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) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403) as described below:
APPLICANT: Volusia County
Jessica Fentress, Coastal Division
515 S Atlantic Avenue
Daytona Beach, FL 32118
Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND)
Ms. Janet iZmmerman
1314 Marcinski Road
Jupiter, FL 33477
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect aquatic resources associated with associated with the Atlantic Ocean and Halifax River near Ponce de Leon Inlet Hydrologic Basin (10-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (0309020102)). The project site is located east of east of South Atlantic Avenue on New Smyrna Beach extending from FDEP reference monument R-160.3 (Sapphire Road) to R-191.5 (Seascape Towers) in Sections 4, 9, 15, 16, 22, 26, 27, and 55, Township 17S, Range 34E, Section 35, Township 17S, Range 35E, and Section 6, Township 18S, Range 35E, in New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: The placement area can be accessed exiting east from I-95 exit 249 onto S.R. 44. Continue east to New Smyrna Beach to 5th Avenue beach access parking located between FDEP Range Monuments R-160.3 to R-191.5. The FIND-owned MSA 434/434C South Island site is located east of the lnlet Shores sub-division and west of the U.S. Coast Guard Station at Ponce de Leon and Smyrna Dunes Park, available by water access only.
APPROXIMATE COORDINATES:
MSA 434/434C Island
Latitude 29.060944°
Longitude - 80.926692°
Placement Area Approximate Northern Extent
Latitude 29.046961°
Longitude -80.899997°
Placement Area Approximate Centroid
Latitude 29.012494°
Longitude -80.880149°
Placement Area Approximate Southern Extent
Latitude 28.976262°
Longitude -80.856366°
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Beach nourishment and dune restoration
Overall: Beach placement of beach compatible sand from the offloading of Florida Inland Navigation District’s (FIND) Maintenance Spoil Area (MSA) 434/434C South (a.k.a. Rattlesnake Island).
EXISTING CONDITIONS: Permit No. SAJ-2018-02591 currently authorizes the offloading of Rattlesnake Island with nearshore placement between -8 ft and 22 ft mean lower low water (MLLW) from R-158 to R-162 in New Smyrna Beach.
The project sand source is an existing Dredged Material Management Area (DMMA) for FIND, known as Maintenance Spoil Area (MSA) 434/434C. It is primarily a spoil island with a large berm surrounding dredged sand from Ponce Inlet and the Intracoastal Waterway (IWW). There is minor vegetation associated with the spoil area, however, the berm has become vegetated with several colonizer species such as sand-spur, Brazilian pepper, and other weedy species.
Volusia's beaches are divided into three zones -- Natural, Transitional and Urban. Driving is permitted within Transitional and Urban Zones adjacent to the proposed placement area and banned within Natural Zones to protect sea turtles and nesting shorebirds (Volusia County Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) 2020).
Natural communities within the placement area include swimming beach and subtidal marine habitat. Sandy swimming beach exists in a long, narrow corridor bound on the east by the MLW. The beach is bound to the west by vegetated dunes or seawall, whichever is more seaward. Much of the adjacent uplands are largely developed, with ocean front land uses including commercial establishments, single-family homes, and high-density condominiums.
Swimming Beach (181) - Within the proposed placement area, swimming beaches occur along the eastern border of the barrier island. The wide beach at the proposed placement area is gently sloped. The upper portion of the beach is the steepest, with shallower slopes in the mid- to lower-beach. The sands are white to gray, fine quartz sands with broken shell fragments evident in some areas.
There is little habitat diversity in this portion of the proposed nearshore placement area, as is typical of a high wave energy Atlantic beach. Beach organisms are exposed to extremely harsh fluctuating conditions of temperature, moisture, salinity, and substrata. The sandy portion of the beach between the land-water interface and the beginning of vegetation varies in width both in a north-south direction and seasonally. The calmer sea conditions and lower tides associated with the summer months results in a wider, sandy beach, in comparison with the narrower beach experienced during the higher tides and rougher sea conditions of winter. The beach is mostly unvegetated with vegetation limited to the base of the primary dunes. Species include sea rocket (Cakile sp.), beach pennywort (Hydrocotyle bonariensis), sea oats (Uniola paniculata), marsh elder (Iva imbricata), and railroad vine (lpomea pescapre). The unstable, shifting sands, severe salt spray, and lack of fresh water make this area relatively inhospitable for most plants and animals.
