SAJ-1987-00661(SP-BMC)

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:

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Pithlachascotee River. The project site is located at the Harborpointe Marina, 4363 Harborpointe Drive, in Section 30, Township 25 South, Range 16 East, Port Richey, Pasco County, Florida. Directions to the site are as follows: Take US HWY 19 to Bay Blvd. Travel west on Bay Blvd. to Harborpointe Drive. Turn left onto Harborpointe Drive and the destination will be on the left.

PROJECT PURPOSE: Basic: Expand an existing marina.  Overall: Increase the number of wet slips at an existing marina from 48 to 54 in order to provide one (1) wet slip for each lot owner of the Harborpointe Homeowners Association (HOA).

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project site is an existing community marina at the mouth of the Pithlachascotee River which is mapped on the National Wetland Inventory (NWI) as E1UBLx ((E) Estuarine; (1) Subtidal; (UB) Unconsolidated Bottom; (L) subtidal; (x) excavated) and is directly connected to the Gulf of Mexico. Uplands surrounding the project location consist of residential development with landscaped yards and scattered ornamental trees. Natural vegetation is sparce to absent from uplands at the project location except for a fringe of black mangrove with frequent breaks that ranges from 10 to 25-feet-wide along the shoreline. According to a 2023 submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) survey for the project area, seagrasses including Halophila engelmanni and Halodule wrightii, occur within vicinity of the proposed project, however, the activity has been designed to entirely avoid any direct impacts to SAV. The project area is south of Werner- Boyce Salt Springs State Park, north of Robert K Rees Memorial Park, and just east of the Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve which ends at the mouth of the river and is considered Special Outstanding Florida Waters (Special OFW) by the state.

PROJECT HISTORY: Harbor Pointe Marina provides the only docking facilities in the immediate vicinity with no other docks nearby the existing marina. The existing marina is a multi-family facility that provides private slips for homeowners of the Harborpointe HOA. The Harborpointe upland development was first constructed in 1980 and has been expanding since. The Corps authorized construction of the marina in 1987 and has authorized modifications within private slips at the marina including finger pier extensions and boat lifts.   

On September 10, 1987, the Corps authorized a 6-foot by 850-foot main pier connected to the shoreline by three (3) 6-foot by 14-foot access ramps and twenty-three (23), 2.5-foot by 12-foot finger piers to host 48 wet slips under Permit No. SAJ-1987-00661. The authorization also included a 6-foot by 200-foot floating boardwalk at the far east end of the main pier, a 12-foot by 12-foot fishing pier at the far western end of the main pier, and excavation of 18 cubic yards of material, replaced with the like amount of concrete, for widening an existing boat ramp by approximately 13-feet. According to a 1994 post-construction inspection of the project site, the marina was constructed to permit specifications but suffered damage from wave action. On March 14, 1995, the Corps authorized a Nationwide Permit 3 for Maintenance of the authorized structures.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to construct three (3) 2-foot by 12-foot finger piers and install eleven (11) wood mooring pilings to create six (6) additional wet slips at the existing Harborpointe Marina. The expansion would increase the 465 square foot dock to 537 square feet and increase the number of wet slips from 48 to 54 in order to provide one (1) wet slip for each lot owner of the Harborpointe HOA.

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 agrees to adhere to Best Management Practices (BMP) including turbidity controls to prevent impacts to surface water, all work to be conducted from a barge with adherence to conditions of National Marine Fisheries Service’s, Jacksonville District, Programmatic Biological Opinion (JAXBO) and Standard Manatee Conditions for In Water Work (2011). There are no submerged resources located within the dock expansion footprint and direct impacts to SAV in the project vicinity will be avoided. Overall impacts associated with the activity are anticipated to be minimal due to employment of BMP and the small scope of work.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required: No mitigation has been proposed as the activity encompasses construction of a structure at an existing marina and impacts would be no more than minimal. There are no submerged resources located within the dock expansion footprint and direct impacts to submerged resources in the project vicinity will be avoided; therefore, no compensatory mitigation should be required for the proposed project.

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 (MANLAA) the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus). Use of the Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, and the State of Florida Effect Determination Key for the Manatee in Florida, April 2013 with May 2019 Addendum (Key), resulted in the following sequential determination: (A>B>C>G>H>I>J>L>M>N>O>P-project is for a multi-slip facility in Pasco County> further consultation with the Service is necessary for MANLAA). The Corps will request initiation of formal consultation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by separate letter. 

The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi), smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectintata), green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), and/or loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). 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 72 square feet (0.002 acres) of unconsolidated bottom potentially utilized by various life stages of marine life including Red Drum (all life stages), Shrimp (all life stages), Reef Fish (all life stages), Coastal Migratory Pelagics (all life stages), Spiny Lobster (all life stages), Bull Shark (juvenile and adult), Nurse Shark (juvenile and adult), Lemon Shark (adult), Tiger Shark (juvenile and adult), Blacktip Shark (neonate), Blacknose Shark (juvenile and adult), Great Hammerhead Shark (all life stages), Bonnethead Shark (all life stages), Atlantic Sharpnose Shark (juvenile and adult). The project has been specifically designed to avoid SAV. Due to the small scope of work, the small project footprint (72-square feet over-water), and the absence of SAV’s, hard bottom, and corals in the project footprint, the Corps initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. 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 existing marina is located approximately 150-feet north of the Corps National Channel Reach for the Pithlachascotee River. The proposed expansion would not extend any closer waterward to the Corps National Channel Reach for the Pithlachascotee River than the existing structure and therefore would not obstruct general navigation.

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.

COMMENTS regarding the potential authorization of the work proposed should be submitted in writing to the attention of the District Engineer through the Tampa Permits Section, 10117 Princess Palm Ave., Suite 120, Tampa FL 33610 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, Barbara M. Cory, in writing at the Tampa Permits Section, 10117 Princess Palm Ave., Suite 120, Tampa FL 33610; by electronic mail at barbara.m.cory@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (813) 697-2870.  

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: 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.  

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.