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. Ralph Roberts II
L.T. Land Development, LLC
1600 W Main Street, Suite A
Wilmington, OH 45177
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Caloosahatchee River. The project site is located at 13120, 13130, and 13150 Linton Road in Section 35, Township 45 South, Range 23 East, Fort Myers, Lee County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fort Myers Regulatory Office, take Summerlin Road south approximately 10.8 miles and turn right to go north on John Morris Road. Travel 1.5 miles and turn left onto Linton Road. The project site is approximately 0.1 mile ahead on the right.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude 26.517265
Longitude 81.970562
PROJECT PURPOSE: Basic: Access to navigable waters.
Overall: Maintenance, excavation, and construction of a dock for multi-family access to navigable waters in west central Lee County.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The wetland system consists of a saltwater system. The onsite vegetation consists of approximately 28,316 square feet of red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) interspersed with smaller tidal shrubs. The open water is an existing manmade canal and channel with sand bottom. The existing area surrounding the project area consists of residential properties with mostly armored shorelines.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization for the following aspects of the project:
Dredging: Maintenance dredging of a natural waterway and manmade canal to previously authorized depths of -5 feet Mean Low Water. Total dredged volume is 12,582 cubic yards over 108,190 square feet. Dredged material will be contained in an upland portion of the project site and trucked to an upland disposal site.
Excavation: The project also includes the excavation of an upland area to create a multi-slip boat basin. The excavation total is 2,384 cubic yards over 9,356 square feet.
Docking Facility: The project includes the construction of five finger piers within the newly excavated boat basin in the western canal. The access dock will be 128-feet by six-feet wide and each finger pier will be 40-feet by four-feet. The northernmost finger pier will have a 15-foot by 15-foot observation platform. The eastern canal will have the existing dock removed and replaced by a 30-foot by four-foot dock. Total overwater structure for the docks will be 1,913 square feet. The docks will be supported by 100 10-inch wood pilings.
Seawall: The boat basin will require the removal of 172 linear feet of existing seawall. 176 linear feet of existing seawall on the south end of the boat basin will be replaced. The north end of the excavated boat basin will have a 53 linear foot seawall installed and the south end will have a 63 linear foot seawall installed. The center of the excavated boat basin will have 141 linear feet of submerged seawall installed to allow tidal exchange with the adjacent mangroves.
Reef Balls: Reef balls will be installed at the southern end of the excavated boat basin, at the toe of the new seawall for wave attenuation and habitat creation.
Impacts: The project will involve impacts to mangroves from the excavation for the boat basin and installation of the seawalls. Approximately 6,258 square feet of mangroves are proposed to be impacted by the project.
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 project is avoiding impacts to mangroves to the maximum extent practicable as it is only trimming mangroves in the western canal and is installing submerged seawalls to ensure tidal exchange with the onsite mangroves that will not be directly impacted. The excavation is occurring in an vacant upland lot and will largely avoid the onsite mangroves. The dredging will occur in previously maintained canals and waterways and there are no submerged aquatic resources present. There are no other impacts to wetlands or special aquatic sites.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: To offset the impacts to the mangroves the applicant has proposed to purchase 0.057 saltwater forested credits from the Little Pine Island Mitigation Bank.
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 the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), giant manta ray (Manta birostris), and West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus). The proposed project also may affect smalltooth sawfish designated critical habitat. The Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife/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 2.48 acres of open water, unconsolidated sand bottom. The project will also impact approximately 0.01 acres of mangroves. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries. 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 dredging, excavation, and dock and seawall construction 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 Fort Myers Permits Section, 701 San Marco Boulevard, Jacksonville, Florida 32207 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, Michael Ornella II, in writing at the Fort Myers Permits Section, 701 San Marco Boulevard, Jacksonville, Florida 32207; by electronic mail at Michael.Ornella@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (904)232-1498.
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.
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.