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 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403) as described below:
APPLICANT: Jose Perez
1017 Bay Harbor Drive
Englewood, Florida 34224
AGENT: Clayton McCoy
7050 Brylington Boulevard
Pensacola, Florida 32526
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect open tidal waters of Rocky Creek leading to Lemon Bay. The project site is located at 1017 Bay Harbor Drive, Section 05, Township 41 South, Range 20 East, Englewood, Charlotte County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From 1-75, take exit 193 (Jacaranda Boulevard). Turn right onto Jacaranda Boulevard. Turn left onto FL-776/Englewood Road. Turn right onto Edison Drive. Follow Edison Drive slightly right onto Lee Street. Turn left onto Bay Harbor Drive.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES:
Latitude 26.9301
PROJECT PURPOSE: Basic: To provide suitable water depth for safe moorage and recreational water access.
Overall: To provide suitable water depth for safe moorage and recreational boating access in Charlotte County.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The proposed project is located on Rocky Creek, a waterway leading to Lemon Bay. There are three existing docks within the project area. Approximately one square foot of seagrass occurs within the footprint of the proposed dredging.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to remove approximately 371 cubic yards of dredged material to achieve a maximum water depth of approximately 2.5 feet at mean low water (MLW).
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: “To maintain water quality and minimize turbidity, turbidity curtains will be installed along the entire perimeter of the active dredge area. Two monitoring stations have been proposed to ensure that the return water does not surpass ambient background turbidity levels. A baseline ambient background turbidity measurement will be taken at TM-1. Field turbidity measurements will be taken at 4-hour intervals at Station TM-2 during dredging operations. TM-2 readings will be no greater than 150 meters beyond the work area or within the densest portion of any visible turbidity plume.”
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has not provided a mitigation proposal.
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 has performed an initial review of the application, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southeast Regional Office Section 7 Mapper, and the NMFS Critical Habitat Mapper to determine if any threatened, endangered, proposed, or candidate species, as well as the proposed and final designated critical habitat may occur within the boundary of the proposed project. Based on this initial review, the Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project may affect species listed in Table 1. No other ESA-listed species or critical habitat will be affected by the proposed action.
Table 1: ESA-listed species and/or critical habitat potentially present in the action area.
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Species Common Name and/or Critical Habitat Name
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Scientific Name
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Federal Status
|
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Aboriginal prickly-apple
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Harrisia (=Cereus) aboriginum (=gracilis))
|
Endangered
|
|
American crocodile
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Crocodylus acutus
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Threatened
|
|
Beautiful pawpaw
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Deeringothamnus pulchellus
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Endangered
|
|
Crested caracara
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Caracara plancus audubonii
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Threatened
|
|
Eastern black rail
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Laterallus jamaicensis spp. jamaicensis
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Threatened
|
|
Eastern indigo snake
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Drymarchon couperi
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Threatened
|
|
Everglade snail kite
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Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus
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Endangered
|
|
Florida bonneted bat
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Eumops floridanus
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Endangered
|
|
Florida panther
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Puma concolor coryi
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Endangered
|
|
Florida scrub-jay
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Aphelocoma coerulescens
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Threatened
|
|
Green sea turtle
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Chelonia mydas
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Threatened
|
|
Gulf sturgeon
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Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi
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Threatened
|
|
Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle
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Lepidochelys kempii
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Endangered
|
|
Loggerhead sea turtle
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Caretta caretta
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Threatened
|
|
Miami blue butterfly
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Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri
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Threatened
|
|
Rufa red knot
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Calidris canutus rufa
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Endangered
|
|
Smalltooth sawfish
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Pristis pectinata
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Endangered
|
|
Tricolored bat
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Perimyotis subflavus
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Proposed Endangered
|
|
West Indian manatee
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Trichechus manatus
|
Threatened
|
|
Wood stork
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Mycteria americana
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Threatened
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Pursuant to Section 7 ESA, any required consultation with the Service(s) will be conducted in accordance with 50 CFR part 402. Currently, the Corps is the lead Federal agency for ESA consultation for the proposed action. Any required consultation will be completed by the Corps.
This notice serves as request to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service for any additional information on whether any listed or proposed to be listed endangered or threatened species or critical habitat may be present in the area which would be affected by the proposed activity.
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. The proposal would impact essential fish habitat due to increased recreational boating pressures. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have an adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. 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 dredging 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 via email to kristopher.d.maedke-russell@usace.army.mil or in writing to Kristopher Maedke-Russell at the South Atlantic Division Technical Regional Execution Center, 100 West Oglethorpe Avenue, Savannah, Georgia 31401, 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.
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 is not required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, because the activity would not involve the discharge of fill material into aquatic resources.
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: In Florida, the State approval constitutes compliance with the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan. The applicant has submitted a state permit request.
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.