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: Darlene Hines
Department of the Army, FMWRC
1707 Gillespie Street
Fort Moore, GA 31905
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Choctawhatchee Bay. The project is located at the Fort Moore/Destin Recreation Area at 557 Calhoun Avenue, Township 02 South, Range 22 West, Destin, Okaloosa County, Florida.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 30.402881°
Longitude -86.423265°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Improved navigation.
Overall: To improve navigational capacity for the Fort Moore/Destin Recreation Area by maintenance dredging a boat basin, maintenance dredging a portion of a navigation channel and rerouting a portion of that channel.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project site is within waters of Choctawhatchee Bay adjacent to the US Army’s Fort Moore/Destin Recreation Area. A pier and an upland-cut boat basin presently exist on the site. An approximately 1550-foot long, 60-foot top width navigation channel from the boat basin to deeper waters has been previously authorized at the project site. Portions of that channel have since shoaled in. Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is found in varying densities throughout the existing channel footprint, adjacent to the existing dock and navigation markers and throughout the riparian area. Only one species of SAV has been observed in the project area, shoal grass (Halodule wrightii). The shoreline is armored with no emergent wetland vegetation observed. Uplands on the parcel exist as lodging and recreation-based facilities. The surrounding parcels are primarily residential development.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to dredge 9611 cubic yards of sediment for a navigation channel and 1589 cubic yards of sediment from an existing upland-cut boat basin. The navigation channel would have a 60-foot top width and the channel and boat basin would both be 8-feet deep. A portion of the previously authorized channel footprint would be used, however most of the proposed channel would be new dredging located adjacent to the old channel footprint. The applicant has proposed this channel reroute to reduce SAV impacts. The proposed channel alignment would result in the loss of at least 2573 square feet of SAV.
The applicant proposes the dredge material would be removed using a barge mounted excavator. The material would be stockpiled on the deck of the barge where the water contained in the dredged material would drain over the edge of the barge. A turbidity curtain is proposed around the entire channel to prevent sediment transport outside of the channel work area. When the barge deck is at capacity, dredged material would be transported to the dredge material management area (DMMA) depicted on the drawings. Dredged material would be transferred from the barge to the DMMA using an excavator. The DMMA would have a capacity of 126 cubic yards and would need to be emptied continuously during dredge operations. The applicant proposes to truck dredged material offsite.
Using water jetting, eight 12-inch pilings (navigation markers) would be removed from along the existing channel and reinstalled along the new proposed channel.
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:
“E-Tech Consultant’s, (E-Tech) proposed mitigation plan begins with avoidance and
minimization. To do so, our permitting team concluded, re-routing the existing channel to the northeast would result in avoiding impacts to much of the submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) existing waterward of the pier terminus.”
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
To transplant an unspecified number of SAV plugs from the proposed channel footprint to a “recipient site located on the northeastern side of the pier near shore.” The mitigation plan is attached to this public notice; no other mitigation information has been provided to the Corps.Moo
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 threatened West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), the threatened Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi), the endangered smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), threatened Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), endangered Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), and endangered Kemp’s ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) or its 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 1.9 acres of bay bottom, including 0.06-acre of SAV, utilized by various life stages of shrimp, reef fish, red drum, and coastal migratory/pelagic fish and 0.44-acre of tidal waters within an upland-cut boat basin. 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.
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 SAV survey 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 Pensacola Permits Section, 41 N. Jefferson Street, Pensacola, FL 32502 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, Ed Sarfert, in writing at the Pensacola Permits Section, 41 N. Jefferson Street, Pensacola, FL 32502; by electronic mail at edward.p.sarfert@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (850)439-9533.
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.
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.