SAJ-2024-00766

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Galveston 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 Gerardo.L.Hidalgo@usace.army.mil.

APPLICANT: Christopher Wrenn

                          Pulte Group

                          4901 Vineland Road, Suite 460

  Orlando, Florida 32811

AGENT:          Gaston Hayworth

                          Zev Cohen and Associates Inc.

                          300 Interchange Boulevard ,Suite C

                          Ormond Beach, Florida 32174

WATERWAY AND LOCATION:  The project would affect waters of the United States associated with Spruce Creek.  The project/review area is located on the South side of State Route 44, 1.5 miles East of the intersection of State Route 44 and Interstate 95 in 29 Section, 17 S Township, 33 E Range; at Latitude 29.00329 and Longitude -81.01369; in New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The wetland system within the overall Pulte South Village Site consists of approximately 751.5 acres of a mix of hydric pine flatwood and slash pine swamp forest wetlands. The onsite vegetation consists of mixed wetland hardwoods (FLUCFCS No. 617), exotic wetland hardwoods (FLUCFCS No. 619), Cypress (FLUCFCS No. 621), vegetated non-forested wetlands (FLUCFCS No. 640), and freshwater marshes (FLUCFCS No. 641). A large portion of the property is dominated by slash pine trees.  The existing area surrounding the project area consists of city parcels to the north, pastureland to the south and west, and Frampton Parcels to the east.

PROJECT PURPOSE: The project is to be developed as a 1,277-unit apartment community and commercial development with associated stormwater retention, paved parking, infrastructure, amenity areas, fire station, and a school site. This project is intended to provide local housing for the growing community within New Smyrna Beach and will later include 4 additional phases for the overall development and commercial development along the front of the property along SR 44.

Basic:  Residential community development.

Overall:  Residential community development with amenities to assist with a growing housing need for Volusia County near New Smyrna Beach.

PROPOSED WORK:  The applicant seeks authorization to discharge fill into 208.12 acres of freshwater wetland habitats for the development of a residential community including 1,277 units with a stormwater retention, paved parking, infrastructure, amenity areas, fire station, and a school site.

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 applicant has gone through several design changes to minimize wetland impacts while allowing for development. The project as designed avoids development of the larger wetlands on the property and overall the project would avoid impacts to approximately 544 acres of wetlands.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: Phase 1 of the South Village project has been mitigated for by purchasing 21.84 freshwater forested credits (13.87 joint credits from Farmton Mitigation Bank & 7.97 state only credits from Tiger Bay Mitigation Bank). However, since assuming all of the wetlands are now WOTUS, the applicant is proposing to purchase an additional 7.97 federal credits to be purchased prior to construction of Phase 1. All mitigation for the future phases of the South Village development project will be purchased and finalized during the prior to construction and permit issuance. The total proposed estimated mitigation for the entire South Village development project (including Phase 1) is 107.6 joint credits which will be purchased form either Farmton Mitigation Bank or Tiger Bay Mitigation Bank, or a combination of both.

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, 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 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.

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). No EFH is identified at within the project area. 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.

NAVIGATION: The proposed structure or activity 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 of 1899 (33 USC 408) because the activity, in whole or in part,   would not alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: Water Quality Certification may be required from the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJSJRWMD). A SJRWMD Construction Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) has been issued for Phase 1 of the overall South Village project which proposed and mitigated for 44.26 acres of direct wetland impacts. A SJRWMD Conceptual ERP will be obtained in order to provide water quality certification for the entire South Village development project.

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. 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 Galveston District will receive written comments on the proposed work, as outlined above, until April 2, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Gerardo Hidalgo at Gerardo.L.Hidalgo@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, Attention: Gerardo Hidalgo, 2000 Fort Point Road Galveston, Texas 77550.  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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