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: United States Marine Corps (USMC)
Attention: Michael Erhardt
5880 Channel View Blvd.
Jacksonville, Florida 32226
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the St. Johns River. The project site is located at 5880 Channel View Boulevard, Sections 20 and 29, Township 1 South, Range 28 East, Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From downtown Jacksonville, travel north on US 17/North Main Street. Exit east onto 105/Heckscher Drive/Zoo Parkway. Travel south onto either Dave Rawls Blvd or Blount Island Blvd. Travel left onto Channel View Blvd and take a right onto Sonar Way. Sonar Way terminates at the Back River channel. site project location. The site requires coordination with U.S. Marine Corps in advance for entry.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Area 2: Latitude 30.393107°
Longitude -81.517735°
Area 3: Latitude 30.396171°
Longitude -81.510839°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: The basic project purpose is shoreline stabilization.
Overall: The overall project purpose is shoreline stabilization at the USMC Blount Island facility, Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The aquatic system consists of tidal salt marsh adjacent to the open tidal waters of the Back River channel and the St. Johns River. There is no mangrove or submerged aquatic vegetation within the project site. The existing area surrounding the project area consists of tidal salt marsh along with the USMC Blount Island facility and JAXPORT.
PROJECT HISTORY: The work for shoreline stabilization at Areas 1, 2 and 3 was authorized January 7, 2015. The authorized work for Area 1 was completed. The work authorized for Areas 2 and 3 never commenced. The permit would have originally expired on January 7, 2020; however, on February 10, 2022, a time extension was issued for 2 years with a new expiration date of February 10, 2022, and the proposed work was modified to allow for an additional 0.017-acre of fill for rip rap in Area 1 as Modification #1. On January 27, 2022, a time extension was authorized for 2 years with a new expiration date of January 24, 2024, as Modification #2. Whereas the permit expired on January 24, 2024, the Permittee submitted a request for a modification and time extension on November 15, 2023. Therefore, the Corps is reviewing the request as Modification #3.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization for a two year time extension and to modify the originally authorized work by replacing the authorized work with the proposed work below:
Excavation:
Area 2: To excavate approximately 3,196.93-cubic-yards of sediment from 0.4-acre of waters of the United States (0.3 acre of salt marsh and 0.1) to make room for rip rap and a bulkhead for shoreline stabilization. The excavation would be 1,629.97-feet-long by 11-feet-wide.
Area 3: To excavate approximately 1,358.74-cubic-yards of material from 0.16-acre of waters of the United States (0.028-acre of non-tidal salt marsh wetlands landward of the high tide line, 0.13-acre of tidal, open water landward of the mean high water line and waterward of the high tide line, and 0.0020-acre of tidal, open water waterward of the mean high water line) to make room for rip rap and a bulkhead for shoreline stabilization.
Some of the native material/sediments removed will be reused as fill with the riprap in Areas 2 and 3 or placed within the limits of construction for Area 3, including upland and wetland areas. Any excess material will be removed from the project area and placed within upland areas on Blount Island or disposed of in an approved, offsite landfill.
Bulkhead:
Area 2: To install a sheet pile bulkhead that would be 1,629.97-feet-long by 2-feet wide into waters of the United States (open tidal water and also salt marsh). Portions of the bulkhead would be located landward of the mean high water line, but within the high tide line, and some portions would be placed 21-feet waterward of the mean high water line, 86.8-feet waterward of the mean high water line, and 33-feet waterward of the high tide line. The bulkhead would be installed by vibratory methods and the sheet pile would be made of fiber reinforced polymer composite. The bulkhead would include open notches that would be 4-feet-wide by 4.5-feet-tall to allow for tidal flushing of the marsh north of the proposed bulkhead. The areas with notches would be 52-feet long, 60-feet-long and 28-feet-long and the 4-foot-notches would be placed every 12 feet. The notches would be placed every 12 feet and would be 4-feet-long. The notches would be at an elevation of 1-foot above the mean high water line while the wall would be at an elevation of 5.5-feet above the mean high water line.
Area 3: To install a sheet pile bulkhead that would be 1,206.23-feet-long by 1-foot-wide in waters of the United States (open, tidal water along the high tide line) for shoreline stabilization for national defense. The bulkhead would be installed by vibratory methods.
Rip Rap:
Area 2: To place approximately 3,495.95-cubic-yards of clean fill into 0.14-acre of waters of the United States (salt marsh and open, tidal water) for installation of rip rap for shoreline stabilization for national defense. The rip rap would be placed into the excavated area and would be placed from the bulkhead to waterward 6-feet in width in front of the bulkhead and from the bulkhead to landward of the bulkhead for 4-feet in width. The proposed work would temporarily impact 1.39-acre of salt marsh for construction access with the use of matting landward of the proposed bulkhead and rip rap. The rip rap would be 1629.97-linear feet along the high tide line and in salt marsh.
Area 3: To place 3,039.64-cubic-yards of clean fill into 0.15-acre of waters of the United States (salt marsh and open, tidal water) for installation of rip rap for shoreline stabilization for national defense. The rip rap would be placed into the excavated area and would be placed from the bulkhead to waterward 6-feet in width in front of the bulkhead and from the bulkhead to landward of the bulkhead for 4-feet in width. The rip rap would be 1,206.23-linear-feet along the high tide line and 103.54-feet in wetlands.
