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: G Flash GP, Inc. Trustee
c/o Mr. F. Ashton DePeyster III
1200 South Flagler Drive, PH6
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Indian River portion of the Indian River Lagoon adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway. The project site is located south of the Ft. Pierce South Causeway, at Causeway Cove Marina, 601 Seaway Drive, Section 2, Township 35 South, Range 40 East, Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: Take I-95 to Okeechobee Road (SR 70) east until Virginia Avenue and follow east. Proceed approximately 2.5 miles and then turn north onto U.S. Hwy. 1. Follow north for 2.0 miles then turn east onto Seaway Drive that turns into A1A. The project is located on the right side of the road after the bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude: 27.457503°
Longitude: - 80.312679°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Water Access
Overall: To improve water access for patrons at the existing Causeway Cove Marina located in Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Florida.
PROJECT HISTORY: The Corps issued a standard permit (SAJ-1900-06872 (SP-SLR)) dated November 13, 2013 to the permittee to construct a 198-slip commercial marina. The marina would include a two-lane boat ramp; eight separate fixed piers labeled A through H, to support 198 slips and 53,045 square feet of docking structure; and the installation of six “caution shallow water signs”. The Corps issued a modification to this permit dated December 29, 2016, which authorized the installation of a 13-buoy mooring field located south of the existing fixed marina (authorizing a total of 211 slips at the marina) and extended the permit for a period of 5 years. The expiration date to complete the proposed work expired on December 22, 2021.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project is located at the existing 211-slip Causeway Cove Commercial Marina (27 acres), which includes an 18-acre upland property with approximately 1,927 linear feet of frontage to the Indian River. The marina is currently permitted to have a 13-buoy mooring field and 198 fixed slip facility (total of 211 slips). The 198-slip fixed docking facility contains 47,777square feet of structure within eight fixed pier structures labeled A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H.
A benthic resource survey was conducted for the proposed project footprint and surrounding areas on July 3, 2019. The shoreline consists of sand and rubble. Submerged aquatic vegetation was identified on site, but not located within the proposed project footprint. Species identified include manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme), shoal grass (Halodule wrightii), and paddle grass (Halophila decipiens) at 5-40% coverage, and Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii) at 1-20% coverage, located south of the fixed marina and northeast of the mooring field. The water depths range from 0 feet mean low water (MLW) at the shoreline to -8 feet MLW. The water depths in the dredge area range from approximately -4 feet to -8 feet MLW. Mangroves, wetland vegetation, submerged resources, and submerged grass beds are not located within the proposed docking or dredge footprint.
The project is located outside the 100-foot setback of the Intracoastal Waterway, but a portion of the project remains within the federal right of way, within Real Estate-IWW- JaxToMiami Tract 8803E. The areas surrounding the marina include residential and commercial properties.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to expand the existing 211 slip marina to a 220-slip marina and dredge 6.6 acres of the existing marina to improve water access. Specifically, activities include: (1) reduce the existing 13 buoy mooring field to a 10-buoy mooring field by removing three buoys; (2) installation of an additional 4,553 square feet of docking structure to an existing 47,777 square foot docking facility (total of 52,330 square feet) to create 12 new slips within the previously authorized 198 slip marina (total 220 total overall slips); (3) mechanically dredge a 190,250 square foot area (removal of 12,500 cubic yards) to a depth of -8 feet MLW; (4) mechanically dredge approximately 96,780 square foot mooring area (removal of 3,500 cubic yards) to a depth of -5 MLW; and (5) install two single pilings navigational signs.
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 proposed project does not propose any impacts to seagrass or listed species and their habitats. All work shall only be conducted during daylight hours. The project is the modification of an existing facility. Signage is proposed to reduce potential vessel traffic impacts to resources. Turbidity barriers and other erosion control devices will be used to control sedimentation during construction. All construction personnel will adhere to the Standard Manatee Conditions for In-Water Work, 2011 and the additional requirements listed in the 2019 addendum to the manatee key for mechanical dredging; and to the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) “Protected Species Construction Conditions, NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office” dated May 2021.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required:
The proposed dredging and additional proposed mooring area will not have any direct or indirect impacts to seagrass or other benthic resources and therefore should not be required.
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.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the swimming sea turtles: (green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta),); smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata); Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus) and the Giant Manta Ray (Mobula birostris). The Corps will request National Marine Fisheries Service concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, by separate letter.
The Corps has determined the proposal may affect the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) and its designated critical habitat. Use of 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 results in a pathway of A-B-C-G-H-I-J-K, may affect, since the Corps has not received written concurrence that a review has been completed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) with the County’s State approved Manatee Protection Plan (MPP). The Corps will request initiation of consultation with the FWS pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by separate letter if concurrence from FWC cannot be obtained.
The Corps has determined the proposal would have no effect on any other listed threatened or endangered species 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 6.5 acres of mud, shell, sand and rock substrate utilized by various life stages of penaeid shrimp complex, reef fish, stone crab, spiny lobster, migratory/pelagic fish, and 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 the South Atlantic Region. 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.
SECTION 408: The applicant will not require permission under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (33 USC 408) because the activity, in whole or in part, would not alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.
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.
COMMENTS regarding the potential authorization of the work proposed should be submitted in writing to the attention of the District Engineer through the Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 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, Jerilyn Ashworth, in writing at the Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; by electronic mail at Jerilyn.Ashworth@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (561)412-5449.
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.
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.
WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: This public notice serves as the notification to the EPA pursuant to section 401(a)(2) of the Clean Water Act. Water Quality Certification may be required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and/or one of the state Water Management Districts.
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.