Subtidal Marine Habitat (500) - The ocean bottom in this area is primarily sandy, with some mud overlying sand. The high energy beach zone prevents rooted vegetation from becoming established in the nearshore zone. Runout conditions (rip tides) caused by fast washback through breaks in nearshore sandbars are a common occurrence. No coral reefs or other significant natural underwater features support biologically productive communities in this area.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to place fill between reference monument R-160.3 to R 191.5 from the approximately 585,000 cubic yards (cy) available within MSA 434/434C South. The design template includes a flat berm at +10 ft NAVD88 with a 10H:1V seaward slope extending to the existing beach grade. The berm crest elevation mimics the average pre-Hurricane Matthew upper berm elevation across the profiles. The 10H:1V slope achieves a balance of keeping the fill as landward as possible for storm protection with constructability via a hydraulic dredge and represents a turtle-friendly feature as discussed further below. As the constructed fill is subject to erosion from wave events, the fill equilibration process will form a steeper upper slope (approximately 4H:1V matching historic slopes) fronted by a natural shallow-sloped berm that mimics the native beach elevations and slopes. The fill will not cover any unpermitted structures, and property owners will remove any debris and TrapBags (or similar structure) prior to fill placement.
Permit No. SAJ-2018-02591 currently authorizes the offloading of Rattlesnake Island via the existing buried pipeline along Sapphire Road with nearshore placement between -8 ft and 22 ft mean lower low water (MLLW) from R-158 to R-162 in New Smyrna Beach.
FIND is the current permittee for Permit No. SAJ-2018-02591 and has agreed to add Volusia County as a co-permittee for the proposed beach fill project.
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 proposed project will comply with all relevant permit conditions regarding the hydraulic offloading of sand from Rattlesnake Island to the beach via the existing buried pipeline along Sapphire Road as currently permitted.”
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required:
“The proposed work will not result in the permanent loss of waters of the U.S. or aquatic resources; therefore, no mitigation is proposed.”
CULTURAL RESOURCES:
The Corps has evaluated the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and has followed the guidelines of 33 CFR Part 325, Appendix C. Due to the nature and scope of the work proposed (sand placement for beach and dune nourishment/restoration), and the existing authorized driving on the beach, there is little likelihood of impinging upon a historic property, even if such properties were to be present within the affected area the Corps has determined that the project would have No Potential to Cause Effects to Historic Properties.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps executed a Resources At Risk (RAR) assessment over the proposed material placement area. The Corps has determined the proposed project “may affect and is likely to adversely affect” nesting sea turtles including loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacaea), green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), and the hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), and/or their critical habitat, based on the proposed impacts to nesting beaches.
The Corps has determined the proposed project “may affect but is not likely to adversely affect” the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), piping plover (Charadrius melodus), least tern (Sterna antillarum), rufa red knot (Calidris canatus rufa), and the eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi), and/or their critical habitat.
The Corps has determined the proposed project will have “no effect” on the Atlantic salt marsh snake (Nerodia clarkii taeniata) and/or its critical habitat.
The Corps will request U.S. Fish and Wildlife concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
The Corps has determined the proposed project “may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect” swimming sea turtles including the green sea turtle, leatherback sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus), giant manta ray (Mobula birostris), smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), and the North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis), and/or their critical habitat.
The Corps will request National Marine Fisheries Service concurrence with this determination pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
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 approximately ±100 acres of swimming beach and unconsolidated ocean bottom utilized by various life stages of Atlantic butterfish, Atlantic sharpnose shark (Atlantic stock), blacktip shark (Atlantic stock), blacknose shark (Atlantic stock), bluefish, bonnethead shark (Atlantic stock), bull shark, coastal migratory pelegics, finetooth shark, great hammerhead shark, lemon shark, shrimp, sailfish, sand tiger shark, sandbar shark, scalloped hammerhead shark, snapper/grouper complex, spinner shark, summer flounder, tiger shark, and white shark. The project limits overlap areas identified as Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC) (summer flounder SAV); however, this habitat is not known to occur within, or adjacent to, the proposed project limits. The area is void of aquatic resources and is limited to unconsolidated sand bottom. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in the southeast region. 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 previously acquired permission under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (33 USC 408) as the activity, in part, occupies 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 Cocoa Permits Section, 400 High Point Drive, Suite 600, Cocoa, FL 32926 within 15 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 Baehre, in writing at the Cocoa Permits Section, 400 High Point Drive, Suite 600, Cocoa, FL 32926; by electronic mail at john.m.baehre@usace.army.mil; or by telephone at 321-504-3771, extension 0013.
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).
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 h