SAJ-2004-00084 (SP-JAZ)

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:  City of Cocoa Beach

          Attn: Wayne Carragin

          1600 Minuteman Causeway

           Cocoa Beach, FL 32931

           Sent via email: wcarragino@cityofcocoabeach.com

WATERWAY AND LOCATION:  The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Indian River Lagoon, Banana River sublagoon (HUC12 (030802020103)). The project site is located adjacent to the Cocoa Beach Municipal Golf Course in Sections 10 and 15, Township 25 South, Range 37 East.\

Directions to the site are as follows:  “From the Cocoa Regulatory Office at the intersection of US1 and SR528: travel east on SR 528; travel south on A-1-A to Minuteman Causeway, turn west onto Minuteman Causeway and follow to the end of the road at the City of Cocoa Beach Municipal Golf Course; The project is located in the Banana River, west and south of the Cocoa Beach Golf Course and south of the Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School.”

APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:   Latitude             28.314451°

                                                                           Longitude  -80.640567°

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic:  Water quality improvement

Overall: Placement of sand fill to cap existing muck deposits and improve water quality in the Indian River Lagoon.

EXISTING CONDITIONS:  The proposed work occurs within an estuarine system.  The onsite conditions include bare sandy bottom, unconsolidated muck deposits, and vegetation including benthic macro algae (Caulerpa prolifera) and seagrasses (Halodule wrightii).  The existing area surrounding the project area and transport corridor from upland storage facility consists of open water, single family residences, a municipal golf course, a water treatment plant, a public high school, and mangrove islands managed by Brevard County’s Environmentally Endangered Lands program.

PROPOSED WORK:  The applicant seeks authorization to place 265,000 cubic yards of clean sand fill over 140.7 acres of nearshore waters to cap existing muck deposits, and to place 5,000 cubic yards of clean sand fill over 1.6 acres of nearshore waters to create a “habitat cap” for seagrass and shellfish restoration.

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 has avoided all impacts to any existing submerged aquatic vegetation. In addition, the project has avoided all wetland impacts.”

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION –  The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required:

“No compensatory mitigation is proposed because the project does not result in the loss of any wetlands or surface waters (Banana River).”

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 executed a Resources At Risk (RAR) evaluation for the area of the proposed project in accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.  The RAR indicated that the following species may occur in the project area: the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) and wood stork (Mycteria americana). The effect determinations for the respective species are as follows:

WEST INDIAN MANATEE:  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has determined the project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect the West Indian Manatee or its designated critical habitat. The review of the project utilized the Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, and the State of Florida Effect Determination Key for the Manatee in Florida, April 2013. Use of this key resulted in the sequence A-B-C-D-G-N-O-P5 = May Affect, Not Likely to Adversely Affect. The Corps partially based this determination on the implementation of the Standard Manatee Conditions for In-Water Work, 2011, which the applicant agreed to implement. The proposed work is of a unique nature, has a large impact area, and occurs almost entirely within the boundaries of an Important Manatee Area, therefore the Corps will seek concurrence on its determination from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

WOOD STORK:  The Corps completed an evaluation of the project based upon the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) North Florida Ecological Services Field Offices Programmatic Concurrence for use with the Wood Stork (September 2008). Use of the Key for Wood Stork resulted in the following sequential determination: A (The project is more than 2,500 feet from a colony site.) > B (Project does not affect suitable foraging habitat (SFH)) = no effect. The Corps has FWS concurrence for the proposed activities through the use of the aforementioned determination key.

JAXBO:  The Corps evaluated the proposed work utilizing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District’s Programmatic Biological Opinion (JAXBO) dated 20 November 2017. The JAXBO analyzes the effects from 10 categories of minor in-water activities occurring in Florida and the U.S. Caribbean on sea turtles (loggerhead, leatherback, Kemp's ridley, hawksbill, and green); smalltooth sawfish; Nassau grouper; scalloped hammerhead shark, Johnson's seagrass; sturgeon (Gulf, shortnose, and Atlantic); corals (elkhorn, staghorn, boulder star, mountainous star, lobed star, rough cactus, and pillar); whales (North Atlantic right whale, sei, blue, fin, and sperm); and designated critical habitat for Johnson's seagrass; smalltooth sawfish; sturgeon (Gulf and Atlantic); sea turtles (green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead); North Atlantic right whale; and elkhorn and staghorn corals in accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. The Corps conducted a project specific review to ensure that all of the Project Design Criteria (PDCs) in JAXBO were met. While discharge of “Fill to Restore Natural Contours or Improve Water Quality” is acceptable under Activity 7 (PDCs A7.23 and A7.24), the proposed work is of a unique nature and has a large impact area. Therefore, the Corps will utilize the JAXBO supersede process to confirm with NMFS the effects of the proposed action are substantially similar to the effects analyzed in JAXBO.

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 Corps’ determination considered the potential impact of the proposed work on the following species and life stage(s):

Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the Indian River Lagoon.  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 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 Cocoa Permits Section, 400 High Point Drive, Suite 600, Cocoa, Florida 32926 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, Jacob Zehnder, in writing at the Cocoa Permits Section, 400 High Point Drive, Suite 600, Cocoa, Florida 32926; by electronic mail at jacob.a.zehnder@usace.army.milby facsimile transmission at (321) 504-3803; or, by telephone at (321) 504-3771 ext. 0017. 

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.  

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 will be required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The project is being reviewed under FDEP application no. 0443265-001-EI.

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.