SAJ-2000-02367 (SP-JPF)

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:

WATERWAY AND LOCATION:  The project would affect aquatic resources associated with the Tamiami Canal.  The project site is located at 13128 NW 41^st Street, Sections 9 and 23, Township 53 South, Range 39 East, Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Directions to the site are as follows:  Headed south on the Florida Turnpike, take exit 29 to NW 41st Street and go right. Project will be approximately one mile to the west on the north side of the road.

PROJECT PURPOSE:  Basic:  limestone mining

Overall:  excavation of construction-grade limestone that meets applicable specifications for regional construction projects within the vicinity of existing mining facilities and infrastructure in southeast Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS:  The 207.6-acre project area includes 195.2 acres of freshwater wetlands and 12.4 acres of fill roads. Wet melaleuca/exotic wetland hardwoods areas (FLUCCS 619) total 57.3 acres and are dominated by melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquenervia) with scattered sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) in the understory. Mixed shrub/wetland scrub areas (FLUCCS 163) total 137.9 acres and contain a mix of melaleuca, Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolia), wax myrtle (Morella cerifera), dahoon holly (Ilex cassine), poisonwood (Metopium toxiferum), sawgrass, and swamp fern (Telmatoblechnum serrulatum).

The surrounding area includes previously authorized mining areas and unmined areas on the applicant’s property, additional mines to the north and south in the area known as the Lake Belt Region, residential development to the east, and a preserved buffer, then the Dade-Broward Levee, and then the Pennsuco Wetlands to the west.

BACKGROUND: The existing mine has an extensive permitting history, including being evaluated as part of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on Rock Mining in the Lake Belt Region of Miami-Dade County, Florida (Lake Belt SEIS), which the Corps completed in May 2009. Based on the Lake Belt SEIS, the Corps issued a Standard Permit on March 1, 2010, that included the after-the-fact authorization of discharges of dredged or fill material into 237 acres of wetlands that took place between February 2002 and January 2009 and authorization for the discharge of dredged or fill material into 949 acres of wetlands associated with mining in two phases – Section I (542 acres) and Section II (407 acres). The Section II mining was conditional on meeting several requirements, including preservation of a 1500’-wide Exclusion Area between the mine and the Dade-Broward Levee. The Corps issued a permit modification authorizing the Section II mining on July 1, 2020.

PROPOSED WORK:  The applicant seeks authorization for the discharge of dredged or fill material for a 207.6-acre expansion of the existing mine, including 195.2 acres of wetland impacts. The proposed expansion includes the easternmost 500’ of the 1500’ Exclusion Area.

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: Minimization measures were approved via the Lake Belt Plan adopted by the Florida Legislature and in prior Corps permits. The proposed mining plan retains a 1000’-wide buffer between the mining area and the Pennsuco wetlands to the west.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: Unavoidable aquatic resource functional losses will be offset in accordance with the Lake Belt Mitigation Plan, as described in Section 373.41492 of the Florida Statutes. Additional information about Lake Belt mitigation is available from this website: https://www.sfwmd.gov/our-work/lake-belt-committee

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.

The applicant provided a Cultural Resource Assessment Survey dated May 2023 that indicated that there were no previously or newly recorded sites within the Area of Potential Effect. 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 project is located within the core foraging area of at least one wood stork colony, and within the programmatic consultation area/urban development boundary for the Florida bonneted bat. The permit area also includes suitable habitat for the eastern indigo snake, and Everglade snail kite, and has the potential to have secondary effects on habitat for the Cape Sable seaside sparrow.

In its January 11, 2010, Biological Opinion (BO) for the existing mine, and additional mines in the Lake Belt Region, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the USFWS concurred with ‘may affect, not likely to adversely affect’ determinations for the indigo snake (with agreement from the applicants to abide by standard construction conditions that would be part of any permit issued) and the sparrow. The BO also stated that the impacts to the snail kite would be insignificant and discountable, based on the poor conditions for foraging and nesting in the affected area.

The Corps has determined that the proposed activity would occur in similar habits and would have similar effects on the indigo snake, sparrow, and snail kite as the previously approved mining, and therefore ‘may affect, not likely to adversely affect’ is the appropriate effect determination for these species for this project. The Corps will request USFWS concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.      

The applicant did not provide information indicating that any required compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts would be within the core foraging areas of the affected colonies, and did not provide a foraging analysis updated to address the currently proposed impacts. Use of the May 2010 wood stork effect determination key resulted in a determination of ‘may effect’ (A>B>C>E).

For the bonneted bat, the applicant performed roost studies within the project footprint, which identified ten cavities with no evidence of bonneted bat roosting. However, based on the size of the project, and the potential for unidentified roosting sites, the Corps has determined that the proposed activity ‘may affect’ the bonneted bat.

The Corps will request initiation of formal consultation with the USFWS for the wood stork and the bonneted bat pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by separate letter. 

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH):  This notice initiates consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service on EFH as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean.  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 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 Mining Team, 10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120, Tampa, FL 33610 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, John Fellows, in writing at the Mining Team, 10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120, Tampa, FL 33610; by electronic mail at john.p.fellows@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (813) 538-3932. 

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 Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued ERP No. MMR_175235-022 for this project on October 4, 2023.

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.