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 was designed to reduce and avoid impacts to wetlands and surface waters as much as possible. Within Area 2, the vast majority of the project area consists of saltwater marsh. Therefore, wetland impacts are unavoidable in order to install the sheet pile wall and riprap. To reduce impacts to wetlands, the design in Area 2 includes notches within the sheet pile wall to reduce adverse effect to the hydrology of the existing marsh. This is accomplished by lowering the top elevation of the wall, allowing tidal flow across the wall to the tidal wetlands landward of the wall and riprap. Within Area 3, a majority of the proposed sheet pile wall and riprap installation will occur within uplands; however, impacts are unavoidable to the tidal marsh that extends into the shoreline. Due to the location of an upland building adjacent to the shoreline, the area must be protected from additional erosion, resulting in unavoidable impacts.
The proposed project footprint shown in Attachment B for both Areas 2 and 3 is the minimum work area needed to complete the proposed scope of work safely. To minimize impacts to wetlands during construction, temporary timbers and matting will be used along access routes. Erosion control devices (e.g., turbidity barrier, silt fence) will be placed around the landward and seaward limits of the temporary access road/limits of the work area to prevent any materials from entering the adjacent wetlands, uplands, or surface waters. These devices will be maintained throughout construction to ensure state water quality standards for turbidity are met. Prior to any excavation for the riprap placement, a temporary sheet pile wall will be installed 5 ft waterward of the proposed riprap limit as containment to prevent discharges into the St. Johns River. Once the riprap component of construction is complete and any turbidity has settled within the work area landward of the temporary sheet piles, the temporary sheet piles will be removed. Once construction is complete, all temporarily impacted wetland areas will be restored to pre-construction elevations as to maintain natural hydrology, drainage patterns, and allowed to re-vegetate naturally.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
“Unavoidable, permanent wetland impacts are anticipated from the proposed project. For the original permitted activities, 0.33 estuarine, intertidal, emergent mitigation credits were purchased from North Florida Saltwater Marsh Mitigation Bank to offset the proposed impacts at Area 1 (0.046 acres), Area 2 (0.316 acres), and Area 3 (0.055 acres). However, with the modification issued in February 2020, additional wetland impacts (0.011 ac) were authorized and constructed in Area 1. Following construction in Area 1 (functional loss of 0.04), 0.29 mitigation credits remain from the 0.33 mitigation credits previously purchased. The revised project design in Area 2 will permanently impact 0.41 acres of wetlands and the revised project design in Area 3 will permanently impact 0.03 acres of wetlands. The functional loss (FL) for 0.44 acres of permanent wetland impacts for Areas 2 and 3 totals 0.352 units. In order to offset impacts to wetlands, 0.352 units of Relative Functional Gain (RFG) are required. 0.290 mitigation credits remain from the initial purchase (0.33 credits – 0.04 credits used for Area 1). Therefore, there is a mitigation deficit of 0.062 mitigation credits. In order to mitigate for these impacts, the applicant intends to purchase 0.07 mitigation credits from the North Florida Saltwater Marsh Mitigation Bank.”
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 U.S. Marine Corps is the lead federal agency for the Endangered Species Act Section 7 review of the National Marine Fisheries Service species. The U.S. Marine Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, green sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, Atlantic sturgeon, smalltooth sawfish; however, the proposed work does not fall under the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Jacksonville Biological Opinion. Therefore, the U.S. Marine Corps will request National Marine Fisheries Service concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect the West Indian manatee as the proposed bulkhead would act as a barrier to the West Indian manatee and would create more than discountable impacts to emergent vegetation. Therefore, the Corps will initiate informal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
The Corps has determined the proposed work may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect, the Wood Stork, green sea turtle, Hawksbill sea turtle, Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, leatherback sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, rufa red knot (Calidris canutus rufa), Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), and Eastern Indigo Snake. Therefore, the Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
The Corps has determined the proposal would have no effect on Eastern Black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis ssp. jamaicensis), Red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), Whooping crane (Grus americana). Therefore, no additional consultation is required.
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 2.01 acres of salt marsh and open, tidal water (0.53-acre of permanent impacts and 1.4-acre of temporary impacts) utilized by various life stages of bull shark, summer flounder, bluefish, spiny lobster, snapper grouper, 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 Atlantic Regional Management Council. 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 structures are located in the vicinity of a federal navigation channel. The proposed structures were reviewed in accordance with the guidelines of the 9 May 2006 Interim Setback Criteria for Jacksonville Harbor and St. Johns River. The proposed shoreline stabilization method meets the setback guidelines and maintains a setback which is consistent with other authorized structures along this reach of the Jacksonville Harbor federal channel. Therefore, the Navigation Section does not object to issuance of subject permit.
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 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 Jacksonville Permits Section, at the address located in the letterhead above, or by email at Terri.M.Mashour@usace.army.mil 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, Terri M. Mashour, in writing at the Jacksonville Permits Section, at the address located in the letterhead above; by electronic mail at Terri.M.Mashour@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (904) 251-9179.
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.
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 was required and has been authorized by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) under file number 16-0293373-005-EM.
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.