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: Miami-Dade County
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Atlantic Ocean. The project site is located as shown on the attached maps.
Directions to the site are as follows: Take 836/Dolphin expressway, which becomes I-395 East, and continue onto MacArthur Causeway/SR A1A. Continue onto 5th Street, turn left on Aton Road, and a slight right at 67th Street. The monument referenced (R-43) is just south of 69th Street.
APPROXIMATE NOTHERN COORDINATES:
Latitude: 25.975154°
Longitude: -80.118213°
APPROXIMATE SOUTHERN COORDINATES:
Latitude: 25.737016°
Longitude: -80.1529325°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
The project purpose is to provide a 5-year extension for existing permits for the continual upland property protection by maintaining a sacrificial beach dune and berm system along the Miami-Dade County shoreline.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The onsite vegetation consists of native dune species. The existing area surrounding the project area consists of a dune system and sandy beach.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization for a 5-year extension to continue to conduct periodic renourishment of various segments of critically eroded shoreline via the placement of beach quality sand on an as needed basis pursuant to the requirements and conditions of the above referenced Department of the Army permits. All materials will be from upland sand sources and be transported via truck haul.
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:
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – No compensatory mitigation is required for the proposed permit extension.
CULTURAL RESOURCES:
The Corps is evaluating the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This public notice serves to inform the public of the proposed undertaking and invites comments including those from local, State, and Federal government Agencies with respect to historic resources. Our final determination relative to historic resource impacts may be subject to additional coordination with the State Historic Preservation Officer, those federally recognized tribes with concerns in Florida and the Permit Area, and other interested parties.
ENDANGERED SPECIES:
The proposed Corps extension will not authorize the take of any threatened or endangered species. The activities authorized by the above referenced permits were previously consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as “may affect, but not likely to adversely affect” for the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Kemp's Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus ), piping plover (Charadrius melodus), and Red knot (Calidris canutus) and received a concurrence with this determination in the USFWS BO dated 8 October 2010 and the subsequent concurrence letter dated 7 February 2017.
The projects do occur within the geographic range of Acropora spp. critical habitat, but the primary constituent elements do not exist within the project footprint. Therefore, the Corps has determined the project would have “no effect” on these species.
The Corps has also determined the proposed time extensions will have “no effect” on any threatened or endangered species or designated critical habitat under the purview of the National Marine Fisheries Service Protected Resources Division.
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 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.
NAVIGATION: Based on the Florida State Plane coordinates provided by the applicant, the waterward edge of the proposed structure is not within the near bottom edge of the Intracoastal Waterway Federal channel.
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 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 Miami Permits Section, 9900 SW 107th Avenue, Miami, FL 33176 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.
If you have any questions concerning this application, you may contact Luis O. Betancourt at the letterhead address, by electronic mail at Luis.O.Betancourt@usace.army.mil, or by telephone at 305-779-6051.
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.
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.