TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: To simplify and speed processing of Department of the Army permits for minor, substantially similar activities, the Jacksonville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) proposes to reissue and modify the SAJ-92 for activities by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), and/or Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) requiring the discharge of dredged or fill material in waters of the U.S. associated with road infrastructure projects at existing roadways.
The current RGP will expire on October 27, 2025. The proposed reissuance will include accepting three additional types of approved Environmental Documents (Record of Decision (ROD), Non-Major State Action (NMSA), and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)). It will also modify the limitations for projects that may be authorized by the RGP by limiting the amount of non-tidal wetland impacts to no more than 25 acres per project and limiting impacts to those proposed within 500 feet of existing development. The draft SAJ-92 is included at the end of this public notice.
Minor activities that would be covered under SAJ-92 include the following, pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (33 U.S.C. § 403) and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1344):
Discharges of dredged or fill material in waters of the U.S. for activities associated with road infrastructure projects at existing roadways, such as through travel lanes, new interchanges, new intersections, safety improvements, maintenance, stormwater treatment areas, bridge repairs/replacement and bike lane/sidewalk additions.
- The discharge of dredged or fill material in tidal waters of the U.S. is limited to 0.5 acre total per project.
- The discharge of dredged or fill material in non-tidal waters of the U.S. is limited to 5 acres for any 1-mile segment of roadway length per project, as measured from the beginning of the project.
- The discharge of dredged or fill material shall occur within 500 feet of existing development, such as existing roadways or existing residential, commercial, governmental, or industrial development. The district engineer may waive this criterion by making a written determination concluding that the discharge of dredged or fill material will result in no more than minimal adverse environmental effects if the aquatic resource proposed to be impacted is so disturbed that it provides only minimal habitat value for wildlife as determined by the Corps, if the longer distance is needed to reduce overall wetland impacts, or if the area contains more than 50% coverage of exotic vegetation listed on the most recent list of invasive plant species from the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council.
- In addition to the above limits, the total discharge of dredged or fill material in waters of the U.S. per project is limited to 50 acres, with no more than 25 acres in special aquatic sites (including wetlands).
Activities would occur within waters of the U.S. throughout the state of Florida.
BACKGROUND:
This RGP was initially authorized November 22, 2006. The RGP was used for linear transportation projects in non-tidal waters of the United States, excluding non-tidal wetlands adjacent to tidal waters, within the operation areas of FDOT Districts 2, 3, 5 and FTE. On August 25, 2008, the geographic scope of the RGP was expanded to include all of FDOT’s operation areas (Districts1-7) and FTE and to exclude Monroe County. The 2008 version of the RGP authorized the construction of three types of projects specifically approved by the FHWA, including Type 1 Categorical Exclusions (CEs), Programmatic CEs and Capacity Improvement Projects. On August 25, 2013, the RGP expired. On April 8, 2015, the RGP was reauthorized and modified to include linear transportation projects with a FHWA, FDOT and/or FTE approved Environmental Document. In addition, the 2015 RGP limited the use of the permit to projects that have been reviewed through FDOT’s Efficient Transportation Decision Making Process (ETDM) and/or a Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Study subsequent to 2010 with a maximum acreage of 50 acres of loss of waters of the U.S. per project. Additionally, the 2015 RGP had revisions including modified special conditions language, inclusion of definitions of capacity project and non-capacity project and was updated to clarify requirements for mitigation of unavoidable impacts and to incorporate the 2008 Compensatory Mitigation for Losses of Aquatic Resources regulations (33 C.F.R. Part 332) and the mitigation hierarchy (33 C.F.R. § 332.3(b)). On October 27, 2020, this RGP was re-authorized, and the Monroe County exclusion was removed provided Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) authorization was received prior to permit issuance, as applicable. This RGP has been used 38 times since its last reissuance on October 27, 2020 (information current as of April 10, 2025).
The Corps anticipates continued utilization of the SAJ-92 to address future requests for minor road infrastructure projects within the authorized geographic area. This RGP improves efficiencies for the review and verification of minor road infrastructure projects activities, thus improving service to the regulated public. This RGP will be coordinated with Federal and State resource agencies to address compliance with federal laws such as the National Historic Preservation Act and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act.
The term “General Permit” means a Department of the Army authorization that is issued on a nationwide or regional (District) basis for a category of activities when: those activities are substantially similar in nature and cause only minimal individual and cumulative impacts. General permits reduce the burden of the regulatory program on the public and ensure timely issuance of permits while effectively administering the laws and regulations which establish and govern the program. General permits are reviewed every five years. After five years, general permits may be reissued, suspended, or revoked.
An assessment of the cumulative impacts of work authorized under a general permit is performed prior to authorization. In most instances, projects which comply with the conditions of a general permit can receive project specific authorization. Projects that do not comply with the conditions of a general permit may still receive authorization via an individual permit, but the application must be individually evaluated and coordinated with third parties, including the federal and state resource agencies. Review of an application for an individual permit takes additional time to complete as conflict resolution may be required.
AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The SAJ-92 would authorize activities that are minor and commonplace, associated only with existing roadways. The proposed terms and conditions of the SAJ-92 ensure that the activities authorized under this permit have undergone design review and refinement to minimize environmental impacts through FDOT’s Efficient Transportation Decision Making (ETDM) program and/or Project Development and Environment (PD&E) study, and must also have at least one of the following Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), FDOT, and/or FTE approved environmental documents that have been evaluated, re-evaluated, or confirmed to be current within five years of submittal of the Pre-Construction Notification (PCN): Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Record of Decision (ROD), Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), Categorical Exclusion (CE), State Environmental Impact Report (SEIR), Non-Major State Action (NMSA), or Environmental Assessment (EA). In addition, the Corps reserves the right to require an individual permit for any project with more than minimal impacts as provided in 33 C.F.R. § 325.2(e)(2).
More information about FDOT’s ETDM and PD&E review process may be found at: https://www.fdot.gov/environment/oem-divisions/qa-qc/etdm-est-overview.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: Mitigation for projects authorized through SAJ-92 may be accomplished by one or more of the following mechanisms and preference hierarchy, as described in the Mitigation Rule (33 C.F.R. Part 332): 1) securing an appropriate number and resource type of credits from an approved mitigation bank; 2) payment of mitigation fees to an approved in-lieu program; 3) through “permittee-responsible” mitigation, including those mitigation projects that are part of the FDOT Mitigation Program (Section 373.4137, Florida Statutes); on-site and in-kind compensatory mitigation; and/or off-site and/or out-of-kind compensatory mitigation. It would be incumbent on the prospective permittee to demonstrate to the Corps that the compensatory mitigation proposal is the environmentally preferable option to replace the ecological functions and services that would be lost through the implementation of any work proposed. All compensatory mitigation proposals would need to be approved by the Corps prior to verification of the project under SAJ-92.
CULTURAL RESOURCES: Prior to verification for any project under the proposed SAJ-92, the prospective permittee (FDOT or FTE) shall provide the Corps with copies of the concurrence documents from the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) and the Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPO), as applicable, to demonstrate that the project has been evaluated for compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and the guidelines of 33 C.F.R. Part 325, Appendix C. No activity shall be authorized under this RGP which is likely to adversely affect historic properties listed on, or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places; or that would cause adverse effects to reserved tribal rights, protected tribal resources, tribal trust, or reservation lands.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: For each activity proposed for authorization under the SAJ-92, the lead federal agency (Corps for projects with state funding, and FDOT on behalf of FHWA for projects with federal funding) will conduct an individual evaluation of the activity’s potential effects to federally listed threatened or endangered species or species proposed for such designation, and designated critical habitat or proposed designated critical habitat, in accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Prior to the verification of projects pursuant to this RGP, for projects with federal funding, the applicant shall provide to the Corps a copy of the following documents, as applicable: programmatic consultation(s), a concurrence document (May Affect, Not Likely to Adversely Affect determinations), and/or a finalized biological opinion (for May Affect Likely to Adversely Affect determinations) by the appropriate agency (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), as applicable). These documents demonstrate that individual project consultation has been completed. For projects without federal funding which affect federally listed species, Section 7 consultation would be initiated by the Corps and consultation would be completed either through a project-specific consultation or programmatic consultation prior to RGP verification. If the proposed activity requires re-initiation of Section 7 consultation under the ESA with USFWS and NMFS, as applicable, on federally listed species, candidate species or designated critical habitat, the proposed activity could not be authorized under this RGP until the consultation is concluded by the lead federal agency.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): This notice initiates consultation with the NMFS Habitat Conservation Division (HCD) EFH as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1996. Our initial determination is that the reissuance of the SAJ-92 and subsequent activities to be authorized under the SAJ-92 would not have a substantial adverse impact on EFH or federally managed fisheries in Florida given the proposed conditions of the SAJ-92 which limit the use of the SAJ-92 to activities which do not result in direct or indirect substantial adverse impacts to EFH. Our final determination relative to project impacts and the need for mitigation measures with respect to each project verified under this RGP is subject to review by and coordination with the NMFS-HCD.
WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: The Corps will request general water quality certification from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) for non-tribal lands; the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida for lands held by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida; and the Seminole Tribe of Florida for lands held by the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: The Corps will request general coastal zone consistency concurrence from FDEP.
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.
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 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 June 27, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Heather M. Mason at Heather.M.Mason@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District Regulatory Division, Attention: Heather Mason, Post Office Box 4970, Jacksonville, Florida 32232-0019. Please refer to SAJ-92 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 reissuance of the RGP. 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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