SAJ-2008-3076(SP-VEK)

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). The purpose of this public notice is to solicit comments from the public regarding the work 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 Virginia.E.King@usace.army.mil

APPLICANT: Steven Vandenbossche

                      Target Corporation

                     1000 Nicollet Mall, TPN-12H

                      Minneapolis, MN 55403     

AGENT:         David Landers

                      CPH, Inc.

                      3277A Fruitville Road, Suite 2

                      Sarasota, FL 34237

WATERWAY AND LOCATION:  The project would affect waters of the United States associated with exotic dominated freshwater wetlands and the Tamiami Canal (C-4).  The project/review area is located on the NW Quadrant of SW 137th Avenue and SW 8th Street in Section 03, Township 54 South, Range 39 East; at Latitude 25.762822 and Longitude -80.419185; in Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The subject property is bordered by commercial and residential land uses to the east and south, the C-4 Tamiami Canal to the south, and undeveloped land to the north and west. The total project footprint is 27.02 acres, comprised almost entirely of exotic dominated wetlands. This includes Australian Pine (Casuarina equisetifolia) habitat with sparse groundcover such as Chinese ladder brake (Pteris vittata), oyster plant (Tradescantia spathacea), and shrubby false buttonweed (Spermacoce verticillata) and Melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquenervia) stands interspersed with Australian pine and scattered sparse areas of sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense), myrsine (Rapanea punctata) and Virginia chain fern (Woodwardia virginica).

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic:  mixed-use commercial shopping center

Overall:  Construction of a mixed-use commercial shopping center in western Miami-Dade County.

PROPOSED WORK:  The applicant requests authorization to construct a mixed-use shopping center which includes the following:

-Placement of 157,400 cubic yards of fill within a 21.81 acre (949,975 square foot) area of exotic dominated wetlands for the construction of a Target store and associated features including parking areas, stormwater management facilities, ingress and egress driveway connections, and other retail and restaurant spaces.

-Mechanical dredging of 835 cubic yards of sediment from an 8,712 square foot area within the Tamiami Canal (C-4) to a depth of -2.6 MLW for the installation of a prefabricated bridge

As a result of the project, 5.21 acres of wetlands will be avoided onsite.

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 project has been designed to avoid 5.21 acres of wetlands onsite. Site plan revisions implemented to minimize wetland impacts include siting buildings as far as possible to the south and east on the property, relocation of the stormwater pond, and relocation of the west driveway entrance. A single-span bridge is proposed to cross the Tamiami Canal to access the site from Southwest 8th Street (U.S. Highway 41). This avoids placing fill in surface waters and reduces the impact to the greatest extent practical. Furthermore, impacts resulting from the shared access drive from SW 137th Avenue have been minimized by using the minimum possible road width that will allow access by large delivery trucks and emergency vehicles.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:

The applicant has purchased credits from the Everglades Mitigation Bank to offset the functional loss caused by the proposed wetland impacts.

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, federally recognized tribes and other interested parties.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has performed an initial review of the application utilizing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC), 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, but is not likely to adversely affect species and critical habitat listed below. No other ESA-listed species or critical habitat will be affected by the proposed action.

Table 1: ESA-listed species and/or critical habitat potentially present in the action area.

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 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.

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 is required and was issued by the South Florida Water Management District on January 30, 2023 (Application No. 200911-4247; Permit No. 13-05563-P).

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: Coastal Zone Consistency Concurrence was issued by the South Florida Water Management District. 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.

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 7, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Virginia King at Virginia.E.King@usace.army.mil . Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Attention:  Virginia King, 9900 SW 107th Avenue, Suite 203, Miami, Florida 33176-2785. 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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