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: Mr. Paul Witkiewitz
156 Sugarloaf Drive
Sugarloaf Key, Florida 33042
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with an Snapper Canal that flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The project site is located at 156 Sugarloaf Drive, legally described as LT 3 SUGARLOAF SHORES, Section 3, Township 67 South, Range 27 East, Sugarloaf Key, Monroe County, Florida 33042. (RE#00163230-000000, MM±17, Ocean)
Directions to the site are as follows: Take U.S. Highway 1 south to mile marker ±17, turn left on Sugarloaf Boulevard. Then turn left of Sugarloaf Drive and the proposed project location is on the right.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 24.645380°
Longitude –81.561813°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Provide safe moorage and water access as well as shoreline stabilization
Overall: Provide safe moorage and water access as well as shoreline stabilization in Sugarloaf Key, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The proposed project is located on Snapper Canal a 60-foot wide manmade canal approximately 320-feet from the Upper Sugarloaf Sound. The shoreline of the canal is mostly developed with shoreline armoring and docks. No corals or seagrasses are known to be in the area. There is a 160-square foot mangrove fringe along the shoreline. The uplands consist of a manicured lawn and a single-family residence.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to construct a new 551-square foot concrete marginal dock. The dock would be supported by twelve 16-inch diameter concrete piles. The construction of the dock would require the removal of all 160-square feet of mangroves.
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:
Turbidity curtains would be placed in-water around the proposed project for the duration of work. All work would take place during daylight hours.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
The applicant has indicated that if mitigation is required by the Army Corps of Engineers the appropriate mitigation will be determined with a UMAM and payment made to Keys Restoration Fund. Time lag and risk will be a required component of any mitigation requirement.
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: West Indian (Florida) manatee (Trichechus manatus): The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has determined the project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect (“MANLAA”) the West Indian manatee or its designated critical habitat. Since the proposal by the applicant is for in-water construction, potential impacts to the endangered manatee were evaluated using The Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, and the State of Florida Effect Determination Key for the Manatee in Florida (Manatee Key), dated 25 April 2013. Use of the Manatee Key resulted in the
following sequential determination: A > B > C > G >H> I > N >O>P4 “MANLAA.” This determination is partially based on the applicant following the standard manatee construction precautions for the proposed activity. The Corps has concurrence with this determination from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), pursuant to the Manatee Key.
American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus): The project is located within an American Crocodile consultation area. According to the 28 October 2014 American Crocodile Key, the property does not support suitable nesting habitat for the crocodile as the shoreline is hardened. Use of the Key resulted in the sequence #2. Therefore, the Corps has reached a “may affect not likely to adversely affect” determination on the American crocodile and its suitable nesting habitat. No further consultation with the FWS is required for the American crocodile.
Key Deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium): The real estate parcel number is not on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Suitable Habitat List, dated August 2010, for Monroe County for the Key Deer; however, the RAR lists the species with the RAR buffer area. As such, potential impacts to the aforementioned species and its habitat were evaluated using the respective FWS Species Assessment Guides (SAGs) dated 29 July 2013. Use of the SAGs resulted in the following sequential determination: A (1), “no effect”. No further consultation with the FWS is required.
Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri): Potential impacts to the LKMR were evaluated using the Lower Keys marsh rabbit (LKMR) Species Key, dated 29 July 2013, and resulted in the following sequential determination: The project is not located on Big Pine Key or No Name Key. Use of the SAGs resulted in the following sequential determination: A > F (2), “may affect, not likely to adversely affect (NLAA)”. This determination is partially based on the applicant being provided the cat brochure. The Corps received programmatic concurrence from the FWS for projects that have a “NLAA determination; therefore, no further consultation with the FWS is required.
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) and Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii): According to the Multi species recovery plan the aforementioned species do not breed in Florida but may winter in Florida. The PCEs for the species are found in geographically dynamic coastal areas that support intertidal beaches and flats (between annual low tide and annual high tide), and associated dune systems and flats above annual high tide. The project site is not within optimal habitat for these species as the project is located within a canal system. Based on information available a no effect determination has been reached on these species and its native habitat. No further consultation with the FWS is required.
The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect (“MANLAA”) the swimming green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii), leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), the smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), and Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) species. A no effect determination was reached on Acropora sp. and its designated critical habitat, loggerhead sea turtle and smalltooth sawfish critical habitat, and corals species; (Dendrogyra cylindrus, Orbicella annularis, Orbicella faveolata, Orbicella franksi, Mycetophyllia ferox). The Corps will request 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. The proposal would impact approximately 270 square feet of submerged bottom and mangrove fringe habitat utilized by various life stages of Snapper Grouper EFH, lemon shark, and sailfish. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the Florida Keys. 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 structure is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation 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 Florida Keys 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, Jason Sweeney, in writing at the Florida Keys Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410; by electronic mail at jason.t.sweeney@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (305) 619-0675.
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: The applicant self-certified through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's electronic Self Certification Process to certify compliance with the terms and conditions of the Single- Family Dock ERP Exemption Self Certification Process for a project at private, single-family residence. Self-Certification File No.: 0423702001E
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.