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: Lee County
Attention: Mr. Robert Price
1500 Monroe Street
Fort Myers, FL 33901
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with San Carlos Bay. The project includes approximately 2.3 miles of Sanibel Causeway from Fort Myers mainland to south of the 2nd Causeway Island in Section 2, Township 46 South, Range 21 East, Lee County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From Interstate (I) 75, take Exit 131 to Country Road (CR) 876 (Daniels Parkway). Proceed west on Daniels Parkway for 2.7 miles and turn left (south) on CR-865 (6 Mile Cypress Parkway). Continue 4.3 miles to CR-869 (Summerlin Road). Continue southwest on Summerlin Road for approximately 6.0 miles to State Road (SR) 867 (McGregor Boulevard/Sanibel Causeway).
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 26.473976°
Longitude -82.019226°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Shoreline stabilization.
Overall: The overall project purpose is shoreline stabilization measures to make permanent repairs and improvements to the Sanibel Causeway in Lee County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The wetland system consists of tidally influenced waters associated with the San Carlos Bay. Portions of the project area support submerged seagrasses and mangroves. Three species of seagrass, shoal grass (Halodule wrightii), turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum), and manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme) are currently present along Islands 1 and 2 of the causeway. One red mangrove tree and one black mangrove tree are located on the south side of the mainland in the project area. These trees are located within the rubble riprap associated with the adjacent seawall. The project area also supports upland areas with transportation facilities and rights-of-ways. The shoreline where San Carlos Bay meets the mainland is composed primarily of seawalls and associated riprap protection. The causeway was damaged during Hurricane Ian in September of 2022. Temporary emergency repairs were performed shortly after the event to provide access to the island; however, the causeway has not been permanently repaired. No sandy beach remains along the mainland after Hurricane Ian.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to directly impact 10.8 acres of non-vegetated substrate and 0.13 acre of seagrass beds associated with San Carlos Bay to make permanent repairs and improvements to the Sanibel Island Causeway. There would be no impact to the existing mangroves. This project would be federally funded, and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is the agent.
The proposed permanent repairs include:
-Roadway Repairs and Protection – The existing roadway would be raised two feet and a buried sheet pile wall would be installed along the roadway shoulders. Gabion or marine mattresses would also be installed on the bay side of the islands waterward of the wall. The bay side of the roadway would contain rubble riprap buried at the toe of the walls and extending approximately 15 feet (ft.) from the walls. In addition, 15 seawalls would be installed to provide long-term stabilization and protection for the bridge approaches and roadway. These walls would be extensions of the walls permitted for the emergency repairs. Steel sheet pile walls would be installed seaward of the existing seawalls and would be armored with stone laid atop bank and shore material. The total impacts associated with this activity would be 9.34 acres of non-vegetated substrate and 0.13 acre of seagrass beds.
-Mangrove Planting Areas – Mangrove planting areas are being proposed along the causeway to provide additional shoreline protection. The areas would include one site along the southern section of the tollbooth on the mainland, four sites along Island 1, and two sites along Island 2. The total area of proposed mangrove planting is approximately 1.46 acres located between the mean low-water elevation to slightly above the mean high-water elevation, and would consist of a mixture of red mangrove, black mangrove, and buttonwood. The mangrove planting area is not proposed for compensatory mitigation.
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:
Best Management Practices (BMPs) to include sediment and turbidity control devices would be implemented during construction to avoid and minimize water quality impacts. A Turbidity Monitoring Plan would be implemented for all in-water activities that have potential to reduce water quality. To minimize short-term impacts, the contractor would adhere to the FDOT’s Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
Based on the anticipated 0.13 acre of direct impacts to seagrass, the applicant utilized the Uniform Mitigation Assessment Method (UMAM) scoring which resulted on 0.07 functional loss. A Permittee Responsible Mitigation Plan to include 3.095 acres within San Carlos Bay has been developed to provide on-site and in-kind mitigation for seagrass impacts.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: In October 2022, FDOT consulted with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for the emergency repairs permit and received concurrence to the no adverse effect determination. FDOT has re-initiated coordination for the proposed permanent repairs. Since the project area for the permanent repairs is the same as that of the previous emergency repairs, FDOT made a finding of no adverse effect and is coordinating this determination with SHPO.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The applicant determined that the proposed project would have “no effect” on the beautiful pawpaw (Deeringothamnus pulchellus), aboriginal prickly apple (Harrisia aboriginum), Miami blue butterfly (Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri), eastern black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis), Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), crested caracara (Caracara cheriway), and Florida panther (Puma concolor).
The applicant determined that the proposed project “may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect” the Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi), smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), giant manta ray (Manta birostris), American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais couperi), red knot (Calidris canutus rufa), piping plover (Charadrius melodus), wood stork (Mycteria americana), West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), and Florida bonneted bat (Eumops floridanus).
These determinations are being coordinated with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): The applicant has assessed the project site for EFH as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996. The proposed permanent repairs would result in 10.8 acres of direct impact to non-vegetated surface waters and 0.13 acre of direct impact to seagrass, all of which is classified as EFH. The initial determination is the proposed project would have minimal potential for adverse effects on EFH. This determination is being coordinated with NMFS – Habitat Conservation Division (HCD).
NAVIGATION: The proposed activity is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation channel.
SECTION 408: The applicant would 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 Panama City Permits Section, District Engineer through the Panama City Permits Section, 415 Richard Jackson Boulevard, Suite 411, Panama City Beach, Florida 32407 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, Veronica Beech, in writing at the Corps of Engineers -Panama City Permits Section, 415 Richard Jackson Boulevard, Suite 411, Panama City Beach, Florida 32407; by electronic mail at veronica.c.beech@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at 850-763-0717 extension 6.
IMPACT ON NATURAL RESOURCES: Coordination with USFWS, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the NMFS, 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: An Individual Environmental Resource Permit was required from the South Florida Water Management District. The project was authorized on April 28, 2023, and the permit number is 230221-37618.
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: In Florida, the State approval constitutes compliance with the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan. The project was State approval was issued on April 28, 2023, and the permit number is 230221-37618.
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.