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 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403) as described below:
APPLICANT: United States Naval Station Mayport
LCDR Nathan Chenarak
1 Massey Avenue
Mayport, Florida 32228
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. The project site is located at the Naval Station Mayport in Section 38, Township 1 South, Range 29 East, Naval Station Mayport, Duval County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From I-295 take exit 47 onto Monument Rd east. Turn right onto Monument Rd then turn right onto McCormick Rd. Turn left onto Mayport
Rd and reach the guard gate for NS Mayport.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 30.39648980°
Longitude -81.62423903°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
The purpose of the proposed project is to conduct maintenance dredging to provide safe passage of U.S. Navy vessels to maintain national defense readiness.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The proposed maintenance dredging would occur within open tidal waters and within the footprints of the existing Turning Basin, Destroyer Slip, Small Boat Basin, Mayport Entrance Channel, Bar Cut. A previous DA Permit to dredge these areas was issued on 17 July 2014 and remains valid until 17 July 2024.
The expected dredged materials from each dredge area are as follows: Mayport Turning Basin--sand, silty, some fine to medium-grained quartz, some silt, few medium-grained shell, dark gray; Mayport Entrance Channel--sand, silty, mostly fine to medium-grained quartz, some silt, few medium-grained shell, dark gray; and Bar Cut 3--sand, silty, mostly fine to medium-grained sand-sized quartz, some sand to gravel-sized shell, little silt, gray.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to conduct annual maintenance dredging of approximately 1,000,000 cubic yards of dredged material (per year) from a total of approximately 543 acres of open tidal waters, which include the western section of the Turning Basin (-42 feet (ft) Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) plus 2 ft allowable over depth), the eastern section of the Turning Basin, (-50 ft MLLW plus 2 ft allowable over depth), the southern section of the Turning Basin (-35 feet (ft) MLLW plus 2 ft allowable over depth), the Destroyer Slip (-35 ft MLLW plus 2 ft allowable over depth), the Small Boat Basin (-27 ft and -14 ft MLLW plus 2 ft allowable over depth), Mayport Entrance Channel (-50 ft MLLW plus 2 ft advanced maintenance dredge and 2 ft allowable over depth at Station (STA) 56+27.44 to STA 0+00) and Bar Cut-3 (50 ft MLLW plus 2 ft advanced maintenance dredge and 2 ft allowable over depth at STA 198+63.25 to STA 0+00) at Naval Station Mayport. The work will be conducted by either using a mechanical (excavator or clamshell), hopper, and/or cutter-suction, dredge. Work will be conducted 24 hours per day/7 days a week for approximately 2-4 months per dredging event. The dredged material will be transported and disposed of in the Jacksonville Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site (ODMDS). The applicant is requesting a 10-year permit.
SECTION 103 OF THE MARINE PROTECTION RESEARCH AND SANCTUARIES ACT (MPRSA):
A MPRSA Section 103 authorization, SAJ-2002-02052 (SP-JED), was issued on 3 August 2022 for the transport of the approximately 1,000,000 million cubic yards of material dredged annually from NS Mayport to the Jacksonville Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site (ODMDS) for disposal. This authorization remains valid until 10 June 2025.
Disposal of all material associated with this project shall occur into ODMDS Zone A.
The boundaries of the release zone are defined by the following coordinates:
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:
No expansion of project footprint to be dredged will occur. The project will comply with Florida FWC Standard Manatee Construction Conditions (2011), NMFS SARBO Project Design Criteria (PDCs) for all projects, Right Whale SARBO, Cutter Suction Dredging, Hopper Dredging, Atlantic Sturgeon, Bed-Leveling, and Handling and Reporting Protocol ESA-Listed Species/PSO Roles and Responsibilities.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
No Mitigation is being proposed as the proposed project involves maintenance dredging of open tidal waters. No wetland vegetation or submerged aquatic vegetation would be impacted.
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 Corps has determined the proposed project “may affect, but will not likely adversely affect” the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) or its designated critical habitat. The Corps will initiation consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by separate letter.
The proposed dredging activities appear to meet eligibility requirements covered by the South Atlantic Regional Biological Opinion for Dredging and Placement Activities in the Southeast United States, as amended, (SARBO) for the following ESA-listed species under the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) jurisdiction: swimming loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), and the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea); North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis), smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinate), giant manta ray (Manta birostris), Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus), and shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum). The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely the above species.
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 574 acres of open tidal waters utilized by various life stages of bull shark, summer flounder, sand tiger shark, shrimp, the Atlantic sharpnose shark, lemon shark, scalloped hammerhead shark, sandbar shark, spinner shark, snapper grouper, basking shark, blacktip shark, tiger shark, bluefish, blacknose shark, coastal migratory pelegics, spiny lobster bonnethead shark, Atlantic butterfish, sailfish, and corals. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the St. Johns River and Atlantic Ocean. 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 located in the vicinity of a federal navigation 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 Jacksonville Permits Section, 701 San Marco Boulevard, Jacksonville, Florida 32207 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 Jacksonville District project manager, Tracy D. Sanders, in writing at the Jacksonville Permits Section, 701 San Marco Boulevard, Jacksonville, Florida 32207; by electronic mail at Tracy.d.sanders@usace.army.mil or by telephone at (904) 232-1171.
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 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. 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.