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: Global Investment Property, LLC.
c/o Kyle Smith
530 South Front Street, Suite 100
Mankao, Minnesota 56001
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Factory Bay and Big Marco Pass. The project site is located across two neighboring parcels at 1219 Bald Eagle Drive and 1145 Kerr Court, in Section 5, Township 52 South, Range 26 East, Marco Island, Collier County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From I-75, take exit 101 onto CR-951/SR-84 towards Naples/Marco Island; tum right on 951 Collier Boulevard and continue for approximately 15 miles; tum right onto N Barfield Drive and continue for 1-mile; tum right onto Tampa Place; turn left onto Kerr Court; the destination is on your right.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude: 25.972345
Longitude: -81.727243
PROJECT PURPOSE: Basic: Commercial Marina
Overall: Replace a multi-family mobile home park and marina with a multi-use commercial facility and marina, in Marco Island, Collier County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project area consists of two (2) neighboring parcels totaling 1.74 acres with a 330 linear-foot rip-rap shoreline. A multi-family residential mobile home park with an 18-slip marina, and a single-family residence with a dock exists on the parcels. The waterbody consists of an open estuarine, subtidal, saltwater system with a fine silty/shell substrate. An August 25, 2023, Submerged Resource Survey determined that no special aquatic resources were located within the proposed project area. The property is neighbored to the north by commercial property, to the south by a residential lot, to the east by Factory Bay, and to the west by Bald Eagle Drive.
PROPOSED WORK: The proposed work consists of the following: 1) removing the existing 18-slip marina and the single-family dock; 2) refurbish the existing rip-rap shoreline by placing 78 cubic yards of new rip-rap across a 1,409 square foot area above the mean high-water line (MHW) and 197 cubic yards across a 2,124 square foot area below the MHW; 3) construct a new commercial marina consisting seven (7) 40-foot-long fixed wooden finger piers to accommodate 16 vessels and a new concrete floating t-dock with seven (7) 35-foot-long finger piers to accommodate 22 vessels. The proposed docking facility would extend 148 feet waterward of the MHW and consist of approximately 5,706 square feet of over-water structures, accommodating 38 wet slips in total. In-water work would encompass a 2,214 square foot (0.05-acre) area of waters of the United States.
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: “Turbidity curtains will be utilized during all in water construction activities”.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: Mitigation is not required since there would be no impacts to special aquatic resources.
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 the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) or its designated critical habitat; may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the Giant Manta Ray (Mobula birostris), Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus), Smalltooth Sawfish (Pristis pectinate), Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas), and Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) or their designated critical habitat; and would have no effect on the Florida Bonneted Bat (Eumops floridanus).
The Corps will request initiation of formal consultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for the West Indian manatee unless approval is provided by the applicant stating the proposed project is consistent with the Collier County Manatee Protection, 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. Utilizing the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) EFH Mapper, it was determined that the proposed project may impact approximately 0.13-acre of water utilized by various life stages of Blacknose Shark (Carcharhinus acronotus), Coastal Migratory Pelagics, Lemon Shark (Negaprion brevirostris), Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), Reef Fish, Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), and Shrimp. 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: Based on the Florida State Plane coordinates provided by the applicant, the waterward edge of the proposed structure is 6,000 feet, or 1 nautical mile, from the near bottom edge of the Naples to Big Marco Pass 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 Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Blvd., Suite 310, Fort Myers, Florida, 33913 within 15 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, Michelle Gilbert, in writing at the Fort Myers Permits Section, 1520 Royal Palm Square Blvd., Suite 310, Fort Myers, Florida, 33919; by electronic mail at Michelle.L.Gilbert@usace,army.mil; or, by telephone at (239) 334-1975 ext. 0006.
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 (WQC): WQC is required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The project is being reviewed under the FDEP application no. 0152412-001.
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: The FDEP 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.