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 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403) as described below:
APPLICANT: Patti Marine Enterprises, Inc.
c/o Frank Patti
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Bayou Chico. The project site is located at 306 S Pinewood Lane, Tax Parcel ID 382S303001000000, Section 38, Township 2 South, Range 30 West, Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From downtown Pensacola, head east on E Cervantes Street toward N Hayne Street, turn right onto N Alcaniz Street and continue onto E Garden Street. Continue onto US-98 W/ W Navy Blvd and turn left on S Pinewood Lane and the site is located on the left at 306 S Pinewood Lane.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 30.406795°
Longitude -87.258776°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Install a dry dock.
Overall: Improve maintenance capabilities and safety by installing a dry dock, in Bayou Chico, at the Patti Marine shipyard in Pensacola, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project would be located in Bayou Chico, a waterbody connected to Pensacola Bay. The upland site consists of a 5.74-acre shipyard operated by PATTI Marine Enterprises, Inc. (PME). The shipyard provides services including construction, conversion, repair, and maintenance of vessels. The site has 483 linear-feet of shoreline armored with a concrete seawall and riprap. The facility has an 80-foot wide boat ramp with a marine railway system for haul-in / haul-out of vessels. The site has an existing 200-foot by 40-foot spud barge positioned waterward of the seawall and a 75-foot by 14-foot wooden dock that runs parallel to the shoreline. The submerged lands where the dry dock would be moored consist of sandy/ muddy bottom lacking vegetation. The water depth where the dock would be operated ranges from -17 feet to -21 feet relative to mean low water (MLW). This area was previously dredged to maintain operating depths for vessels. The surrounding area consists of residential areas, commercial marinas, and other industrial and commercial-use areas. Bayou Chico supports several commercial marinas, multiple industrial facilities, multiple shipyards, boat ramps, and numerous residential docks. A federally maintained navigation extends from Pensacola Bay into Bayou Chico.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to construct a new 800-ton dry dock at an existing shipyard facility on Bayou Chico. The dry dock structure would measure approximately 67-feet by 120-feet. The dry dock would be constructed at the upland facility and launched utilizing the existing rail system. It would then be maneuvered into place where the dry dock would be permanently moored adjacent to the existing spud barge. During operation of the dry dock, there will be a minimum of 1-foot of clearance between the dry dock hull and the submerged bottom when the dry dock is in the lowered position. The dry dock would not rest on the submerged bottom.
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:
To avoid and minimize adverse impacts to surface waters or benthic communities, no
dredging is proposed and the drydock is not proposed to impact the bottom of Bayou Chico when submerged to its maximum depth to load/unload vessels. Additionally,
loading/unloading vessels from the drydock will occur at high tide to provide the maximum water depth. The water depth at the proposed location of the drydock ranges from -17 feet to -21 feet at mean low water (MLW) with a tidal change of approximately one foot. The bottom pontoon of the proposed drydock is approximately six inches thick and the average draft of vessels serviced by PME is approximately 10 feet, so there is sufficient depth in the basin to operate the drydock without impacting the bottom when fully submerged. Additionally, no new moorings, pilings, or other structures are proposed to be installed to operate the drydock as it will be tethered to the existing spud barge.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required:
The proposed project successfully demonstrates avoidance and minimization of wetland
and surface water impacts to the greatest extent practical and offers the least impactful
plan. As no direct fill or dredge impacts are proposed, no mitigation is offered.
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, swimming sea turtles (loggerhead, leatherback, green, Kemps ridley, hawksbill), and Gulf sturgeon. 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.
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 Bayou Chico. 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 would be approximately 680 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 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 Pensacola Permits Section, 41 North Jefferson Street, Suite 301, Pensacola, Florida 32502 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, Mia Zarbo, in writing at the Pensacola Permits Section, 41 North Jefferson Street, Suite 301, Pensacola, Florida 32502; by electronic mail at Maria.D.Zarbo@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (850) 439-3474 extension 5.
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 pertinentenvironmental 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: WQC is required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The project is being reviewed under FDEP application no. 0428024-001-EI/17
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.