SAJ-2023-02816

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: Dana McIntyre
USAF 96th Civil Engineer Group
501 DeLeon Street, Suite102
Eglin Air Force Base, FL 32542-5133

AGENT: Rachel Gwin
Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance
109 Greenway Trail
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Choctawhatchee Bay. The project is located along the shoreline south of State Road 20, 0.6 miles east of the intersection of State Road 20 and Eastern Street in 23 Section, 1S Township, 21W Range; at Latitude 30.477210 and Longitude -86.316980; in Freeport, Walton County, Florida.

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic: To reduce shoreline erosion and provide beneficial habitat.

Overall: To reduce shoreline erosion and provide oyster reef and saltmarsh habitat in Choctawhatchee Bay.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant requests authorization to install breakwaters consisting of either 3-foot by 2-foot concrete “reef balls” or clean, Class I riprap–sized limestone along 2,489 linear feet of shoreline. The breakwaters would be configured in 5-foot wide by 50 to 75-foot sections with 5-foot gaps between sections. There would be three 100-foot gaps near creek outflows. The applicant also proposes the planting of native salt marsh grasses along the same stretch of shoreline.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The proposed project is located in Choctawhatchee Bay along 2,489 feet of undeveloped shoreline consisting of a narrow swath of sandy beach. Three unnamed creeks join the Choctawhatchee Bay along the stretch of shoreline to be treated. The parcel fronting the shoreline is made up of undeveloped woodlands.

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment: “Limestone will be staged offsite and transported to the project footprints by shallow draft barge. Work will be done during the summer and fall months with higher tides for optimal barge clearance. Limestone will be hand-placed in the described footprint and no machinery will be used at the project site. No seagrass is in the project footprint.” Additionally, the applicant stated, “Some small patches of seagrass were present during the 2022 [seagrass] survey and the closest patch was approximately 14 feet away from the proposed oyster reefs. A new seagrass survey will be completed during the growing season in 2024 prior to reef construction and care will be taken to avoid placing reef structures within 3 feet of any existing vegetation.”

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION:

The applicant has provided the following information: “The proposed project aims to increase oyster, fish, and invertebrate habitat and provide wave attenuation by placing oyster reef breakwaters within he waters of the Choctawhatchee Bay, and to restore salt marsh habitat behind the breakwaters. Breakwaters and salt marsh will increase refuge, feeding, and nursery habitat for many critical estuarine species and will help filter stormwater runoff. Breakwaters will also provide substrate for oyster spat to settle on and grow, which will improve water quality and clarity.” Therefore, no mitigation is being proposed, as the project is alleged to have beneficial effects to aquatic resources.

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. 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.

The District Engineer’s final eligibility and effect determination will be based upon coordination with the SHPO and/or THPO, as appropriate and required, and with full consideration given to the proposed undertaking’s potential direct and indirect effects on historic properties within the Corps-identified permit area.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has performed an initial review of the application, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southeast Regional Office Section 7 Mapper, and the NMFS Critical Habitat Mapper 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, the Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project may affect species and critical habitat listed in Table 1. No other ESA-listed species or critical habitat will be affected by the proposed action.

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

Pursuant to Section 7 ESA, any required consultation with the Service(s) will be conducted in accordance with 50 CFR part 402. Currently, the Corps is the lead Federal agency for ESA consultation for the proposed action. Any required consultation will be completed by the Corps.

This notice serves as request to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service for any additional information on whether any listed or proposed to be listed endangered or threatened species or critical habitat may be present in the area which would be affected by the proposed activity.

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.

This notice initiates the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Implementation of the proposed project would directly impact approximately 0.57 acres of unvegetated bottom in Choctawhatchee Bay which is contiguous to the Gulf of Mexico and may be utilized by various life stages of red drum, reef fish, coastal migratory pelagics, bull shark, and shrimp. The Corps’ initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. 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 structure or 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.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: Water Quality Certification may be required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, because the activity involves the discharge of fill material into waters of United States.

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.

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 June 21, 2024. Comments should be submitted to Taylor Parks at taylor.c.parks@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Attention: Taylor Parks, 701 San Marco Boulevard Jacksonville, Florida 32207. 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.