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: Mark Soltero
Escambia County
3363 W Park Place
Pensacola, FL 32505
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Pensacola Bay. The project site is located at 1401 E Gregory Street, on the north side of Three Mile Bridge, Tax Parcel ID: 000S009025010034, in Section 8, Township 4 South, Range 14 West, Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From downtown Pensacola, head south on Jefferson Street, Turn left onto E Main Street. Main Street will become Bayfront Parkway. Take a left onto N 17th Ave and turn right onto Gregory Street. The project is located where Gregory Street and the parking lot terminates at Pensacola Bay, just east of the norther bridge abutment for the Three Mile Bridge.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 30.411487°
Longitude -87.190951°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: The basic project purpose is replacement of an existing public fishing pier.
Overall: The overall project purpose is to replace and relocate the Pensacola Bay Fishing Pier in Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project site is located in Pensacola Bay. The fishing pier begins in the uplands just east of the existing Three-mile Bridge and extends south over Pensacola Bay. The shoreline immediately adjacent to the fishing bridge has been hardened with riprap and seawall. In 2008, the Corps authorized the replacement of the fishing pier after damage from Hurricane Ivan. The permit detailed the prior fishing pier extended 7,328 feet in length and was replaced with a 2,523 foot pier within the same alignment, as it exists today. In 2020, the fishing pier sustained damage from Hurricane Sally and has remained closed to the public since.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to remove the existing fishing pier and rebuild the pier in the same manner, shifted approximately 5-feet and 1-inch to the north. The existing piles would be cut a minimum 2'-0" below grade and removed. Parts of the fishing pier laying on the bay bottom would be removed and re-purposed as reef materials to be deployed in permitted reef sites. The replacement fishing pier would match the size of the existing pier, measuring 24-foot wide by 2,522-foot-long access walkway with a 48-foot wide by 54-foot long terminal platform. The structure would measure 63,124 square feet. The structure would be supported by one hundred seventy two (172) 24-inch square, prestressed concrete piles with an anticipated rate of three piles per day. The structure would use eight (8) tower bents containing six (6) piles, an end bent, thirty-nine (39) typical interior bents which contain three (3) piles each, and two (2) turn-around bents containing six (6) piles each. The fishing deck and roadway would be comprised of three (3) precast concrete double “T” beams. The piles will be jetted in place using internal jetting sleeves until the pile reaches a harder layer. The piles will be driven the remaining length until it reaches its final depth. No water lines or fishing cleaning stations will be placed on the bridge. Construction activities are scheduled between November 11, 2024, to March 11, 2026. Demolition activities are scheduled between November 11, 2024, to April 8, 2025. Pile driving activities are scheduled between April 8, 2025, to August 16, 2025.
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 following conditions will be followed by the applicant and/or designated contractor during construction to minimize potential impacts to ESA-listed species:
Turbidity curtains will be utilized for all work.
The existing parking lot or adjacent paved surface should be used for delivery and storage of most of the construction material and equipment.
All project in-water activities, work operations will be completed during daylight hours only.
Prior to the onset of construction activities, the applicant or designated agent will conduct a meeting with all construction staff to discuss identification of the sea turtles and smalltooth sawfish, their protected status, what to do if any are observed within the project area, and applicable penalties that may be imposed if State or Federal regulations are violated. All personnel shall be advised that there are civil and criminal penalties for harming, harassing, or killing ESA-listed species or marine mammals.
When in-water project construction takes place from floating equipment (e.g., barge), prop or wheel-washing is prohibited.
The applicant will follow the NMFS Southeast Region’s Protected Species Construction Conditions, which requires construction to cease immediately if a sea turtle is seen within a 150-ft radius of the equipment. Activities will not resume until the turtle species has departed the project area of its own volition.
All construction personnel must watch for and avoid collision with listed species.
Vessel operators must avoid potential interactions and operated in accordance with the following protective measures:
All vessels associated with the construction project shall operate at “Idle Speed/ No Wake” at all times while operating in water depths where the draft of the vessel provides less than 4-ft clearance from the bottom and in all depths after a protected species has been observed in and has departed the area.
All vessels will follow marked channels and routes using the maximum water depth whenever possible.
Operation of any mechanical construction equipment, including vessels, shall cease immediately if a listed sea turtles’ species is observed within a 150-ft radius of construction equipment and shall not resume until the species has departed the area of its own volition.
If the detection of species is not possible during certain weather conditions (e.g., fog, rain, wind), then in-water operations will cease until weather conditions improve and detection is again feasible.
The applicant will be required to obtain all applicable Federal, state, and local permits and will comply with conditions set forth in each. These requirements include all State of Florida and USACE permits.
Any interaction with a protected species shall be reported immediately to NOAA Fisheries SERO PRD and the local authorized stranding/rescue organization.
To minimize potential impacts to ESA-listed species, the following best management practices will be followed by the applicant and their designated agent post-construction:
The applicant will post signage that will ask anglers not to dispose of fish carcasses or debris in water.
The applicant will place trash receptacles with lids along the fishing structure.
Receptacles will be clearly marked and will be emptied regularly to ensure they do not overfill.
Monofilament recycling receptacles will be installed, at a minimum, at the entrance to the pier in order to prevent fishing lines from being disposed of in the water or on the shore. Receptacles will be clearly marked and will be emptied regularly to ensure they do not overfill and that fishing lines are disposed of properly.
NMFS-approved educational signs will be posted at the entrance to and terminal end of the pier in a visible location, alerting users of listed species in the area.
There are no benthic resources within the limits of the project (i.e. hardbottom resources, SAVs, oyster reefs, etc.). A total of 172 piles will be installed with an anticipated rate of three piles per day. As jetting will not be conducted at the surface areas, it is anticipated that the turbidity generated at the lower depths will be impeded from migrating up from the seafloor. The turbidity curtains will remain in place until the turbidity reaches 29 NTU's above background.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required:
The applicant provided no information on why mitigation should not be required. No mitigation is proposed in the application of this project.
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: As the Lead Federal Agency with assigned NEPA authority, FEMA has assessed the project site for Federally listed species. FEMA has determined that the proposed project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect, sea turtles (Green/North Atlantic DPS, Kemp's Ridley, Loggerhead), Giant Manta, Gulf Sturgeon, and Smalltooth Sawfish. FEMA initiated Section 7 consultation with the NMFS PRD for the effect’s determinations on the above listed species on July 28, 2023. The Section 7 consultation is currently pending with NMFS PRD.
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 Pensacola Bay. 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 structure is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation channel.
SECTION 408: The applicant would 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 Pensacola Permits Section, 41 North Jefferson Street, Suite 301, Pensacola, Florida 32502 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 waters of the U.S. This is based on an analysis of the applicant's avoidance and minimization efforts for the project.
QUESTIONS concerning this application should be directed to the project manager, Mia Hopkins, in writing at the Pensacola Permits Section, 41 North Jefferson Street, Suite 301, Pensacola, Florida 32502; by electronic mail at Maria.D.Zarbo@usace.army.mil; by; or, by telephone at (850) 439-3474 extension 5.
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: Water Quality Certification may be required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The Water Quality Certification is being reviewed under FDEP ERP_279297.
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: In Florida, the State approval constitutes compliance with the approved 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.