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) as described below:
APPLICANT: City of Parkland
℅ Alexander Barr
6600 University Drive
Parkland, FL 33067
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated within the unnamed canals within Parkland Ranches, Parkland Broward County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From I-95, west on Sawgrass Expressway, north on University Drive, east on Holmberg Road, north on NW 87th Avenue, east on NW 72nd Street.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude: 26.31781°
Longitude: -80.24115°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: The basic project purpose is to increase water storage capacity.
Overall: The overall project purpose is to increase water storage capacity within the Parkland Ranches neighborhood in Pompano Beach, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project location consists of a canal system within a residential neighborhood. There is a pump station within the northernmost canal which typically operates during periods of low precipitation to bring water into the rest of the canal system.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to increase water storage capacity for a residential neighborhood by conducting the following activities:
1. Removal of a pump station and associated infrastructure. This includes the removal of 64 square feet (14.5 cubic yards) of riprap, the pump house, one intake stormwater pump, an outfall structure, and a transformer;
2. Construction of a pump station and associated infrastructure. This includes the installation of 544 square feet (103.5 cubic yards) of riprap, one intake stormwater pump, one outflow stormwater pump, and an outfall structure within the canal. A generator and a transformer will be installed in the uplands, which will be regraded with gravel;
3. Excavating 321 square feet (7,251 cubic yards) to a maximum depth of -4 NAVD;
4. Excavating 0.32 square feet (0 cubic yards) to a maximum depth of -4.5 NAVD;
5. Excavating 330 square feet (11,400 cubic yards) to a maximum depth of -5 NAVD;
6. Excavating 90 square feet (2,261 cubic yards) to a maximum depth of -6 NAVD;
7. Excavating 11 square feet (778 cubic yards) to a maximum depth of -7 NAVD;
8. Excavating 53,216 square feet (1,971 cubic yards) of fill to achieve a 1:1.5 slope along the canals;
9. Replacing a total of 1,458 linear feet of culverts. The culverts are spread out across 40 locations and range from 15” to 48” in diameter;
10. Installing 4,569 square feet (1,156 cubic yards) of riprap headwalls.
Excavated material will be disposed of at an upland disposal facility.
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 proposed excavating and filling that will occur within the interior canal system is the minimum amount needed to provide sufficient water capacity for firefighting purposes. The pump station structures are being replaced and the only work occurring below the OHWL is the placement of riprap. Best management practices will be used during construction such as the implementation of silt fences and turbidity barriers for erosion control.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION –The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required:
No compensatory mitigation should be required because the proposed project will not adversely affect aquatic resources. There are no wetlands that would be impacted by the proposed project. The proposed excavating of the canals and filling to achieve the desired slopes will all be performed in existing canals that are maintained.
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 is not likely to adversely affect the Wood stork (Mycteria americana). The proposed project is located within potential foraging areas. According to the Habitat Management Guidelines for the Wood Stork in the Southeast Region, written by John C. Ogden, storks feed primarily on small fish between 1-8 inches in length. Successful foraging sites are those where the water is between 2-15 inches deep. Suitable foraging habitat is located in the project footprint; however, it is a very thin strip along the canal banks. There are approximately 1.36 acres total of in-water impacts. Less than 25% of these impacts will occur within suitable foraging habitat and there will still be a littoral zone of sufficient depth after construction is completed. Potential impacts to the threatened Wood stork were evaluated using the South Florida Programmatic Concurrence (Key), dated 18 May 2010. Use of this Key produced the sequential determination A-B-may affect, not likely to adversely affect (NLAA).
The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi). The staging and construction area along the canal banks and pump station may contain holes or cavities that could provide habitat for the eastern indigo snake. By use of the Eastern Indigo Snake Key dated 1 August 2017, the project results in a path of A-B-C-D-E, may affect but is not likely to adversely affect the eastern indigo snake provided the permit is conditioned such that all gopher tortoise burrows, active or inactive, be evacuated prior to site manipulation. With an outcome of “not likely to adversely affect (NLAA)” as outlined in the key, the requirements of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act are fulfilled for the eastern indigo snake and no further action is required.
The Corps has received programmatic concurrence from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): The Corps has determined that there is no EFH within the project area.
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 Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410 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 project manager, Kyle Nichols, in writing at the Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Boulevard, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410; by electronic mail at Kyle.H.Nichols@usace.army.mil; by facsimile transmission at (561) 626-6971; or, by telephone at (561) 507-0319.
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) or the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD).
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.