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: Placida Harbour Club, Inc.
Attn: Tom Coglin
11000 Placida Road
Placida, FL 33946
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with an artificial basin connected to Placida Harbor. The project site is located at 11000 Placida Road, Section 10, Township 42 South, Range 20 East, in Placida, Charlotte County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: Take I-75 to Kings Highway, take Kings west to Veterans Boulevard, turn right on Veterans and travel to State Road 776, take SR 776 west to State Road 771, take SR 771 south to Placida Road, take Placida to site.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude 26.843016
Longitude - 82.281188
PROJECT PURPOSE: Basic: Renovate an existing marina and marina basin. Overall: Renovate an existing marina basin to maintain navigation access, provide safe boating access, and protect the basin shoreline
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The marina basin is a tidal, estuarine waterbody excavated sometime in the 1950s; the original concrete seawall was constructed sometime in the 1960s. The Corps permitted the existing docks via several actions beginning in 1981. The existing shoreline of the basin and entrance canal measures approximately 2070 feet in length, with approximately 875 linear feet of concrete, vinyl, or timber seawalls. The rest of the shoreline is either riprapped or natural. The applicant provided a plan view aerial showing the existing conditions in the basin, including the location of existing mangroves. The applicant states that there are no other aquatic resources, including submerged aquatic vegetation, within the basin or entrance canal.
There are 34 fixed piers and three floating docks, including a slip for the applicant’s ferry boat. There are two proposed sites for the temporary disposal of the dredged material. The first is a grass lawn adjacent to tennis courts; the applicant proposes to use self-contained dewatering containers at this site. The second is an offsite parcel owned by the applicant; the applicant states that there is sufficient upland area to construct a dredged material containment area and avoid any impacts to wetlands.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to:
1. install 813 linear feet of vinyl retaining wall, landward of the Mean High Water Line (MHWL) and any mangroves, between the existing concrete wall on the northwest side of the basin and the existing timber wall on the southeast side,
2. replace 212 linear feet of existing timber wall and riprap along the southeast side of the basin with a concrete wall with impacts to four mangroves (three red and one white) above the MHWL; this wall will extend from the new retaining wall to the existing vinyl seawall to the south,
3. remove the existing piers and pilings and construct 34 new finger piers, plus an observation platform and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramp to a floating dock that will provide access for kayak launching and for the ferry, providing 70 slips with no change from the existing slips or usage, and
4. hydraulically dredge 6500 cubic yards from the basin and entrance canal to a maximum depth of -15’ NAVD, with temporary disposal in an upland location and final disposal in an approved upland location
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 proposes to use best management practices for the in-water work such as turbidity curtains, and silt fences for work adjacent to wetlands and surface waters, to protect water quality and prevent unauthorized discharges. The applicant also designed the proposed seawalls to avoid impacts to mangroves below the MHWL, and changed the dredge plan to eliminate pipelines outside the basin and canal in areas that potentially had seagrasses.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required:
The applicant states that the four mangroves above the MHWL provide little aquatic habitat.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps has evaluated the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and has followed the guidelines of 33 CFR Part 325, Appendix C. Due to the past modifications to the permit area, the Corps has determined that the project would have No Potential to Cause Effects to Historic Properties.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The project is within suitable habitat for the smalltooth sawfish and swimming sea turtles, within the consultation area of and an Important Manatee Area for the West Indian manatee, within the core foraging area of at least one wood stork nesting colony, and within the consultation areas for piping plover, Florida bonneted bat, and Florida scrub jay.
Piping plover, bonneted bat, and scrub jay: Based on the existing site conditions, the areas of proposed impact, and the types of activities proposed, the Corps has determined that the project would have no effect on the piping plover, bonneted bat, and scrub jay. No further consultation is necessary for these species.
Wood stork: The Corps considered less than 0.5 acre of the impact areas to be suitable wood stork foraging habitat. Use of the May 2010 effect determination key for the wood stork resulted in an effect determination of ‘may affect, not likely to adversely affect, no further consultation required’ (A-B) and gave programmatic concurrence for the wood stork.
Manatee: The project is in waters accessible to the manatee, and is within an Important Manatee Area. The project involves less than 50,000 cubic yards of dredging. The applicant will follow dredging protocols for the Important Manatee Area. The project involves the repair and rehabilitation of an existing multi-slip facility, with no increase in the number of slips. There are no impacts to submerged aquatic vegetation, emergent vegetation, or mangroves below the MHWL. The applicant will follow standard manatee protection conditions. 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 produced a MANLAA determination for the West Indian manatee (A-B-C-D-E-F-G-N-O-P), with consultation necessary.
Sawfish, swimming sea turtles: The Corps evaluated the proposed work utilizing NMFS’s Jacksonville District’s Programmatic Biological Opinion (JAXBO) dated 20 November 2017. The JAXBO analyzes the effects from 10 categories of minor in-water activities occurring in Florida and the U.S. Caribbean on sea turtles (loggerhead, leatherback, Kemp's ridley, hawksbill, and green); smalltooth sawfish; Nassau grouper; scalloped hammerhead shark; sturgeon (Gulf, shortnose, and Atlantic); corals (elkhorn, staghorn, boulder star, mountainous star, lobed star, rough cactus, and pillar); whales (North Atlantic right whale, sei, blue, fin, and sperm); and designated critical habitat for smalltooth sawfish; sturgeon (Gulf and Atlantic); sea turtles (green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead); North Atlantic right whale; and elkhorn and staghorn corals in accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. Based on past permitting practices of the Corps and review of consultations with similar in-water construction activities, Project Design Criteria (PDCs) were identified in the JAXBO that typically have been applied to permitted in-water construction activities. These PDCs ensure effects of in-water construction activities are minimal in nature and do not result in adverse effects to listed species or to essential features of designated CH. For this application, the Corps conducted a project specific review to determine if all of the PDCs were met.
The project did not quality for JAXBO due to the number of slips at the marina (PDC A2.1.3) and the placement of part of the proposed seawalls greater than 1.5 feet from the existing shoreline (PDC A1.1.1). Based on the nature of the proposed activity and the applicant’s agreement to comply with protected species conditions, the Corps has made a MANLAA determination for the sawfish and swimming sea turtles for this project. The Corps will request initiation of informal consultation for these species pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by separate letter.
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 0.01 acre of EFH utilized by various life stages of recreationally and commercially important crustacean and fish species. Our 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 proposed activity is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation channel. Based on available information, the mouth of the entrance channel is over 600 feet from the near design edge of the Gulf 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 Tampa Permits Section, 10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120, Tampa, FL 33610 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, John Fellows, by electronic mail at john.p.fellows@usace.army.mil; by telephone at (813) 769-7070, or in writing at the Tampa Permits Section, 10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120, Tampa, FL 33610.
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). FDEP has issued exemptions for the dredging (0163830-009 EE) and for the seawalls (0163830-010 EE), and an Individual Environmental Resource Permit for the docks (0163830-008 EI).
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.