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: Hillsboro Point, LLC
Attention: Leathem Stearn
1001 UTE Avenue
Aspen, Colorado 91611
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Hillsboro Inlet. The project site is located at 2306 Bay Drive, Section 29, Township 48 South, Range 43 East, Hillsboro Beach, Broward County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: Take I-95 to FL-814E Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach. Merge onto East Atlantic Boulevard and turn left onto US-1 North. Continue NE 14th St/NE 14th Street Causeway. Take North Ocean Boulevard to Bay Drive.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude: 26.25825°
Longitude: -80.08218°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: The basic project purpose is for shoreline stabilization and water access.
Overall: The overall project purpose is for shoreline stabilization and water access for a single-family residence at 2306 Bay Drive, Hillsboro Beach, Broward County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project site is adjacent to a single-family residence with approximately 136 linear feet of natural shoreline. The project is located within the Hillsboro Inlet adjacent to the west side of the southern jetty. The area is developed with single-family and multi-family residences. The Hillsboro Inlet Park is on the northwest corner of the inlet and the Hillsboro Lighthouse Museum is on the southeast corner of the inlet. The shoreline on both the east and west sides of the jetty is mostly bulkheaded. The west side of the inlet has single and multi-family residences with private docks and there is a public dock at the Hillsboro Inlet Park. A benthic survey was conducted on August 1, 2023, that confirmed no seagrasses exist in the survey area. The substrate consists of sandy material with a little silt. The project site is currently being used by the Hillsboro Inlet Improvement & Maintenance District for the placement of a discharge pipeline to bypass the dredged sand to the south side of the inlet for the purpose of beach renourishment. The site has access to the Atlantic Ocean through the Hillsboro Inlet. No permitting action was found for this site.
Project History: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) previously circulated a LOP coordination letter for the proposed project on March 6, 2024. The Corps has since determined that the proposed project should be processed as a Standard Permit and therefore the project requires the Corps to circulate a public notice.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization for shoreline stabilization and water access by:
1. Installing a new 160 linear foot vinyl seawall with a 2-foot-wide concrete cap at the mean high-water line (MHWL) with 780 square feet, (29 cubic yards) of riprap within 8-feet of the wetface.
2. Place 19,200 square feet, (711 cubic yards) of clean fill behind the seawall.
3. Constructing a new 8-foot by 87-foot, (696 square feet) marginal dock with 9 concrete piles.
4. Dredging 7,500 square feet, (700 cubic yards) to a depth of -5 feet mean low water (MLW) for a boat slip.
5. Installing a 3-pile wood mooring dolphin
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:
• Comply with JAXBO PDC’s for In-Water Activities, including the use of turbidity curtains.
• Comply with the Standard Manatee Conditions for In-Water Work – 2011 including the additional requirements for mechanical dredging in the 2019 addendum.
• Use of clean fill/riprap boulders associated with the proposed shoreline stabilization.
• Complete work only during daylight hours
• Will utilize turbidity curtains and other erosion control devices to minimize impacts to adjacent waters.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION:
The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required:
Compensatory mitigation should not be required because no adverse impacts will result from the proposed project. The proposed project does not result in a significant loss of waters of the United States.
CULTURAL RESOURCES:
The Corps is aware of recorded historic resources within or adjacent to the permit area and 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. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has determined the proposed project may affect, but not likely to adversely affect the threatened West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), the Giant Manta Ray (Mobula birostris), swimming leatherback, loggerhead, green, hawksbill, and Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea, Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas, Eretmochelys imbricata and Lepidochelys kempii) and the Smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata). The Corps has determined that the proposed project may affect nesting leatherback, loggerhead, green, hawksbill, and Kemp’s Ridley Sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea, Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas, Eretmochelys imbricata and Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles. The Corps will request the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by separate correspondence.
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 8,979 square feet of unvegetated bottom utilized by various life stages of penaeid shrimp complex, reef fish, stone crab, spiny lobster, migratory/pelagic fish, and snapper/grouper complex. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the South Atlantic Region. 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 more than 100 feet away from the near bottom edge of the Intracoastal Waterway 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.
COMMENTS regarding the potential authorization of the work proposed should be submitted in writing to the attention of the District Engineer through the Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard, Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, 33410 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, Paula Bratschi, in writing at the Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA, Palm Beach Gardens; by electronic mail at paulabratschi@usace.army.mil ; or, by telephone at (561)472-3532.
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 (FDEP).
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.