TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received an application for a modification of a Department of the Army permit pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
(33 U.S.C. §1344) as described below:
APPLICANT: EW Property Holdings, LLC
c/o Marc Porosoff
401 East Las Olas Blvd., Suite 1870
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Lake Tohopekaliga (HUC 030901010400). The project site is located south of Canoe Creek Road, in Section 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, Township 26 South, Range 30 East, Osceola County, Florida. Directions to the site are as follows: Take SR528 west to Florida's Turnpike south. Take exit 240 for Old Canoe Creek Road south to Canoe Creek Road.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 28.2191°
Longitude -81.3215°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Mixed-use Development
Overall: The overall project purpose is to develop a multi-phase, mixed-use development with open space, and recreational access to Lake Tohopekaliga that complies with the Osceola County East of Lake Toho Comprehensive Plan.
The purpose of the modification request is to extend Cross Prairie Parkway to connect the northern and southern sections of the previously authorized Edgewater East development.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: Prior to the issuance of the Edgewater East permit, the site supported fourteen (14) 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 2004):
211 Improved Pastures -The majority of the uplands onsite consists of improved pasture that is currently being utilized by cattle.
221 Citrus Grove -The citrus grove is characterized by rows of dying or dead citrus trees with a groundcover of dog fennel, Bahia grass, white beggars tick (Bidens pilosa), ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), and Virginia pepperweed (Lepidium virginicum).
321 Palmetto Prairie -The palmetto prairies serve as unimproved pasture, as cattle have open access to these areas and regularly use them for grazing and cover.
441 Pine Flatwoods -The pine flatwoods community occurs in scattered areas throughout the property, generally in large tracts.
427 Live Oak -Several live oak hammocks were identified throughout the property. The canopy within the live oak consists of mature live oak and laurel oak.
430 Mixed Hardwoods -Some scattered forested areas were classified as mixed hardwoods habitat. The canopy within the mixed hardwoods community consisted of mature live oak, and laurel oak. There was almost no shrub stratum or ground cover due to frequent use by cattle, as well as the shading affect from the dense canopy within the area.
434 Hardwood-Conifer Mixed -Areas of hardwood-conifer mixed found onsite consists of live oak, laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia), water oak (Quercus nigra), long leaf pine, slash pine, and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), with no species being dominant. The shrub stratum/groundcover vegetation consisted of sparse clumps of saw palmetto, bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum), grapevine, persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), and immature oaks.
510 Streams and Waterways -A network of ditches are located throughout the property.
521 Lakes larger than 500 acres -The northwest corner of the site abuts Lake Tohopekaliga. Only a small portion of the shoreline of this 18,800+ acre lake falls within the site.
524 Lakes less than 10 acres -Several upland excavated ponds are located throughout the subject property. These ponds were excavated in uplands as livestock watering ponds.
620 Coniferous Forest -Coniferous forest wetlands were identified throughout the subject property.
630 Wetland Forested Mixed – Two (2) forested wetlands within the southeastern portion of the subject property were classified as mixed wetland hardwoods.
640 Vegetated Non-Forested Wetlands -A number of shallow herbaceous wetlands are present throughout the site.
641 Freshwater Marshes -An area of freshwater marsh (641) was identified adjacent to Lake Tohopekaliga.
The Edgewater East development DA Permit was issued by the Corps of Engineers on November 4, 2022. The permit authorized the filling of 33.34 acres of Section 404 wetlands, 16,089 linear feet of ditches, and 0.60 acres of other waters. All lands south of the proposed connector road are in various stages of completion consistent with the previously permitted design. Cross Prairie Parkway has been completed south of Clay Whaley Road and all residential areas are under construction. North of the proposed crossing the highway is under construction beginning at the northern terminus of the development and proceeding south. Residential and commercial components are in the beginning stages of mass grading in preparation for site development. Stormwater management ponds are currently being excavated and stockpiled for use as site fill material.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to extend Cross Prairie Parkway to connect the southern and northern portions of the previously authorized Edgewater East development. The connector road segment would result in 1.32 acres of direct additional impacts to wetlands (0.67 acres form the roadway and 0.65 acres from construction of a stormwater management pond). There would also be an additional 0.56 acres of secondary wetland impacts associated with the connector road and 0.25 acres of impacts to a non-jurisdictional pond.
AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION INFORMATION – Avoidance and minimization for the overall Edgewater East development was addressed during the previous permit review. The applicant has stated that the additional impacts associated with the Cross Prairie Parkway extension are required in order to connect the north and south portions of the development and join the Osceola County’s inter-modal network.
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 1.00 M-WRAP Freshwater Federal Forested mitigation credits form Florida Mitigation bank for the impacts associated with the Cross Prairie Parkway extension.
The applicant previously debited 19.68 M-WRAP credits for the impacts associated with the Edgewater East development.
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.
ENDANGERED SPECIES:
The Corps of Engineers conducted Formal and Programmatic Consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) during the evaluation of the Edgewater East project in 2022.
The Corps conducted formal consultation with the USFWS for the Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon corais couperi) in 2022 due to the potential for the project to adversely affect the species. A Biological Opinion was issued by USFWS on September 15, 2022. It was determined the project may affect but was was not likely to adversely affect the Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis), Florida Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus), Everglades Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus), Florida Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), and Wood Stork (Mycteria americana), and/or their designated critical habitat.
The Corps determined the proposal would have no effect on Florida Bonneted Bat (Eumops floridanus) and Audubon's Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway) or their designated critical habitat. This determination was based on the results of species-specific surveys conducted by the applicant.
The previous consultation associated with the Edgewater East project will be reviewed during the evaluation of the modification request and consultation with USFWS will be reinitiated as needed.
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.
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 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 modification 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 additional impacts associated with the modification request were authorized by the South Florida Water Management District by Individual Resource Permit No. 49-108384-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.