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: Carson Good
Good Capital Group
174 West Comstock Avenue, Suite 100
Winter Park, Florida 32789
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect aquatic resources associated with Lake Tohopekaliga (HUC 0309010104). The project site is located at Section 31, Township 25 South, Range 31 East, Kissimmee, Osceola County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From Kissimmee head south on US-192E / US 441 S, turn right onto Partin Settlement Road, turn left onto Cobblers Ln, turn left onto Brownstone Dr, turn right onto Stoney Way, turn right to arrive at 1101 Cobblestone Circle, Kissimmee, FL 34744.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 28.274723 N°
Longitude -81.346374 W°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Residential Development
Overall: The applicant’s stated purpose is to construct a single-family townhome residential subdivision within the Kissimmee/St. Cloud area, within Osceola County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project site totals 43 acres and is currently undeveloped, consisting of two (2) land use types/vegetative communities.
These land use types/vegetative communities were identified utilizing the Florida Land Use, Cover and Forms Classification System, Level III (FLUCFCS, FDOT, January 1999). The upland land use type/vegetative community on the site is classified as Improved Pastures (211). The wetland/surface water land use types/vegetative communities on the site are classified as Cypress (621). The property contains approximately 6 acres of wetlands.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to fill 2.38 acres wetlands associated with the development of a single-family townhome community. The applicant has stated that the project would result in an additional 1.5 acres of secondary wetland impacts.
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:
“Several design configurations were evaluated during the planning of the proposed development. In reviewing the proposed plan, the applicant has avoided and minimized wetland impacts to the greatest extent practicable. The project proposes 2.38 acres of wetland impacts to WOTUS. The impacts are required for construction of single-family townhomes, stormwater management areas and associated infrastructure. The Fish Lake project boundary is irregular. This posed a design challenge in regards to road layouts based on the ingress/egress points along Cobblestone Circle (north side) and Pecan Street (east side). The road layout and placement of stormwater ponds were based on Osceola County development requirements and District stormwater criteria. Due to the size constrains of the property and the position of the on-site wetlands, impacts are required to provide the project with enough developable lots and stormwater management areas to make a viable product. A plan to avoid the wetland impacts was determined to not be feasible based on the geometry for access roadways going to the southern portion of the property as well as the need for adequate stormwater. Furthermore, the Fish Lake wetlands are of poor-quality systems impacted by decades of land management, cattle grazing, as well as Fish Lake water elevation being controlled. The project’s wetland impacts consist of 1.12-acres of improved pasture and 1.7-acres of forested wetlands. The improved pasture impacts consist of highly grazed grasses. The forested impacts consist of a remnant cypress community, where the soils, hydrology and vegetative composition have been disturbed by decades of cattle, invasive species and controlled water elevation.”
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
The applicant proposes to debit 0.71 federal credits from the Reedy Creek Mitigation bank to offset the 3.73 acres of direct and secondary wetland impacts.
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:
Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais couperi): potential impacts to the Eastern indigo snake were evaluated using the Eastern Indigo Snake Programmatic Effect Determination Key. Use of the 2010 USFWS Eastern Indigo Snake key resulted in the following sequential determination: A > B > C “may affect, not likely to adversely affect (MANLAA)” for the snake. This determination is partially based on the project being conditioned for use of the Service’s Standard Protection Measures for The Eastern Indigo Snake during site preparation and project construction. Additionally, the applicant has stated that the project area has no known holes, cavities, active or inactive gopher tortoise burrows, or other underground refugia where a snake could be buried, trapped and/or injured during project activities.
Wood Stork: The proposed activity is within the Core Foraging Area (CFA) of a wood stork rookery. According to material provided by the applicant, no wood storks were observed on the site during the wildlife survey. The applicant is proposing to provide mitigation at an approved mitigation bank that is within the appropriate CFA and of matching hydroperiod of the proposed impacts, and the project complies with the Habitat Management Guidelines for the Wood Stork in the Southeast Region. Use of the USFWS South Florida Ecological Services Office Effect Determination Key (2010) resulted in the following sequential determination: A> B > C > E, "may affect but is not likely to adversely affect."
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): The Corps has determined that the proposed action would not have no effect on EFH or Federally managed fisheries within the Lake Tohopekaliga basin and no further coordination is required.
Navigation: The proposed development 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 Billy Standridge, Washington Regulatory Field Office, 2407 West Fifth Street, Washington, North Carolina 27889, or via email at billy.w.standridge@usace.army.mil within 21 days from the date of this notice.
The decision whether to issue or deny this modification 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, Billy Standridge, in writing at the Washington Regulatory Field Office, 2407 West Fifth Street, Washington, North Carolina 27889; by electronic mail at billy.w.standridge@usace.army.mil or by telephone at (910)251-4595.
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: The impacts associated with the proposed project were authorized by the South Florida Water Management District by Individual Resource Permit No. 49-109672-P. The authorization constitutes certification of compliance with state water quality standards under section 401 of the Clean Water Act.
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.