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: Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), District 5
c/o Jennifer Ferngren Cappelleti
719 South Woodland Boulevard
Deland, Florida 32720
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Indian River. The project site is located along State Road (SR) 528 from east of SR 524 to east of SR 3, approximately 3.8 miles in length, in Sections 10,11,14,15,17, and 18, Township 24 South, and Range 36 East, City of Cocoa, Brevard County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From the City of Jacksonville, Florida, drive south on I-95 and exit at Exit 205-A towards SR 528. Travel east on SR 528 to the intersection of SR 528 and SR 524/ Industry Road. The project extends east from SR 524 to SR 3.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude: 28.402869
Longitude: -80.729549
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Linear transportation improvements.
Overall: To enhance the integrity of this section SR 528 while accommodating traffic demands, improving safety, and updating roadway to meet current design standards.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project area contains surface waters, estuarine forested wetland and freshwater forested wetlands associated with the Indian River. In addition, the area is surrounded by residential and commercial development. The SR 528 westbound bridge over Indian River has a total width of 35- foot 4-inches and is 2,296-foot in length, and it consists of two (2) 12-foot travel lanes with shoulder widths of 4-foot 6-inch. The existing SR 528 eastbound bridge has a width of 59-foot 1- inch and 3,833-foot long, and it consists of two (2) 12-foot travel lanes and 16-foot shoulders.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to provide safety and capacity improvements to approximately 3.8 miles of SR 528. The proposed project would widen SR 528 from four lanes to six lanes. SR 528 currently contains two (2) 12-foot travel lanes, an 8-foot inside shoulder (4- foot paved), and a 10-foot wide outside shoulder (8-foot paved) with a depressed grass median and roadside ditches. The final configuration of the roadway would include three 12-foot lanes in each direction and a 12-foot shared-use path on the north side of SR 528 and supporting roadside ditches. The proposed modifications would be accomplished by widening the inside and outside of the existing roadway and replacing the westbound SR 528 bridge over the Indian River. Stormwater would be conveyed to treatment ponds which would be designed for the 6-lane roadway. The proposed project would directly impact 2.14 acres of forested wetlands, 0.84 acres of surface waters and 2.88 acres of roadside ditches and other surface waters associated with the Indian River by the placement of 7,031 cubic yards of fill and dredging 179 cubic yards of material. Temporary impacts associated with this project would include impacts to 0.11 acres of forested wetlands and 0.002 acre of surface waters.
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:
Wetland and surface waters impacts associated with this project have been avoided and minimized by incorporating widening of the roadway to the median when practicable. In addition, steeping downside slopes and barrier walls were incorporated to reduce impacts along the slopes. To offset unavoidable impacts to roadside ditches and surface waters, a total of 4.71 acres of ditches would be reconstructed to provide habitat, flood attenuation, and water quality functions. Best management practices for erosion and sedimentation control would be utilized.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
All unavoidable wetland impacts would be mitigated through a combination of credits from a federally permitted mitigation bank and functional gain units that would be generated from a proposed Permitee Responsible Mitigation Area.
CULTURAL RESOURCES:
The Corps is aware of recorded historic resources within or adjacent to the permit area and 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 U.S. Coast Guard is reviewing the portion of this project associated with the bridge replacement and it is acting as the lead agency for the Consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The consultation would address the effect determination of the species for the entire project.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): The project is taking place in the Indian River, which is EFH within the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s (SAFMC) area of jurisdiction. The Indian River is EFH for several species of shrimp, red drum, snapper/groupers species, coral/ hardbottom habitat, coastal migratory pelagic species and highly migratory pelagic species. EFH is under the purview of the NMFS- Habitat Conservation Division. Direct impacts from the bridge approaches and other associated roadway features will result in impacts to 1.88 acres of permanent loss to of estuarine forested wetlands along the existing land, bridge, and causeway. The applicant is proposing to use best management practices including turbidity curtains and erosion barriers to avoid and minimized unintended impacts. The Corps anticipates the project would have minor adverse direct and indirect impacts to EFH from the proposed work. Additional work taking place in association with the widening of SR 528 is being reviewed by the U.S. Coast Guard, as it includes the replacement and demolition of the SR 528 westbound bridge. Along with the proposed bridge replacement, the navigational fenders would be widened from the existing width of 90 feet to 125 feet, 268 (30-inch square pre-stressed concrete pilings) would be installed within the open water portion of the Indian River and 144 (24-inch pre-stressed concrete bridge pilings) would be installed within the Indian River Relief Channel. The applicant is anticipating the use of barge-mounted and land-mounted cranes to remove the existing bridge and to construct the new one. The Corps anticipates that the proposed work would have minor adverse direct and indirect impacts to EFH associated with the Indian River. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would have minor adverse direct and indirect impacts to EFH. Our final determination relative to project impacts and the need for mitigation measures is subject to review by and coordination with the NMFS.
Navigation: The proposed structure or activity is located in the vicinity of the Canaveral Barge Canal and Lock and the Jacksonville to Miami Intracoastal Waterway which are federal navigational channels.
SECTION 408: The applicant will require authorization under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (33 USC 408) because the activity, in whole or in part, would alter, occupy, or use a section of the Canaveral Barge Canal and Lock and the Jacksonville to Miami Intracoastal Waterway which is 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 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, 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 C. Beech, by electronic mail at veronica.c.beech@usace.army.mil or by telephone at (850-287-2905).
IMPACT ON NATURAL RESOURCES: Coordination with USFWS, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 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.
The 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 St. Johns River Water Management District. The project was authorized on June 20, 2023, and the permit number is 179426-1.
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: In Florida, the State approval constitutes compliance with the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan. The project’s State approval was issued on June 20, 2023, and the permit number is 179426-1.
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.