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/or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403). The purpose of this public notice is to solicit comments from the public regarding the work described below:
LICK HERE for Public Notice and GraphicsIf 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 Kyle.H.Nichols@usace.army.mil.
APPLICANT: Lourdes Gomez
Miami-Dade County
111 NW 1st Street
11th Floor
Miami, Florida 33128
AGENT: Alberto Pisani
Miami-Dade County
701 NW 1st Court
5th Floor
Miami, Florida 33136
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States and navigable waters of the United States associated with the Atlantic Ocean. The project is located along approximately 13.4 miles of shoreline on the east side of A1A from FDEP monuments R-7 to R-74 in 2, 3, 10, 11, 14, 19, 23, 26, 31, 34, and 35 Section; 52, 53, and 54 south Township; 42 east Range; at Latitude 25.763941° and Longitude -80.131429°; in Sunny Isles Beach, Bal Harbour, Surfside, and Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project area is located along the shoreline between the
Atlantic Ocean and single-family residential developments, condominiums, hotels, and municipal parks to the west. Most of this stretch of beach does not contain shoreline hardening materials, with Collins Park being the only section that contains riprap breakwaters. There are natural nearshore reefs a minimum of 328 feet waterward of the Equilibrium Toe of Fill of the proposed fill. Sub-tidal areas where the fill material will be placed consist of sand. The Miami Harbor and Bakers Haulover Inlet are located adjacent to the project area.
The proposed project is located in the footprint of the Civil Works project known as “Dade County”. The Dade County project provided for the placement of beach fill along 9.3-miles of shoreline extending from Bakers Haulover Inlet to Government Cut and along the 1.4 mile length of Haulover Beach Park located immediately north of Bakers Haulover Inlet. The 2.4-mile length of the Sunny Isles segment was added to the project in 1985 under a separate authorization.
The Corps Regulatory Division has authorized beach nourishment projects within sections of the proposed footprint as outlined in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Permitting History
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Initial Issuance Date
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Permit Number
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Monuments
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3/12/2010
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SAJ-2008-03953 (IP-IF)
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R-60 to R-61
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4/24/2010
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SAJ-2008-3955 (IP-IF)
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R-48.7 to R-50.7
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|
5/26/2010
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SAJ-2008-3952 (IP-IF)
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R-53.7 to R-55.5
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8/5/2010
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SAJ-2009-2469 (IP-IF)
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R-12 to R-15
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|
8/5/2010
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SAJ-2009-02468 (IP-IF)
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R-29 to R-32
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9/3/2010
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SAJ-2009-02470 (IP-IF)
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R-45 to R-48.7
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10/23/2010
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SAJ-2009-2038 (IP-IF)
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R-43 to R-44.5
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|
11/16/2010
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SAJ-2009-02040 (IP-IF)
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R-27 to R-29
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12/10/2010
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SAJ-2009-02039 (IP-IF)
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R-7 to R-12
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PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: The basic project purpose is shoreline stabilization.
Overall: The overall project purpose is stabilization of the shoreline from Sunny Isles to Miami Beach.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant requests authorization to obtain a 15 year authorization to perform reoccurring truck haul renourishment events that will place approximately 1,128,083 cubic yards of compatible beach quality sand along 70,750 linear feet (13.4 miles) of shoreline, from FDEP monuments R-7 to R-74.3. A berm elevation of +7.0 feet (NAVD) will be established from monuments R-7 to R-48.7 and +7.7 feet (NAVD) from monuments R-48.7 to R-74.3. All design sections will incorporate a 1V:10H foreshore/nearshore slope. Approximately 376 acres (307,760 cy) of material will be placed above the high tide line (HTL), and 118 acres (820,323 cy) of material will be placed below the HTL. Beach compatible sand will be transported to via dump truck to the project area from one of four upland mines – Ortona Sand Mine, Vulcan Materials Witherspoon Mine, Beach Sand Product from Garcia Mining, and Cemex-Davenport Mine. Access to the beach would be provided via the nine oceanfront properties described in Table 2 below. The material will be loaded ad transported using a variety of heavy equipment including articulated trucks, crawler bulldozers, excavators, skid steers, and support equipment.
