SAJ-2023-01444(SP-VCB)

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:   Rupa Magar-Chhabra

                        Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District 4

                        3400 West Commercial Boulevard

                         Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309

AGENT:       Ken Huntington

                    HDR Engineering, Inc.

                    315 East Robinson Street, Suite 400

                    Orlando, FL 32801

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Intracoastal Waterway (ICWW) south of Coral Bay.  The project is located at the crossing of the Sunrise Boulevard/ State Road (SR) 838 Bridge over the ICWW in the City of Fort Lauderdale in Section 36, Township 49 South and 50 South, Range 42 East; at Latitude 26.138040 and Longitude -80.108380; in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida.

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic: Rehabilitate and repair the existing bridges.

Overall: The purpose of the project is to repair and rehabilitate the east and west bound lanes of the Sunrise Boulevard/ SR-838 Bridge over the ICWW, to prevent future scour from undermining the base of the bridge and the fenders, and to improve safety.

PROPOSED WORK: The proposed work would include dredging approximately 0.25 acres (3,244 cubic yards) of submerged bottom associated with the ICWW channel, installing approximately 1.01 acres of articulated concrete block (ACB) revetment in between the east and west bulkheads of the canal, and discharging riprap in 0.17 acres. The revetment within the boundaries of the ICWW would be installed at a depth of -6 feet below the design depth of the channel and would be approximately 4 inches thick. The depth at the top of the revetment is anticipated to be no shallower than -18.29 feet North America Vertical Datum (NAVD). The revetments outside the footprint of the ICWW (landwards of the fenders) would be placed on the existing bottom of the design depth of the ICWW for scour protection. The riprap would be installed at the base of the bents and fender system for additional scour protection. The applicant would also replace 228 14-inch square prestressed concrete fender pilings with 130 16-inch fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) fender piles. The new fenders would be installed using vibratory hammers. An existing cable would also be replaced using Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) and would be installed at a depth of approximately -65 feet NAVD. The HDD entry and exit pits would be located in the median of Sunrise Boulevard/ SR-838. The contractor would implement a Frac-Out Plan and Monitoring Plan to meet state water quality conditions. Other repair and rehabilitation elements associated with this project would include the removal of the existing deck grating and replacing it with a concrete deck; installing pedestrian railing; and installing improvements to the tender house.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The area surrounding the project has multiple dwellings, urban developed sites, and transportation facilities. The Sunrise Boulevard/ SR-838 crossing over the ICWW contains two separate bridges (an eastbound and a westbound bridge). The ICWW is a federal navigational channel. The sediment below the bridges consists of a mixture of mixed sand, rubble, and shell fragments. The shorelines around the project area contains bulkheads and no natural shoreline.

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment: An analysis was conducted by FDOT to review potential scour countermeasures for the Sunrise Boulevard/ SR-838 Bridges. The applicant chose to install ACBs because they have a lower profile within the water column, cause less impact to navigation, and have least impacts to water flow, currents, and turbidity through the bridge opening. The proposed project was also designed to take place within the footprint of the existing bridges. The contractor would use Best Management Practices (BMP) to avoid unintentional impacts to wetlands and protected species.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required: The impacts associated with this project are to surface waters associated with the ICWW. There would be no functional loss of waters of the U.S.   

CULTURAL RESOURCES: Pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, Appendix C of 33 CFR Part 325, and the 2005 Revised Interim Guidance for Implementing Appendix C, the District Engineer consulted district files and records and the latest published version of the National Register of Historic Places and initially determines that:

As the Lead Agency, FDOT used the Section 106 Programmatic Agreement Minimal Impact Determination Form for the review of potential historic properties for the Sunrise Boulevard/ SR-838 Bridges. Based on the review of the proposed work, FDOT determined that the SR-838/Sunrise Boulevard over the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge project would have no effect to historic properties. Therefore, “the project meets the conditions set forth in Stipulation VI of the Programmatic Agreement” and further coordination is not required. FDOT stated that the State Historic Preservation Office did not respond to the submitted form, indicating concurrence with the results of the Minimal Impact Determination.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: FDOT performed an initial review of the application to determine if any threatened, endangered, proposed, or candidate species, as well as the proposed and final designated critical habitat may occur within the boundary of the proposed project. Based on this initial review, FDOT has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project may affect but it is not likely to adversely affect the North Atlantic Right Whale, Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, giant manta ray, smalltooth sawfish, West Indian manatee, American crocodile, and the Eastern indigo snake. The project would have no effects on the Florida bonneted bat, Florida Panther, Southeastern beach mouse, Eastern black rail, piping plover, and wood stork. No other ESA-listed species or critical habitat would be affected the proposed action.

Table 1: ESA-listed species and/or critical habitat potentially present in the action area.

Pursuant to Section 7 ESA, any required consultation with the Services will be conducted in accordance with 50 CFR part 402. FDOT is the lead Federal agency for ESA consultation for the proposed action. Any required consultation will be completed by FDOT.

FDOT submitted a consultation request to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) – Protected Resource Division (PRD) on October 19, 2023. The consultation with NMFS-PRD is ongoing. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Concurrence (2024-0040776) was received on January 25, 2024, for the effect determinations associated with the species under the purview of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. FDOT utilized the programmatic manatee key, wood stork key and the Eastern indigo key to reach these determinations.

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT: Pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996, the Corps reviewed the project area, examined information provided by the applicant, and consulted available species information.

FDOT is the lead for the consultation. FDOT submitted a consultation request to the NMFS – Habitat Conservation Division (HCD) on October 19, 2023. The consultation with NMFS-HCD is ongoing. Benthic conditions at the project site consist of unconsolidated bottom with scattered green turf algae. No seagrasses or corals were observed within the project area. Water depths in the ICWW range from (-)13 to (-)18 feet NAVD while depths outside of the ICWW range from 0 to (-)13 feet NAVD. The width of the waterway at the bridge location is approximately 500 feet wide. Table 2 identifies the resources found using available GIS Layers.

Table 2. EFH complexes and Habitats of Particular Concern

The final determination relative to project impacts and the need for mitigation measures is subject to review by and coordination with the NMFS-HCD.

IMPACT ON NATURAL RESOURCES: Coordination with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the 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.

NAVIGATION: Based on the location provided by the applicant, the project crosses the ICWW which is a federal channel.

SECTION 408: The applicant will require permission 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 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.

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. A permit will be granted unless its issuance is found to be contrary to the public interest.

COMMENTS: 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.

The Jacksonville District will receive written comments on the proposed work, as outlined above, until March 22, 2024. Comments should be submitted to Veronica Beech at Veronica.C.Beech@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Attention:  Veronica Beech, 415 Richard Jackson Boulevard, Suite 411, Panama City Beach, Florida 32407.  Please refer to the permit application number in your comments.

Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider the application. Requests for public hearings shall state, with particularity, the reasons for holding a public hearing. Requests for a public hearing will be granted, unless the District Engineer determines that the issues raised are insubstantial or there is otherwise no valid interest to be served by a hearing.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: Water Quality Certification may be required from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). A pre-application meeting was conducted with the SFWMD on April 20, 2023.

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: In Florida, the State approval constitutes compliance with the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan.