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: D.R. Horton
Attention: Wayne Everett
10541 Six Mile Cypress Parkway
Fort Myers, Florida 33966
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect wetlands and other waters associated with Hunter Creek. The project site is located east of U.S. Highway 17 and south of Southwest Liverpool Road in Sections 25 and 36 of Township 39 South, Range 23 East in Arcadia, DeSoto County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: On Interstate 75 near Punta Gorda, take exit 164 for U.S. Highway 17 north. Continue north for 11 miles. Make a U-turn at 156th Street and head south for 1 mile.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude: 27.051095
Longitude: -81.961410
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: The basic project purpose is residential housing.
Overall: The overall project purpose is to construct a single-family residential development with associated infrastructure (amenities, parking, roadways, water management system) in southwestern DeSoto County to meet local housing demand.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The 278.35-acre project is located west of U.S. Highway 17 between Punta Gorda and Arcadia, Florida. The general area consists primarily of single-family homes, citrus groves, and undeveloped land which supports livestock grazing. The project consists of two parcels that are split by a railroad. The western parcel consists of forested and freshwater wetlands with a flooded borrow pit. The eastern parcel is a former citrus grove and is currently unforested. However, the eastern parcel also contains several ditches and a wetland feature. Aquatic resources on the property consist of approximately 9.11 acres of mixed forested wetlands and 19.13 acres of other waters. Vegetation associated with the wetlands are largely exotic and include species such as torpedograss (Panicum repens), Peruvian primrose-willow (Ludwigia peruviana), and Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolia).
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to fill 1.61 acres of wetlands and 11.36 acres of other waters to construct a proposed single-family residential development with roadways, parking, amenities, a surface water management system, preserve areas, and other associated infrastructure.
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 Project’s proposed site plan has been designed to minimize wetland impacts by focusing the majority of the development footprint in uplands and preserving approximately 82.3 percent (7.50± acres) of on-site jurisdictional wetlands. Wetland impacts are primarily limited to infrastructure construction, such as roads and surface water management facilities. For example, impacts to Wetland No. 3 were required for the entry road off U.S. Highway 17, as the Florida Department of Transportation required the entry road to align with an existing median break on U.S. Highway 17.
To minimize impacts to preserved wetlands, upland buffers will be established adjacent to the preserved wetlands, as shown on Sheet 5 of the Corps Permit Drawings. In addition, the Project includes seventeen new wet-detention ponds and one existing pond that will be used to provide water quality treatment prior to discharging into the preserved wetlands. During construction, a Best Management Practices plan will be implemented that includes use of double-row silt fencing and turbidity barriers.”
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
“A Uniform Mitigation Assessment Methodology (UMAM) analysis was conducted for the Project’s jurisdictional wetland impacts to quantitatively evaluate the associated functional loss. The functional loss associated with the Project’s wetland impacts totals 0.83 unit. The functional loss will be offset through the purchase of 0.83 credits [0.33 federal forested credit and 0.50 dual herbaceous credit] from the Horse Creek Mitigation Bank.”
CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps 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 Corps has consulted the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and no historic properties were identified within the vicinity of the project. Furthermore, A Cultural Resource Assessment Survey was prepared for the project which did not identify any cultural resources that are listed, determined eligible, or appear potentially eligible for listed on the NRHP. As such, the Corps’ preliminary determination is that the proposed undertaking would have no effect on historic properties.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect (MANLAA) the Florida bonneted bat, the tricolored bat, Florida scrub jay, Audubon’s crested caracara, and the wood stork. Additionally, the project may affect the Florida Panther and the eastern indigo snake. The Corps has programmatic concurrence for the wood stork via the May 2010 South Florida effect determination key. The Corps will coordinate with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to request concurrence with the MANLAA determinations for the bonneted bat, tricolored bat, scrub jay, and caracara, and to request initiation of formal consultation for the panther and the indigo snake, pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): This notice does not include consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service on EFH, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996, as the project area is inland and not in the vicinity of waters that can provide such habitat.
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 Los Angeles District, Arizona Branch, Attn: Jesse Rice (Regulatory Division), 3636 North Central Avenue Suite 900, Phoenix, Arizona 85012 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, Jesse Rice, in writing at the Los Angeles District, Arizona Branch, Attn: Jesse Rice (Regulatory Division), 3636 North Central Avenue Suite 900, Phoenix, Arizona 85012; by electronic mail at Jesse.M.Rice@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (602) 230-6854.
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 is required from the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). The project is being reviewed under SWFWMD application no. 86420.
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.