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: Barbara Walker
Neapolitan Enterprises, LLC
255 13th Avenue South
Naples, Florida 34102
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Crayton Cove, adjacent to Naples Bay, and the Big Cypress Swamp Watershed (HUC 8: 03090204). The project site is located at the far east end of 8th Street South and west of the Naples City Docking Facility, in Section 10, Township 50 South, Range 25 East, Naples, Collier County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From I-75 take Exit 101 (County Road 951/Naples/Marco Island); keep right at fork and make a right onto FL-84; merge to the left onto FL-84/Davis Boulevard for 6.5 miles; turn right onto 5th Avenue South/Tamiami Trail and head west for about ½ mile; make a left onto 10th Street South and head south for about 1/8 mile; make a left onto 8th Street South and head south for about ½ mile and the project site will be on your left.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude: 26.131872°
Longitude: -81.794346°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Commercial Marina
Overall: Construct a public docking facility, with access to the Gulf of Mexico, in south Naples, Collier County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The 3.92 acre project area consists of 2.31 acres of waters of the United States (WoUS) and 1.61 acres of uplands. Surrounding the project area is a commercial marina to the east and north, residential development to the west, and a commercial mooring field to the south.
PROPOSED WORK: The proposed project involves the construction of a commercial marina, with 38 wet slips ranging from 30 to 100 feet in length, five (5) of which would be transient to serve commercial facilities, including a restaurant and hotel, to be constructed in the uplands. The project would involve the dredging of 1,536 cubic yards of material from a 31,929 square foot (0.73 acre) area, the filling of 12,603 square feet (0.29 acre) of WoUS, and the installation of docks and decking over 21,678 square feet (0.50 acre) of WoUS. The project would impact 0.013 acre of tidal wetlands (mangroves)
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:
“Constraints on the construction footprint are of logistical, economic, and regulatory in nature which are dictating the final upland design. The site plan will take all of those factors into consideration, but in order to achieve the project purpose while making it economically viable, impacts are unavoidable given constraints outlined above. The applicant has provided appropriate mitigation for those impacts that are unavoidable.”
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
Mitigation would consist of purchasing 0.16 saltwater forested federal mitigation credit from the Little Pine Island Mitigation Bank for unavoidable impacts to wetlands (mangroves).
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 that the proposed project may affect the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) since the proposed project would restrict or act as a barrier to manatees. The Corps requested U.S. Fish and Wildlife concurrence with this determination, via email on October 7, 2020, pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
The Corps has determined that the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the Smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinate) and swimming sea turtles. The Corps requested National Marine Fisheries Service concurrence with this determination via email on October 7, 2020, pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act
The Corps has determined the proposal would have no effect on the American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), Florida Bonneted Bat (Eumops floridanus), Florida scrub jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), Eastern Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis), and/or their designated critical habitat. No further consultation with the Service is required for these species.
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 0.013 acre of Red Mangroves (Rhizopora mangle) utilized by various life stages of 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. 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 Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Blvd. Suite 310, Fort Myers, FL 33919 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, Michelle L. Bartley, in writing at the Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Blvd. Suite 310, Fort Myers, FL 33919; by electronic mail at Michelle.L.Bartley@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (239)334-1975 ext. 0006.
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, aesthetics, 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.