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.
If you are interested in receiving additional project drawings associated with this public notice, please send an e-mail to the project manager by electronic mail at Daniel.L.Irick@usace.army.mil.
APPLICANT: EIP IV, LLC.
5550 Newbury Street, Suite B
Baltimore, MD 21209
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The proposed project, identified as the 2030.61-acre Alachua Trail Mitigation Bank (ATMB) is located at north of River Road, and west of US Highway 301, within Sections 7, 18, 19 and 30, Township 2 north, Range 24 east, Nassau County, Florida.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 30.587955°
Longitude -81.944769°
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY: Pursuant to 33 CFR 332.8(d)(4), the Corps has posted a full copy of the ATMB 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=107:10:7545434583775::::P10_BANK_ID:6382
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 “Alachua Trail Mitigation Bank” 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 ATMB 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 overall goal of the ATMB is to rehabilitate and re-establish the hydrology and community structure of palustrine emergent and forested wetland habitat and supporting upland habitats through the cessation of agricultural and silvicultural activities, pine and oak tree thinning, shrub thinning, installation of low-water crossings, and planting of native species. Specific objectives include:
- Rehabilitate the hydrology and community structure for 7.28 acres of wet prairie habitat.
- Rehabilitate the hydrology and community structure for 1,098.33 acres of wet flatwoods habitat.
- Rehabilitate the hydrology and community structure for 653.93 acres of bottomland forest habitat.
- Rehabilitate the hydrology and community structure for 122.23 acres of mesic flatwoods habitat.
- Re-establish the community structure for 48.10 acres of mesic flatwoods habitat.
ECOLOGICAL SUITABILITY OF THE SITE: The historical pre-disturbance condition of ATMB consisted of bottomland forested systems bordered by wet pine flatwoods with isolated wet prairie herbaceous habitat, and upland mesic flatwood buffers. Traditionally, runoff from the site and surrounding habitats would sheet flow from the slightly higher mesic flatwood upland buffers through the forested wet pine flatwoods habitats and flow east towards Alligator Creek and west towards Mills Creek all of which contributes to the Nassau and St Mary’s River systems.
The ATMB consists of 2,030.61 acres of a mixture of degraded natural
forested and emergent wetlands, where the habitats have been cleared for cattle,
degraded by exempt silvicultural activities such as intensive logging, clearcutting
and slash pine plantations, maintained trailways, and fire suppression. In general,
the site consists of bottomland forest forested wetlands at the lowest elevations
with adjacent wet flatwoods habitat, isolated wet prairie herbaceous wetlands, and
mesic pine flatwoods in the highest areas; most areas of these habitats have been
historically cleared, logged and incorporated into pine plantations. During drier
years the logging has encroached into the bottomland forests removing cypress,
long leaf pine and slash pine trees. Aerial photography shows the slash pine
plantations encroach into and throughout the bottomland forests. The entire site
is currently degraded by exempt silvicultural clearing, logging, and pine plantation
establishment; clearcutting and pasture establishment for cattle operations, lack of
fire in the wet prairie, wet pine flatwoods and mesic flatwoods; and hydrologic
disturbance due to trails and pipe installations. Establishment of Alachua Trail
Mitigation Bank will save this site from continued exempt agricultural and
silvicultural wetland and upland impacts, and irreversible loss of aquatic function,
as well as benefit the extremely valuable downstream aquatic resources in the
adjacent Alligator Creek and Mill Creek flow through systems that contribute to
both the Nassau and St Mary’s watersheds.
ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF THE BANK: The proposed ATMB would be established and operated by EIP IV, LLC (Sponsor) with the assistance of GreenSource Environmental Professionals, Inc (Agent). The property that comprises the ATMB is under contract to be purchased by the Sponsor. The ATMB is proposed to be established as a wetland mitigation bank. Long-term management activities will be implemented to ensure the sustainability of ATMB following successful implementation of restoration activities and attainment of final success criteria. The Sponsor will provide financial assurances to ensure implementation of construction activities and long-term management financing for the proposed ATMB.
PROPOSED SERVICE AREA: The ATMB proposed service area includes the HUC-8 basin for the Nassau (HUC 8: 03070205) and St. Mary’s (HUC 8: 03070204) watersheds.
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 determined the proposed project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect the eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) and red-cockaded woodpecker (Dryobates borealis) or its designated critical habitat. 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.
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.
Navigation: The proposed ATMB 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 within 30 days from the date of this notice. Comments should be submitted via the Regulatory Request System public notice module at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs/public-notices. Alternatively, you may submit written comments through the Mitigation Section at the address below.
QUESTIONS concerning this application should be directed to the project manager, Daniel Irick, in writing at the Mitigation Section, 41 N. Jefferson Street, Pensacola, Florida 32502; by electronic mail at Daniel.L.Irick@usace.army.mil; by facsimile; or by telephone at (850) 433-8860.
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 may be required from the St. Johns River Water Management District.
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: Coastal Zone Consistency Concurrence is required from St. Johns River Water Management District. 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.
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