TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has received a complete prospectus proposing the establishment of a mitigation bank pursuant to the 2008 Compensatory Mitigation for Losses of Aquatic Resources regulations (33 CFR Part 332) as described below:
SPONSOR: GATE Lands
A Division of GATE PETROLEUM COMPANY
9540 San Jose Blvd.
Jacksonville, FL 32257
LOCATION: The proposed project, identified as the 5,697.14-acre Baldwin Ranch Mitigation Bank (BRMB), is located one mile northwest of the town of Baldwin, Florida in Sections 22-26, 28, 34, 35, Township 1 South, Range 23 East, and Sections 02, 09-15, 22, 23, Township 2 South, Range 23 East, Nassau and Duval Counties, Florida.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude: 30.377527˚
Longitude: -81.980532˚
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY: Pursuant to 33 CFR 332.8(d)(4), the Corps has posted a full copy of the BRMB prospectus online so that it is available for review by the public. The prospectus may be downloaded from the Regulatory In-Lieu Fee and Bank Information Tracking System (RIBITS) at web address: https://ribits.ops.usace.army.mil/ords/f?p=107:2.
Once on the RIBITS homepage, select "Jacksonville" from the "ALL DISTRICTS" drop down menu located in the lower left corner of the screen. Once the district filter has been selected, click on the “Banks & ILF Sites” link located in the Navigation box (upper left corner). This will generate a list of projects, scroll down the list and click on the “Baldwin Ranch MB” link. On this page, click on the "Cyber Repository" link located on the menu bar above the General Information box, then click on the Prospectus Documents folder to access the prospectus associated with the BRMB project.
If you are unable to access the web address, a copy of the prospectus is available upon request to the project manager listed at the end of this public notice.
PROJECT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: The applicant seeks authorization to preserve, restore, and manage wetland and upland communities on the 5,697.14-acre property. The primary ecological goal of the BRMB is to restore the vegetative and hydrologic conditions within the existing forested communities through preservation and rehabilitation mitigation activities, which include invasive and nuisance species control, mechanical clearing, pine thinning, prescribed burning, restoring hydrologic flows, and supplemental planting. Specific objectives include:
Rehabilitation of 403.44 acres of coniferous plantations to mesic flatwoods.
Preservation of 22.17 acres of existing mesic flatwoods.
Rehabilitation of 1,255.37 acres of wet coniferous plantations to wet flatwoods.
Preservation of 930.51 acres of existing wet flatwoods.
Preservation of 1,437.97 acres of existing bottomland forest.
Rehabilitation of 383.86 acres of forested wetlands, which includes cypress and basin swamp.
Preservation of 1,250.55 acres of existing basin swamp.
ECOLOGICAL SUITABILITY OF THE SITE: A review of available information indicates that the property historically consisted of forested upland and wetland habitats. Based on historical aerial imagery, hydrologic alterations and silvicultural operations were evident in the southern portion of the site beginning in the 1950s or earlier. While the northern parcel has been less impacted by hydrologic alterations, land use changes due primarily to silviculture and fire suppression are apparent within the imagery over time. Currently, the site contains several forested upland and wetland communities that range from heavily disturbed areas proposed for rehabilitation to natural communities proposed for preservation. A railroad line runs parallel along the southeast edge of the proposed BRMB and is excluded from the bank boundary. Several conservation lands occur within the vicinity of the property but are not contiguous with the project boundary.
ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF THE BANK: The proposed BRMB would be established and operated by GATE Lands as the Sponsor with the assistance of SES Environmental Resource Solutions, LLC as the agent and Prosser, Inc. as the civil engineer. The property that comprises the BRMB is owned by Bryceville Land, LLC. A conservation easement in favor of SJRWMD would be applied to the entirety of the 5,697.14 acres of BRMB upon approval. Following BRMB successful implementation and attainment of final success criteria, long-term management activities will be implemented to ensure the sustainability of BRMB. In addition, the Sponsor will provide sufficient financial assurances to ensure construction and long-term management of the proposed BRMB.
PROPOSED SERVICE AREA: The proposed service area is located within the St. Mary’s River – Upper St. Mary’s River Basin (SJRWMD Basin 1) (HUC-8 No. 03070204). The proposed BRMB has direct hydrologic connectivity with the proposed service area and should provide comparable wetland community types able to offset unavoidable wetland impacts that result from urbanization or agricultural development within the proposed service area.
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 Office.
Endangered Species: The Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife/National Marine Fisheries Service concurrence with this determination 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. No EFH is located within the project area, or areas affected by the project. 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.
SECTION 408: The Sponsor 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 Sponsor. This information has not been verified or evaluated to ensure compliance with laws and regulation governing the regulatory program.
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.
COMMENTS: Comments regarding the proposed mitigation bank should be submitted in writing to the District Engineer at the address below within 30 days from the date of this notice.
The initial evaluation pertaining to whether or not this mitigation bank proposal has the potential for providing compensatory mitigation for activities authorized by issued Department of the Army permits will be based on the information contained in the prospectus, received from this public notice and obtained during an inspection of the project site.
If you have any questions concerning this proposed project, you may contact Ms. Geena Hill by electronic mail at geena.m.hill@usace.army.mil, by telephone at 352-699-4262, or at the following address:
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
JACKSONVILLE DISTRICT CORPS OF ENGINEERS
P.O. BOX 4970
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32232-0019
IMPACT ON NATURAL RESOURCES: Preliminary review of this application indicates that an Environmental Impact Statement will not be required. 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. By means of this notice, we are soliciting comments on the potential effects of the project on threatened or endangered species or their habitat.
EVALUATION: After the end of the comment period, the District Engineer will review all comments received and make an initial determination as to the potential of the proposed project to provide compensatory mitigation for activities authorized by Department of the Army permits. That determination 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. Factors relevant to the proposal will be considered including 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 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 proposed activity. All comments received will be considered by the Corps during the formulation of the initial determination of potential for the proposed activity.
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.