Table 2: Staging and Beach Access Locations
AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment:
The material will be transported via truck haul from one or more of the four previously approved upland sand sources, which minimizes potential turbidity concerns that are typically associated with dredging operations. All proposed beach fill templates have been designed to avoid equilibration impacts to significant marine resources including nearshore reefs. Miami-Dade County administers a comprehensive marine turtle nest monitoring program for the entirety of the project area and all sand placement activities shall be performed in compliance with listed species protection measures.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required:
The project is not expected to impact aquatic resources; therefore, compensatory mitigation is not proposed.
CULTURAL RESOURCES:
The Corps evaluated the undertaking pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) utilizing its existing program-specific regulations and procedures along with 36 CFR Part 800. The Corps’ program-specific procedures include 33 CFR 325, Appendix C, and revised interim guidance issued in 2005 and 2007, respectively. The District Engineer consulted district files and records and the latest published version of the National Register of Historic Places and initially determines that:
Should historic properties (i.e., properties listed in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places) be present within the Corps’ permit area, the proposed activity requiring the DA permit (the undertaking) is a type of activity that has no potential to cause an effect to an historic property.
The District Engineer’s final eligibility and effect determination will be based upon coordination with the SHPO and/or THPO, as appropriate and required, and with full consideration given to the proposed undertaking’s potential direct and indirect effects on historic properties within the Corps-identified permit area.
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 Region 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 in the vicinity of the proposed project. Based on this initial review, the Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project may affect species and critical habitat listed below. No other ESA-listed species or critical habitat will be affected by the proposed action.
Table 3: 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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Queen Conch
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Alger gigas
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Threatened
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Green Sea Turtle and its Proposed Critical Habitat (FL01: Florida)
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Chelonia mydas
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Threatened
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Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
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Lepidochelys kempii
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Endangered
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Loggerhead Sea Turtle and its Desiganted Critical Habitat (LOGG-N-19 Constricted Migratory and Breeding)
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Caretta caretta
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Threatened
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Leatherback Sea Turtle
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Dermochelys coriacea
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Endangered
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|
Hawksbill Sea Turtle
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Eretmochelys imbricata
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Endangered
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Giant Manta Ray
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Mobula birostris
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Threatened
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Smalltooth Sawfish
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Pristis pectinata
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Endangered
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West Indian Manatee and its Designated Critical Habitat
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Trichechus manatus
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Threatened
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American crocodile
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Crocodylus acutus
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Threatened
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Eastern indigo snake
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Drymarchon couperi
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Threatened
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Piping Plover
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Charadrius melodus
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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.
This notice serves as request to the 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: Pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996, the Corps reviewed the project area, examined information provided by the applicant, and consulted available species information.
The Corps has determined the proposal would have no effect on any Essential Fish Habitat (EFH). Implementation of the proposed project would directly impact approximately 118 acres of unconsolidated sand below the mean high water line utilized by various life stages of penaeid shrimp complex, reef fish, stone crab, spiny lobster, migratory/pelagic fish, and snapper/grouper complex. The plans depict the nearshore hardbottom edge that was delineated in 2024, and indicate that the Equilibrium Toe of Fill will be a minimum of 328 feet landward of the hardbottom edge. Therefore, no consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service on EFH as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996 is required.
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 or activity is not located in the vicinity of a federal navigation channel.
SECTION 408: The applicant will require permission under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 USC 408) because the activity, in whole or in part, would alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.
WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: Water Quality Certification may be required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: Coastal Zone Consistency Concurrence is required from FDEP. In Florida, the State approval constitutes compliance with the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan.
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 geographic extent of aquatic resources within the proposed project area that either are, or are presumed to be, within the Corps jurisdiction has not been verified by Corps personnel.
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. A permit will be granted unless its issuance is found to be contrary to the public interest.
COMMENTS: 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 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 used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and/or an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.
The Jacksonville District will receive written comments on the proposed work, as outlined above, until April 3, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Kyle Nichols at Kyle.H.Nichols@USACE.Army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Attention: Kyle Nichols, 4400 PGA Boulevard Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410. Please refer to the permit application number in your comments.
Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider the application. Requests for public hearings shall state, with particularity, the reasons for holding a public hearing. Requests for a public hearing will be granted, unless the District Engineer determines that the issues raised are insubstantial or there is otherwise no valid interest to be served by a hearing.
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