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: Jerry Morgan
24243 Gulf Bay Road
Orange Beach, Alabama 36561
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with a manmade canal adjacent to Bayou Garcon. The project is located at 14120 Massey Drive, Parcel ID 14-3S-32-3000-120-006, in Section 32, Township 3 South, Range 32 West, in Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From downtown Pensacola, go west on Garden Street and veer southwest onto Barrancas Avenue (SR-292). Continue on SR-292/Gulf Beach Highway/Sorrento Road to CR-297/Innerarity Point Road. Turn west on CR-297/Innerarity Point Road, then north on Garcon Boulevard. Turn west on Massey Drive and the site will be located on the north side of the road at 14120 Massey Drive.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude 30.320364°
Longitude - 87.437316°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Upland Cut Boat Slip
Overall: Construct an upland cut boat slip on a single-family lot on a manmade canal on Bayou Garcon, in Escambia County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The 0.98-acre subject site consists of two undeveloped parcels (0.76-acre and a 0.22 acre) on a manmade canal on Bayou Garcon. There are uplands on the northern and southern limits of the parcel, separated by tidal marsh. The site is surrounded by a manmade canal to the north, Massey Drive to the south, and developed and undeveloped single-family residential lots. There is no submerged aquatic vegetation in the vicinity of the project.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to construct an upland cut boat slip (2 slips), marginal walkway, and boardwalk through wetlands. The work includes the excavation/dredging of 399 cubic yards of material (177 cubic yards above the MHWL and 222 cubic yards below the MHWL) from a 30-foot by 40-foot upland area to create two boat slips, installation of a 120-linear foot seawall around the perimeter of the slip (and along the canal on the east and west side of the upland cut), construction of an 8-foot by 30-foot access pier between the slips and a 35-foot by 40-foot roof over the slips, and the installation of a 6-piling boat lift within each slip. The work also includes the non-jurisdictional construction of a 5-foot by 110-foot U-shaped marginal walkway installed over uplands/marsh around the east, south, and west sides of the upland cut and a 6-foot by 430-foot boardwalk through wetlands (elevated 7-feet above the marsh floor) extending from the upland cut to the uplands at the south end of the project site. The bottom grade of the slip would be hydraulically dredged to -3.5-feet Mean Low Water (MLW) at the seawall and increasing to a depth of -4.2-feet MLW at the canal. Excavated/dredged material would be pumped to a self-contained upland dredge material disposal cell located on the on-site uplands (at the south end of the project site) with no return waters to waters of the United States. Construction of the seawall would result in temporary impacts to 23 square feet of tidal marsh for the installation of 4 tieback pilings. The pilings would be jetted into the ground and secured to the seawall via above ground cables. No backfill is proposed behind the seawall.
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 would minimize impacts to the aquatic environment by utilizing Best Management Practices (BMPs), such as turbidity curtains, during construction. The applicant has minimized impacts to tidal marsh by limiting the impact area to only that area needed to install four individual tie-back pilings and not backfilling behind the bulkhead and/or around the tie-back pilings.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: Due to the nature of the project, the applicant did not offer compensatory mitigation.
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 would not likely adversely affect the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) as determined using the 2013 Manatee Key, following couplets A > B > C > G > H > I > J> L > N > O > P. The Corps has also determined the proposed project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect the Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi), Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), Kemp’s Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), and Smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata). The Corps will request the US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service concurrence with these determinations pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
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 proposed project would impact approximately 23 square feet of tidal marsh habitat due to bulkhead tie-back installation, utilized by various life stages of 4 sharks (Atlantic Sharpnos, Blacktip, Bull, Spinner), four shrimp species (brown, white, pink, Royal red), coastal migratory pelagic species, red drum, and 43 species of reef fish. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries. 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.
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.
COMMENTS regarding the potential authorization of the work proposed should be submitted in writing to the attention of the District Engineer through the Pensacola Permits Section, 41 North Jefferson Street, Suite 301, Pensacola, Florida, 32502 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, Holly Millsap, in writing at the Pensacola Permits Section, 41 North Jefferson Street, Suite 301, Pensacola, FL 32502, by electronic mail at Holly.M.Millsap@usace.army.mil, by fax at (850) 433-8160, or by telephone at (850) 470-9823.
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: Water Quality Certification may be required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
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