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: Cuevas Investments, LLC
William Cuevas
751 Oak View Drive
Oak Point, Texas 75068
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project is located within the Grand Canal, waters of the United States adjacent to 2595 SW 30th Avenue, Section 20, Township 50 South, Range 42 East, Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: Take Interstate 95 to Exit 26 for FL-736/Davie Boulevard. Travel west on Davie Boulevard for 0.5 miles and turn left (south) onto SW 27th Avenue/Riverland Road. Travel 1.3 miles and turn left onto SW 30th Street (Riverview Drive) and destination will be on the left.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude: 26.089496°
Longitude: -80.183695°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Single Family Residential Development
Overall: Construction of a single family residential home in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project is located within the tidally influenced Grand Canal; a residential canal directly connected to the South Fork of the New River. The existing canal measures 105 feet wide (at the widest point) and 70 feet at the narrowest section measured from the wet face to the existing seawall to the wet face of seawall across the Grand Canal. The proposed structures will extend approximately 25 percent of the width of the waterbody at the widest point and 13 percent at the narrowest. There is an existing +/- 148 linear foot seawall and two wooden docks. The northern dock is an irregularly shaped 205 square foot dock and the southern dock is 4.5 feet wide by 20.1 feet long (90 square feet). The existing seawall and shoreline have a concave curve to the east. A benthic survey was completed on September 22, 2021, within the project footprint and extending 50 feet waterward from the existing seawall wet face. Depths within the survey area ranged from five feet to nine feet and the substrate was described as silted with muck devoid of seagrass, corals, mangroves and other benthic resources. The existing area surrounding the project area consists of other single family residential homes, with docks and seawalls.
PERMIT HISTORY: The project was initially coordinated with the adjacent properties and agencies under a Letter of Permissions by coordination letter dated April 13, 2022. After the coordination letter was issued, it was determined that the project required evaluation under a standard permit. The proposed project has not changed since the initial coordination letter was issued.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant requests authorization to construct a single-family home and place fill within the Grand Canal to the property line, connecting the two adjacent seawalls. Specifically, activities include:
1. Remove the two existing wooden docks (205 square feet and 90 square feet)
2. Install a new +/-134 linear foot seawall a maximum of 18 feet waterward of the existing seawall at the widest section, which includes the placement of 1,447 square feet of fill waterward of the existing seawall (total of 321 cubic yards);
3. Install a 36-inch wide concrete seawall cap and install fifteen 12-inch concrete batter piles and fifteen 12-inch concrete king piles;
4. Construct a 5 foot wide by +/- 114 foot long concrete marginal dock connected to the proposed seawall cap.
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 applicant has proposed to install the new seawall prior to the placement of fill within waters to minimize any potential turbidity. Additionally, turbidity and other erosion control devices will be utilized. A benthic survey completed September 21, 2021, confirmed that there are no benthic resources within the footprint of the proposed backfill, seawall installation or marginal dock.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION –The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required:
No mitigation should be required because the project will not impact any benthic resources such as seagrass, corals, or mangroves.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps is aware of recorded historic resources within or adjacent to the permit area and is evaluating the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This coordination letter 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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has determined the project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus); swimming sea turtles: (green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)); and smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata). The Corps will request Fish and Wildlife Service's/ 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 would have no effect on any other listed threatened or endangered species or designated critical habitat.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): his notice initiates consultation on EFH as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1996. The proposal would impact approximately 2,519 square feet of silt and muck 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/would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries within 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.
NAVIGATION: The proposed work is not located within the setback of a federal project. It is estimated that the proposed structures will extend 25 percent of the width of the waterbody at the widest point and 13 percent at the narrowest measured from the wet face of the existing sea wall to the wet face of the seawall on the west side of the canal.
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 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 33410 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, Jerilyn Ashworth, in writing at the Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410; by electronic mail at Jerilyn.Ashworth@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (561)472-3516.
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 coordination letter 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 or Broward County.
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.