SAJ-2012-01670 (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 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:

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States (WOTUS) associated with Cross Florida Barge Canal.  The project site is located at 10422 N Suncoast Boulevard, in Section 11, Township 17 South, Range 16 East, Inglis, Citrus County, Florida.  Directions to the site are as follows: Take Suncoast Boulevard/US HWY-19 to the Cross Florida Barge Canal. The project site is a vacant corner lot, along the north bank of Cross Florida Barge Canal just west of where Suncoast Blvd crosses over the canal.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project is located on an 18.55-acre undeveloped parcel along the north bank of the tidally influenced Cross Florida Barge Canal. The Cross Florida Barge Canal 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. Cross Florida Barge Canal is a man-made canal that was excavated prior to 1970 and connects waters of the Withlacoochee River with the Gulf of Mexico.

The project is sited on land owned by the state of Florida under a Board of Trustees Internal Improvement Fund (TIIF) deed issued for the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway, a protected green belt corridor. Citrus County has entered into an agreement with the state of Florida to utilize the 18.5-acre parcel for the Project. The parcel is bordered to the north by West Hollinswood Trail; to the south by the Cross Florida Barge Canal; to the east by U.S. Highway 19; and, to the west by an unnamed utility easement.

At the project site, the vacant parcel has been partially cleared just behind a natural tree line, ranging from 15 to 50 feet wide, along the canal shoreline. The shoreline consists of a steep grassy and rocky slope down to the canal bank. The bank transitions from boulders and shell hash to silt and mud intermixed with small rocks close to shore. No wetlands occur within the project area and the canal does not support submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), emergent vegetation, mangroves, live hardbottom, or corals. An upland wildlife survey and an 800 linear foot benthic survey along the canal’s north shore were conducted for the project area. According to the benthic survey, substrate at the project site is predominantly silt and the water is approximately 17 feet deep.

• Excavate 5,052 cubic yards of material from 0.67 acre of uplands abutting the canal to construct a 200-foot-wide boat ramp basin with four (4) bays,
• Discharge 2,890 cubic yards of riprap material below the mean high-water line (MHWL) to construct a revetment for stabilizing walls of the boat ramp basin,
• Dredge 0.45-acres to remove 2,245 cubic yards of material below the MHWL of the canal to construct the appropriate slope for a proposed boat ramp,
• Construct five (5), 10-foot-wide by 64-foot-long courtesy docks,
• Construct a parking area, restrooms, and a picnic area in the uplands adjacent to the proposed ramp.

On July 25, 2019, the Corps granted a 2-year time extension and modified the initial authorization to expire on July 7, 2021. On June 28, 2021, the Corps granted a second time extension, authorizing the work window for one (1) additional year and modified the authorization to expire on July 7, 2022.  On April 20, 2022, the Corps authorized a Nationwide Permit 6, Survey Activities, under Permit No: SAJ-2022-0111 for the drilling of five (5), 4-inch diameter, standard penetration test (SPT) soil borings. The work was to occur from a small barge to maximum depths of 50-feet below the soil surface to provide geotechnical recommendations for the design of the proposed public boat ramp.  Revised plans for the proposed boat ramp were submitted to the Corps on April 21, 2023. After initial review, a decision was made to review the proposal for a new standard permit as the work defined in the 2023 proposal differed considerably from the work authorized under the 2014 permit. No work has commenced, there is no unauthorized activity, and there are no related projects in the general vicinity.

• Dredge 0.565 acres (ac) to remove 2,182 cubic yards (CY) of sediment,
• Install a 410-foot vinyl sheet pile wall at the toe of ramp slope in order to
• Discharge 550 CY of clean concrete underlain with 410 CY of bedding stone to
• Construct a 410-foot-wide, 133-foot-long, 8-inch-thick reinforced concrete boat ramp with twenty (20) lanes (54,530 ft²),
• Install a 4,920 ft² Fabric-Formed concrete revetment (61 CY),
• Construct eleven (11), 6-foot-wide, hollow concrete approach walkways with 14-feet of each walkway below MHW (924 ft² below MHW; approx. 20 CY),
• Install eleven (11), 10-foot by 40-foot aluminum floating docks (4,400 ft²) and
• Install eleven (11), 4-foot-wide, 40-foot-long aluminum gangways (1,760 ft²),
• Install three (3), 10-foot by 30-foot aluminum floating docks (900 ft²),
• Install fifty-six (56), 14-ich by 14-inch square (76.22 ft² substrate impact) prestressed concrete piles via impact hammer.

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 (BMP) will be implemented during and after construction to minimize erosion and sedimentation, properly manage runoff, and to prevent the transport of sediment into adjacent waters or neighboring properties. Sediment barriers to include sediment basins and traps, perimeter berms, filter fences, and vegetative buffers protected from disturbance will remain intact throughout construction and be used to prevent erosion and migration of sediment to points outside the construction area. To prevent impacts to surface waters, a floating and anchored turbidity barrier will be used in conjunction with a soil tracking prevention device.

Citrus County considers the size and configuration of the proposed boat ramp facilities as the minimum necessary to achieve the purpose and need of the Project, which is to alleviate boater congestion at other boat ramp facilities. The extent of environmental impact to the Cross Florida Barge Canal is the minimum necessary to safely construct the facilities according to current standards. No impacts to aquatic resources are anticipated as there is no SAV, live hardbottom, oyster beds, mangroves, or other submerged resources within or immediately adjacent to the project area and BMP will be implemented to prevent impacts to listed species.

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 Smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectintata), Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi), 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. 

Based on information from a prior review of a public boat ramp proposed at the same project site, the Corps has determined the proposed project would have no effect on Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus borealis) and that the project MANLAA the eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi), West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), and the Florida scrub jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens). The Corps could not locate any new information, since the 2014 authorization, indicating that the MANLAA determinations would change for these species. The project site remains poor quality habitat for Florida scrub jays. The site is relatively small, is in a fire-suppressed state, and is disconnected from other habitat known to support active breeding pairs of Florida scrub jays. On June 22, 2021, USFWS confirmed that it did not have any new information indicating that the likelihood of Florida scrub jays occurring on the project site had changed and/or increased since the conclusion of the previous Section 7 consultation which resulted in a MANLAA determination for this species. Special Conditions of the prior permit, relating to the West Indian manatee and the eastern indigo snake, require actions relative to the timing and methodology surrounding construction of the proposed project. Should a permit be issued, it would include conditions for both the eastern indigo snake and the West Indian manatee. The Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concurrence with the MANLAA determinations described above 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 0.7 acres of previously excavated, unconsolidated bottom habitat potentially utilized by various life stages of marine life. An evaluation of the project site using the Corps National Regulatory Viewer for the South Atlantic Division (SAD), and data including NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service: Seagrasses and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s: Seagrass Habitat In Florida, indicated no SAV occurs within or directly adjacent to the project site. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the Cross Florida Barge Canal or 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.

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 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.

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: 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.