect”.

ENDANGERED SPECIES:

The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the following listed species: Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus), Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), and Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), the Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus), and Scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini). No effect for listed corals, listed whales in the Caribbean, and listed Giant manta ray (Manta birostris), and designated critical habitat for acropora corals, and listed sea turtles. The Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife/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. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the Caribbean. 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: A Coastal Zone Federal Consistency Certification with the Puerto Rico Coastal Zone Management Program from the Puerto Rico Planning Board is required for the proposed project.

COMMENTS regarding the potential authorization of the work proposed should be submitted in writing to the attention of the District Engineer through electronic mail at carmen.g.roman@usace.army.mil or the Antilles Permits Section, Fund. Angel Ramos, Annex Bldg., Suite 202, 383 F.D. Roosevelt Ave., San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918 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, Ms. Carmen G. Román, in writing by electronic mail at carmen.g.roman@usace.army.mil, or at the Antilles Permits Section, Fund. Angel Ramos, Annex Bldg., Suite 202, 383 F.D. Roosevelt Ave., San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918; or by telephone at (787) 729-6637.

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.