Public Notice Notifications

The Jacksonville District currently has five categories of public notice notification mailing lists. If you wish to receive email notifications when new public notices are added to this page, please send a request to Regulatory Webmaster.  Each category is described below. Be sure to specify which list(s) you want to be included on.

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-2020-03250 (SP-PRJ)

USACE - Regulatory
Published Aug. 24, 2021
Expiration date: 9/8/2021

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:  Mr. Robert Scott
                       City of Jacksonville
                       214 North Hogan Street
                       Jacksonville, Florida 32202

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Trout River. The project site is located at Riverview Park, at 9620 East Water Street, in Section 39 Township 1 South, Range 26 East, Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida.

Directions to the site are as follows: Traveling from downtown Jacksonville take Interstate 95 traveling north to Lem Turner Road. Take the Lem Turner Road exit and turn north onto Lem Turner Road. Follow Lem Turner Road to Water Street and turn north onto Water Street. Follow Water Street to East Water Street and turn east onto East Water Street. Follow East Water Street to the project site located at Riverview Park.

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:  Latitude 30.415358°
                                                                          Longitude -81.689034°

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic: The basic project purpose is navigation.

Overall: The overall project purpose is to provide access to navigable waters for communities located along the south side of Trout River.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project site is an upland parcel located along the Trout River at Riverview Park. The project site contains a public park, parking spaces, and a public dock with no mooring. The shoreline is composed of black needle rush and spartina. The park is bordered to the north by the Trout River, the east by vacant land, the west by residential development, and the south by a commercial development.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to impact waters of the United States in association with the construction of a boat ramp and boarding dock. The proposed work includes the construction of a 24-foot by 50-foot boat ramp with 20 cubic yards of rip rap to be installed alongside the outward edge of the boat ramp. The proposed work also includes the construction of an 8-foot by 64-foot boarding dock to include a concrete abutment and an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) transition plate. The proposed work would affect waters of the Trout River and 0.02 acre of wetlands, marsh.

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 boat ramp was minimized to meet design guidelines for single lane width. Only one boarding dock is proposed. The toe of the ramp was designed at -2 feet Mean Low Low Water to minimize the need for dredging, as well as minimized the length of the ramp. The parking lot would be in uplands and would not require impacts to waters of the United States.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:

The applicant proposes to plant marsh grass on-site in areas along the shoreline that are void of vegetation.

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 West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus), Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), Kemp's Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), Smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), Shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum), Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus), Wood Stork (Mycteria americana), and Red Cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) or its designated critical habitat. The Corps will consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the National Marine Fisheries Service 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. The proposal would impact approximately 0.073 acre of tidal river habitat utilized by various life stages of various species. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the Trout River. 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 Jacksonville Permits Section, P.O. Box 4970, Jacksonville, Florida 32232-0019 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, Paula R. Johnson, in writing at the Jacksonville Permits Section, P.O. Box 4970, Jacksonville, Florida 32232-0019; by electronic mail at paula.r.johnson@usace.army.mil or by telephone at (904)232-2503.

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.