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: City of Miami
c/o Arthur Noriega, City Manager
444 SW 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33130
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Miami River. The project site is located at Jose Marti Park at 351 SW 4th Avenue, in Section 38, Township 54 South, 41 East, Miami, Florida 33130 (multiple folios).
Directions to the site are as follows: Head south on I-95, take the SW 7th Street exit, turn right onto 7th Street, then make a right onto 5th Avenue, right onto SE 5th street and finally a left onto SW 4th Avenue.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 25.770983°
Longitude -80.200124°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: The basic project purpose is for shoreline stabilization and improvements to water access.
Overall: The overall project purpose is to conduct shoreline stabilization to mitigate flooding hazards, and to provide public water access for viewing, water-based transportation service, kayaking and other non-motorized activities at an existing public park on the Miami River.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project site consist of an existing municipal public park with approximately 900 liner feet of waterfrontage. The park does not contain any wetlands and no marine resources are documented in the nearshore environment. The upland portions of the park contain lawn space, palm trees, pave sidewalks and other recreational infrastructure. The existing shoreline is currently stabilized by a combination of low elevation concrete seawalls and a cement block revetment. The park dos not currently provide direct water access to the river.
PROPOSED WORK: The proposed project components are as follow:
North Shoreline Improvement:
-Excavate 4,175 square feet of the waterfront to retreat the shoreline to accommodate a 1,872 square feet of living shoreline planter and associated 6,463 square feet of riprap revetment (much of which is underneath the proposed overwater structures).
-Installation of 1,920 square feet of floating boardwalk (10 steel piles) with 686 square feet of combined gangway area. The proposed boardwalk will have a 3 tier rope railing.
-Installation of two fixed grated decking viewing platforms bookending the floating boardwalk. The north platform will be 1,169 square feet and be supported by 19 concrete piles and the south platform will be 1,370 square feet and be supported by 15 concrete piles.
-The shoreline planters will also include a landward retaining wall that is proposed at 6.0’ NAVD.
-Creation of a 10’ by 44’ long kayak launch with associated 4’ by 42’ anti-slip mat is proposed to provide direct water access for recreational use located at the northern property line.
-An existing 24” outfall pipe will be rerouted from the proposed kayak launch area and extended through the proposed planter and revetment. The outfall will be outfitted with a nutrient reducing baffle box (upland), a backflow preventer, and a manatee grate.
-Quantities of fill waterward of the mean high water line include 305 cy for the riprap revetment and 10 cy for the planter.
Central Shoreline Improvements:
-Installation of 420 linear feet of new seawall with an elevation of 6.0’ NAVD and 2,407 square feet of backfill is proposed waterward of the existing seawall. The extension of the new seawall will vary along the shoreline and will range from directly abutting the existing wetface to extending 13’4” waterward of the existing wetface. Approximately 39 concrete batter piles area proposed to support the new seawall. No riprap is proposed in this area. A total of 682 cubic yards of fill will be placed waterward of the mean high water.
- Installation of 1,009 square feet of water taxi/ferry dock supported with 13 concrete piles associated with a proposed 75’x30’ slip area.
-An existing 48” outfall pipe will be retrofitted with a nutrient reducing baffle box (upland) and extended thru the new seawall; it will get outfitted with a backflow preventer and a manatee grate.
South Shoreline Improvements:
- An existing 36” outfall pipe will be retrofitted with a nutrient reducing baffle box (upland), a backflow preventer, and a manatee grate.
-All other work in this area will be located only in uplands and will be associated with the living shoreline planters, site grading, storwater improvements and a 15’ wide upland riverwalk.
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:
The project site is located adjacent to the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve and within the range of Johnson’s Seagrass. A marine resource survey conducted in October of 2019 confirmed no marine resources of significance were in the project area. As such, no adverse impacts to submerged marine resources are proposed. Shading impacts to future submerged resources that may recruit to the area are minimized by the proposed grated decking for the fixed viewing platforms and water taxi landing dock.
Additionally, the project has gone through multiple design iterations from the first proposal introduced to the Corps during pre-application (May 2020), first submittal (July 2020), second submittal (November 2020) and the current submittal. It has scaled back the north shoreline overwater structures substantially from a combined 7,900 sf (viewing platforms, gangways, and floating boardwalk) proposed to be located immediately adjacent to the federal channel to a combined 5,144 sf proposed to be located 10’ setback from the federal channel. This represents a 35% reduction in overwater footprint.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
There are no resources (i.e., corals, seagrass, or other marine resources of significance) at the Project site and therefore no impacts are anticipated. No mitigation is proposed. The Project aims to increase habitat for marine resources through construction of two living shoreline planters, improvement to local water quality through stormwater retrofits, using an mesh on the piles of viewing platform to encourage oyster recruitment, and texturize the new seawall with paneling that resembles mangrove roots to encourage habitation by intertidal marine species. The overall Project will have a net positive impact on the local ecosystem.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps is aware of historic property/properties within or in close proximity of the permit area. The Corps will initiate consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office and those federally recognized tribes with concerns in Florida and the Permit Area, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation as applicable pursuant to 33 CFR 325, Appendix C and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, by separate letter.
The applicant provided the Corps a Cultural Resources Assessment Report completed in December 2020 from Archeological and Historical Conservancy, Inc. The Project site is in the Miami River Archaeological Conservation Area; proposed work at the Project site will likely require a Certificate to Dig permit from the County Planning Department. The Report identifies a prehistoric black earth midden from circa 500 A.D. (Site 8DA3220) discovered during the original development of the Park site in 1983, as well as a prehistoric human cranium found during the seawall construction near the existing Park pool. Additionally, the South River Drive Historic District (428 & 438 SW 1st St., 437 SW 2nd St., and 104, 109, & 118 SW South River Dr.) located just across SW 4th Ave to the NW of the park are historic preservation sites, as is the JW Warner house (111 SW 5th Ave.) directly west of the District. An archeologist will oversee all construction activities.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has determined the project “may affect” the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) and its designated critical habitat. Since the proposal by the applicant is for in-water construction which includes the installation of a new slip which will be used by a repeat use vessel as well as a new kayak launch ramp, the potential impacts to the endangered manatee were evaluated using The Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, and the State of Florida Effect Determination Key for the Manatee in Florida (Manatee Key), dated 25 April 2013. Use of the Manatee Key resulted in the following sequential determination: A > B > 6 “MA.” The Corps will request initiation of formal consultation pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by separate letter.
The Corps has determined that the project will have no effect on any other listed threatened or endangered species, and/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 impact approximately 14,778 square feet of unvegetated river bottom utilized by various life stages of snapper-grouper complex. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in Biscayne Bay. 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 SW 107th Avenue, Miami, FL 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, Albert Gonzalez at the letterhead address, by electronic mail at albert.gonzalez@usace.army.mil, or by telephone at 305-779-6055.
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.