SAJ-2024-01090(SP-KJR)

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) 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:

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 Kayla.J.Roberts@usace.army.mil.

APPLICANT: Christopher Wrenn

                      Pulte Home Company, LLC

                     4901 Vineland Road

                     Orlando, Florida 32811

AGENT:         Stephen Butler

                      Bio-Tech Consulting

                      3025 E. South Street

                     Orlando, Texas 32803

WATERWAY AND LOCATION:  The project would affect waters of the United States associated with East Lake Tohopekaliga.  The project/review area is located on the East side of Simpson Road at 2954 Hilliard Isle Road in Section 4, 5, 8, 9, 16, 17, Township 25 South, Range 30 East; at 28.322363° Latitude and -81.318024° Longitude; in Kissimmee, Osceola County, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The Hillard Isle Site currently supports ten (10) land use types/vegetative communities. These land use types/vegetative communities were identified utilizing the Florida Land Use, Cover and Forms Classification System, Level III (FLUCFCS, FDOT, January 2004) (Figure 5). The onsite upland land use types/vegetative communities are classified as Residential (110), Improved Pastures (211), and Woodland Pasture (213). The on-site wetland/surface water land use types/vegetative communities are classified as Streams & Waterways (510), Lakes larger than 500 acres (521), Reservoirs, less than 10 acres (534), Cypress (621), Wetland Forested Mixed (630), Vegetated, Non-Forested (640), and Freshwater Marsh (641).

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic:  Mixed-use residential development

Overall:  To provide a mixed-use residential development with associated support facilities and infrastructure in Osceola County, to meet local demand.

PROPOSED WORK:  The applicant requests authorization to construct a mixed-use development with approximately 2,000 single-family residential units, 2 amenity centers, 620 multi-family residential units, 60,000 square feet of retail space, 15 wet-detention ponds, and associated infrastructure. The applicant proposes to discharge fill material into 51 acres of wetlands and 10 acres of uplands.

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 majority of the project's proposed 50.55 acres of direct wetland impact, approximately 35.25 acres, are to low pasture wetlands that were historically part of the lake bottom of the drained East Lake Tohopekaliga. These pasture wetlands have for decades been incorporated into the project's agricultural practices (cattle grazing, sod cutting operation) and have been severely impacted via the construction of the St. Cloud Outfall Canal in 1883, which lowered East Lake Toho's elevation from ±65' to ±58'. They have since been impacted further via the on-site ditches and drainage into the lake as well as the Regulation Schedule for Lake Toho - maintaining the lake's elevation between 55' and 58'. The remaining wetlands (±15.30 acres) have additionally been impacted by the above, but less so with regard to agricultural practices. Impacts to the project's 9.53 acres of non-wetland waters are associated with the historic backfilling of excavated ditches and existing cattle ponds. The project has been designed to minimize impacts and to avoid the larger, intact high-quality portions of wetland systems on-site, specifically portions of W1, W8, and W11.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: The applicant proposes to purchase 22.00 federal mitigation credits from TM Econ

Mitigation Bank or another appropriate bank that provides federal credits.

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.

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, and 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.

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 alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: Water Quality Certification is required from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). The project is being reviewed under 231219-41719 

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: Coastal Zone Consistency Concurrence is required from the SFWMD. 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. 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 18, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or by email to swg_public_notice@uasce.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, Attention:  Kayla Roberts, 2000 Fort Point Road, Galveston Texas 77551.  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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