SAJ-2020-04839-SJC

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: This district has received a complete modification request proposing the modification of an existing mitigation bank pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §1344) as described below:

APPLICANT: EIP IV, LLC
5550 Newbury Street, Suite B
Baltimore , MD 21209

LOCATION: The project site, known as Round Hammock Mitigation Bank (RHMB), encompassing 238.13 acres, is located south of SW 400th St and west of SW 217th Ave. More specifically, the proposed project is located in Section 8, Township 58 south, Range 38 east: in Miami-Dade County, near the Homestead, Florida.

LATITUDE & LONGITUDE:
(Centroid): Latitude: 25.39167°
Longitude: -80.55110°

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY: Pursuant to 33 CFR 332.8(d)(4), the Corps has posted a full copy of the RHMB prospectus online so that it is available for review by the public. The prospectus may be downloaded from the Regulatory In-Lieu Fee and Bank Information Tracking System (RIBITS) at web address: https://ribits.ops.usace.army.mil/ords/f?p=107:2.

Once on the RIBITS homepage, select "Jacksonville" from the "ALL DISTRICTS" drop down menu located in the lower left corner of the screen. Once the district filter has been selected, click on the “Banks & ILF Sites” link located in the Navigation box (upper left corner). This will generate a list of projects, scroll down the list and click on the “Kennedy Space Center MB” link. On this page, click on the "Cyber Repository" link located on the menu bar above the General Information box, then click on the Prospectus Documents folder to access the prospectus associated with the KSCMB project.

If you are unable to access the web address, a copy of the prospectus is available upon request to the project manager listed at the end of this public notice.

PROJECT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: Restoration of native emergent wetlands and
upland tropical hammock islands through the cessation of all agricultural activities, establishment of emergent wetlands through the grading of existing row crops to adjacent wetland grades, and the restoration of natural hydroperiod and natural community structure to all habitats within the Florida Southeast Coast (East Everglades) watershed.

Project Objectives include:

Rehabilitation of natural hydrology and community structure to 62.76 acres of altered freshwater marsh (FLUCCS 641A) communities through cessation of agricultural activities; removal of trash and pollutants; removal of exotics, shrubs and forested species; seeding and planting native herbaceous wetland species which will result in 62.76 acres of Glades Marsh (FNAI).

Rehabilitation of natural hydrology and community structure to 18.29 acres of row cropped marl prairie (FLUCCS 643RC) will be accomplished through cessation of agricultural activities; removal of food crops; prescribed fire; removal of exotics; removal of shrubs and trees; and planting of native FACW and OBL herbaceous species which will result in 18.29 acres of Marl Prairie (FNAI).

Establishment of natural community structure to 147.68 acres of row crops (FLUCCS 214) will be accomplished through cessation of agricultural activities; removal of food crops and soils; excavation to adjacent wetland grades; seeding and planting of native marl prairie species and natural recruitment; and the reintroduction of prescribed fire which will result in 147.68 acres of Marl Prairie (FNAI).

Rehabilitation of natural community structure to 9.40 acres of altered Rockland Hammock (FLUCCS 426A) community will be accomplished through cessation of agricultural activities; removal of trash and pollutants; removal of exotics and thinning of shrubs which will result in 9.40 acres of Rockland Hammock (FNAI).

Preservation of 238.13 acres of wetland habitats and upland rockland hammock buffer islands through the establishment of a conservation easement.

Management goal for the endangered cape sable seaside sparrow includes restoration of Marl Prairie habitat with purple muhly, sawgrass, beak sedges, bog rushes, and mixed grasses. Fire regime will be customized for restoring and maintaining suitable sparrow habitat such that fire should remove woody species and detritus build up every 3-4 years but will not include a complete burn that removes all suitable habitat for nesting. The fire regime will be adapted to the monitoring results of how quickly the prairie revegetates after a burn cycle. Hydrology will be primarily rainfall driven with very short hydroperiods in the summer.

Management of the rockland hammocks in the Everglades that are located on raised peaty platforms above surrounding wetlands. Rockland hammock occurs on prime development property and is disappearing rapidly. Many pieces that have been protected through land acquisition programs occur as islands within developed and developing lands. This poses management problems in terms of edge effects (e.g., trash dumping, exotic plant infestation, exotic and feral animal control); loss of the natural ecotone that forms between the hammock and the adjacent (often fire-maintained) community such as marl prairies. Removal of tree snails, orchids, and bromeliads will be protected and maintained within the RHMB.

Restoration of rare marl prairie habitat where the marl soils allow slow seepage, contain sparse vegetation such as purple muhly grass, and short seasonal inundation (2-4 months). Two rare south Florida endemic species are dependent on marl prairie as their primary habitat: few-flowered fingergrass (Digitaria pauciflora) and Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis). Patchy fires within the marl prairie are preferable to large scale fires in the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow habitat, since up to six years after a fire may be needed before the prairie vegetation is again suitable for nesting.

Argentine Black and White Tegu management - The growth and spread of tegu populations has the potential to impact populations of threatened and endangered native species, such as American crocodiles, sea turtles, ground nesting birds, etc. The University of Florida research team is collaborating with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the South Florida Water Management District to contain and reduce the tegu population. This includes:

Maximizing detection and removal of tegus in occupied areas
Preventing expansion to new areas (including both public and private lands
Evaluating effectiveness of integrated outreach and current trapping programs
Using radio telemetry to understand how tegus move through the landscape and apply results to enhance removal

RHMB will collaborate with the above Agencies and University to prevent
any spread of the Tegu species.

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 site will be reviewed for potential critical habitat and presence of endangered species. The findings will be coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service.

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.

SECTION 408: The applicant may require permission under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (33 USC 408) because of the proximity to a Corps Civil Works project. The public notice will be coordinated with Corps Civil Works business line for further evaluation.

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.

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.

COMMENTS: Comments regarding the proposed modification should be submitted in writing to the attention of the District Engineer at the below address within 30 days from the date of this notice.

If you have any questions concerning this proposed project, you may contact Mr. Steven Currie by electronic mail at steven.j.currie@usace.army.mil, by telephone at 904-232-3701, at the following address:

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
JACKSONVILLE DISTRICT CORPS OF ENGINEERS
P. O. BOX 4970
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32232-0019