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:
River Forest Yachting Center LLC
C/o Joseph Charles
3360 Barrow Island Road
Jupiter, Florida 33477
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with a manmade basin connected to the Caloosahatchee River. The project site is located in Section 26, Township 42 South, Range 30 East, at 1992 Williams Road, Moore Haven, Glades County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From Fort Myers take I-75 north to exit 141 Palm Beach Boulevard (County Road 80) and turn right heading east toward LaBelle. Turn left onto Bridge Street (County Road 29) and head north. Make a right onto county road 78. Make a right onto Ortona Road and follow to the fork in the road after the bend. Stay left at the fork and that will turn into Williams Road. The property will be located on the right side of the road.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude 26.79550°
Longitude -81.29430°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Boating Access
Overall: To create a basin for the temporary staging of vessels, at an existing dry dock facility, for boating access in Glades County.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The site has an existing 1.9-acre marina basin with concrete retaining wall. Approximately 22 wet slips and four upland dry storage facilities with a total of 240 dry slips are also present, along with various offices, parking, and ship store.
The work was permitted through the Corps by an individual permit dated 7 March 2008.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to excavate approximately 49,000 cubic yards of material from 3.34 acres of uplands and open water area, to a depth of -7 feet ordinary low water level (OLWL), install a 1,175 cubic yard riprap revetment around the newly dredged basin to support 12-to-24-foot wetland littoral shelves that would be constructed around the perimeter of the basin and discharge an additional 884 cubic yards of bedding stone for the shelves to plant cypress and other wetland vegetation. Install thirty (30) 14-inch square concrete pilings and thirty-three (33) 10-inch wood pilings to support fixed wooden platforms (864 square feet), floating docks (9,200 square feet), and aluminum ramps (540 square feet) for a total overwater structure of 10,604 square feet. Approximately 160 linear feet of existing concrete retaining wall and 312 linear feet of existing shoreline with riprap would be removed to facilitate the opening of the newly constructed basin from the uplands.
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 utilize turbidity curtains, upland Best Management Practices, and follow the manatee conditions for in-water work.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION –The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required: There are no special aquatic sites proposed to be impacted by this activity. Additionally, most of the work is to be done by excavating the uplands. Therefore, no compensatory mitigation is proposed.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps is aware of historic property/properties within or in close proximity of the permit area. The project has been redesigned by the applicant to avoid any potential impacts to the historical property within the vicinity of this project. If necessary, the Corps will initiate consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office and/or Tribes under separate cover.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect, the West Indian manatee, Florida panther, Eastern indigo snake, Audubon’s crested caracara, and the Everglades snail kite. The Corps has concurrence with these determinations in the form of a sticker service response received on 10 June 2022 from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): There is no essential fish habitat proposed to be impacted by this activity.
NAVIGATION: The proposed structure is located along an existing canal that is connected to the Caloosahatchee River and will not interfere with the Federal channel along the river or any local channel or waterway.
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 Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Boulevard, Fort Myers, Florida 33919 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.
QUESTIONS concerning this application should be directed to the project manager, Steven Rabney, in writing at the Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Boulevard, Fort Myers, Florida 33919; by electronic mail at steven.j.rabney@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (239)334-1975 x0009.
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.