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: Palm Beach County
Department of Environmental Resources
c/o Deborah Drum
2300 N. Jog Road, 4th Floor
West Palm Beach, Florida 33411
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Lake Worth Lagoon. The project site is located approximately 0.5 miles south of the Lake Worth Bridge and approximately 800 feet west of South Ocean Boulevard, Section 27 and 34, Township 44 South, Range 43 East, Lake Worth Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: Take Interstate 95 to Exit 64 for 10th Avenue. Travel east on 10th Avenue approximately 1 mile. Then turn right (south) onto FL-5 South. Travel 0.8 miles and turn right onto Lake Avenue. The Lake Avenue bridge will be less than 0.5 miles to the east. The proposed project is located within Lake Worth Lagoon approximately 0.5 miles south of the Lake Avenue Bridge crossing the Intracoastal Waterway. The project area is only accessible by boat.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude: 26.602520°
Longitude: -80.033731°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Estuarine Habitat Restoration
Overall: Provide higher quality fish and wildlife habitat in Lake Worth Lagoon, Palm Beach County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The proposed project is located within 40.2 aces of Lake Worth Lagoon. Existing water depths within the project area range from -8.5 to -7 North American Vertical Datum 1988 (NAVD88). The applicant has provided information that it is unlikely that seagrass would be located within the project limits since depths are too deep for seagrass. The proposed project was initially approved through the Corps Civil Works Division as a Continuing Authorities Program (CAP) Section 1135 Project, completed in January 2018. The County is requesting Corps Regulatory permit to conduct the work if federal funding is not granted.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to construct a 40.2 acre estuarine habitat restoration area by placing 375,000 cubic yards of fill and 31,310 cubic yards of gravel/rock within the 40.2 acre area. The project includes the creation of 7.8 acres of tidal mangrove wetlands, 1.7 acres of oyster reefs, 0.2 acres for shorebird nesting, and 1.1 acres of wave breaks with the creation of 26.8 acres of potential seagrass habitat. Fill material will be mined and transported from the Peanut Island Dredge Material Management Area (DMMA) to create the islands within the Lake Worth Lagoon.
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 conducted seagrass surveys in 2017 and 2018 and designed the project to avoid all impacts to existing seagrass. Additionally, seagrass in central Lake Worth Lagoon may occur at depths of -5.5 feet National Atlantic Vertical Datum (NAVD) and shallower. Therefore, the project was also designed to avoid areas measured at -5.5 feet NAVD or shallower. The project is expected to result in the conversion of 40.2 acres of natural river/estuarine bottom to mangrove and oyster habitat, which would be utilized by fish and avian wildlife habitat. Turbidity curtains will also be used during construction to minimize impacts to adjacent waters.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required:
No mitigation is proposed because project is designed to create 7.8 acres of mangrove habitat; 1.7 acres of oyster reef habitat; and 0.2 acres for avian nesting. The applicant will also be placing fill within 26.8 acres of the Lagoon to bring the elevations from -8.5 NAVD88 to -5.5 feet NAVD88, which has been identified as the elevation where seagrass prefer to grow within Lake Worth Lagoon. This area would potentially naturally recruit seagrass.
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 Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) and its designated critical habitat; 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)); smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata); Giant Manta Ray (Mobula birostris); Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus); Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens); Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi); and wood stork (Mycteria americana). The Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife/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): 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 40.2 acres of sand and shell benthic habitat 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.
NAVIGATION: Based on the Florida State Plane coordinates provided by the applicant, the waterward edge of the proposed structure is 403 feet away from 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 Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410 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 33410; 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.
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.
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: Water Quality Certification will be required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
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.