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: Linette Matheny
Osceola County
1 Courthouse Square, Suite 3100
Kissimmee, FL 34741
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Lake Cypress and the Southport Canal. The project site is located in Kenansville, Osceola River County, Florida in Section 31, Township 30S, Range 39E.
Directions to the site are as follows: Directions to the site are as follows: Site must be accessed from Lake Cypress or Lake Toho waterways. From Kissimmee, FL head east on Neptune Road. Turn right on Old Canoe Creek Road and head south for 4.1 miles. Turn right on Canoe Creek Road and head south for 8.3 miles. Turn right on Lake Cypress Road and head west for 2.3 miles. Road dead ends at the Lake Cypress Boat Ramp.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 28.077764°
Longitude -81.336636°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Dredging
Overall: Removal of shoal created by sedimentation at the mouth of the C-35 canal in Cypress lake by way of dredging.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The proposed Lake Cypress shoal removal project consists of removing an existing shoal within Lake Cypress at the connection with the Southport Canal (C-35). The shoal currently poses a navigational and grounding hazard to boaters traveling to and from the lake and canal.
PROPOSED WORK: Shoal material will be hydraulically dredged to historic contours to reestablish a proper channel into Lake Cypress. An upland deposit area located about 1.7 miles north of the shoal along Canal C-35 will be used to store the dredge material. A discharge pipe and hydraulic booster pumps will be placed along the berm of Canal C-35 to transport about 15,000 cubic yards of dredged material. Sediment from the dredge material will be stored in the deposit area and the excess water will be discharged through a sediment catch basin into uplands to the east of the deposit area. The dredged material will be transported and re-used by South Florida Water Management District at a later date.
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:
“Minimization of impacts to Lake Cypress is fulfilled through limiting dredging to only occur where required to remove the shoal and recontour the lake bottom to its historic elevations. Construction staging and equipment storage will occur entirely in uplands. The proposed project will not significantly alter water quantity, quality, hydroperiod, or habitat. Water quality will be maintained through project use of Best Management Practices, use of turbidity barriers, and adherence to National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination Systems (NPDES) standards.
All jurisdictional wetlands are avoided in the proposed project. The design was chosen to minimize the dredged area, type of dredge used, and the overall long-term impact of the project on Lake Cypress and C- 35 Canal. Other types of dredge material extraction plans were not chosen due to their more intrusive construction requirements, long-term impacts on Lake Cypress, and the adjacent shoreline wetlands. No secondary impacts are anticipated as a result of the proposed project.”
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
“Compensatory mitigation is not anticipated for the project as no jurisdictional wetland impacts will occur.”
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 proposed project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect the following species or designated critical habitat. 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.
Everglades Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis)- The project site is within the consultation area for this species according to the FWS Web Site. Suitable habitat includes both nesting and foraging habitat. Kite foraging habitat consists of relatively shallow wetland vegetation, either within extensive marsh systems or in lake littoral zones and Kites usually nest over open water, and this helps protect nests from mammalian predators such as raccoons. The site does not contain suitable habitat such as relatively shallow wetland vegetation, either within extensive marsh systems or in lake littoral zones over open water. The proposed project does not permanently alter any know habitats for the Snail Kite and does not impact any critical habitat for the Snail Kite. Therefore based on the Standard Local Operating Procedures of Endangered Species (SLOPES) and other information as cited above the Corps has determined that the project will not jeopardize the continued existence of this species or adversely modify any critical habitat for the Snail kite and therefore in accordance with Sections 7(a)-(d) [U.S.C. 1536(a)-(d)] of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as amended (“Act”) the Corps has determined a No Effect for the Snail Kite.
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 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/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 Cocoa Permits Section, 400 High Point Dr., Cocoa, Florida, 32926 within 15 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, Corey Maier, in writing at the Cocoa Permits Section, 400 High Point Dr., Cocoa, Florida, 32926; by electronic mail at corey.m.maier@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (321) 504-3771 ext. 15.
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