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:
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 barbara.m.cory@usace.army.mil.
APPLICANT: Joel Bobrow
Lake Lonely, LLC
7995 Mahogany Run Lane
Naples, FL 34113
AGENT: Mr. Kyle Macdonald
Pond and Company
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect aquatic resources associated with Myrtle Slough. The 223.14-acre project review area is located at 2650 State Road 31, in Section 18, Township 40 South, Range 26 East; at Latitude 26.993318 and Longitude -81.754764; in Punta Gorta, Charlotte County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The 223.14-acre project review area currently consists of a single residence surrounded by undeveloped lands historically used for sod farming. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Cooperative Land Cover (CLC) classification system, the project area is classified as Improved Pasture with three (3) areas of Artificial Impoundment/Reservoirs (6.45-acres total), and a small area (7-acres) of Low Density Residential. According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), soil types found in the review area consist of non-hydric sands (Myakka, Oldsmar, Pineda, and Wabasso series). Land uses in the project vicinity are predominantly rural with adjacent properties mainly consisting of agricultural lands, mining lands, and low-density residential.
Aquatic resources in the review area consist of solely of surface waters including three (3) upland-cut ponds encompassing a total of 6.45 acres and eleven (11) interconnected linear canals/ditches encompassing a total of 9.82 acres. The eleven (11) canals/ditches include a 5.07-acre excavated perimeter canal surrounding the entire project area, a 1.31-acre interior canal which ultimately connects to Myrtle Slough approximately 1-mile to the north, and nine (9) interior upland-cut ditches (seven (7) extending north-south and two (2) extending east-west) encompassing a total of 3.44 acres.
Surface waters onsite are mapped on the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) as either R5UBFx ((R) Riverine, (5) Unknown Perennial, (UB) Unconsolidated Bottom, (F) Semi-permanently Flooded, (x) Excavated) or PUBHx ((P) Palustrine, (UB) Unconsolidated Bottom, (H) Permanently Flooded, (x) Excavated). Water flows off site in a northerly direction via the 1.31-acre interior canal which ultimately connects to Myrtle Slough.
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Sand and shell mining
Overall: Mine sand and shell for supplying construction grade aggregates.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization to discharge 14, 541 cubic yards of clean fill material into approximately three (3) acres of aquatic resources in order to construct and operate a closed-loop, sand and shell mine with a processing facility and associated infrastructure (haul roads, groundwater recharge cells, weigh station, stormwater infrastructure, etc.). The project site consists of uplands and surface waters (ponds and tributaries) with no wetlands within the review area. The project will result in direct impacts through dredging or filling activities to a total of 4.95 acres of surface waters including a 1.31-acre interior canal which ultimately connects to Myrtle Slough, 3.4 acres of upland-cut agricultural ditches, and a 0.24-acre man-made upland-cut pond. No secondary impacts to adjacent resources are anticipated.
The proposed project includes extraction of 141,900 cubic yards of sand/aggregate from the project site. Existing vegetation within the work area will be cleared and grubbed using typical equipment such as bulldozers and dump trucks with overburden graded into earthen berms and hydraulic barriers to contain stormwater during mining activities. Any excess overburden will be stockpiled in the upland mining operations area to be used as backfill during reclamation upon mining completion. A hydraulic dredge will be used for sand extraction activities with the total depth of excavation to be approximately 36 feet below ground elevation North American Datum 1983 (NAD 83). Extracted material will be pumped to an upland stockpile area, sorted, and taken off site via trucks (100 to 150 per day). Sand and shell washing facilities will draw process water from fully excavated mine pits which are no longer dewatered. After use, process water will drain back into the same mine pit from which it was drawn. The mining rate will be approximately 13.9 to 18.5 acres per year with the project expected to be completed over a span of 12 to 16-years depending on market conditions.
Upon completion of mining operations, the project area will be converted to two (2) lakes with littoral shelves planted with appropriate wetland vegetation. Slopes of mining cells will be graded and stabilized with a slope no steeper than 6-feet horizontal to 1-foot vertical (6:1) at a depth of 6-feet below the seasonal high-water level. Graded shell roads will remain in place. Remaining upland areas will be graded to original contours and revegetated with pasture grasses.
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 indicated the project would not be viable if all impacts to Waters of the United States were completely avoided. The project will impact low functioning excavated canals, ditches, and ponds only. There are no wetlands within the review area. Best management practices (BMP) including water control measures will be implemented during construction and operation to further minimize impact(s).
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: Compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts to wetlands will be provided through credits purchased from a federally approved mitigation bank with ecological functions (loss or gain) for wetlands calculated via the Unified Mitigation Assessment Method (UMAM).
CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps is aware of recorded historic resources within or adjacent to the permit area and is evaluating the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The permit area/area of potential effects (APE) includes the 223.14-acre project area proposed for sand mining. In 2025, a Cultural Resource Assessment Survey (CRAS) including the excavation of 79 shovel tests, was conducted for the APE as due diligence in anticipation of permitting requirements.
According to the CRAS, nine (9) historic resources were newly identified, recorded, and evaluated within the APE including three (3) buildings and six (6) linear resources constructed between ca. 1946 and ca.1974. According to Archaeological Consultants Inc., the newly identified historic resources have been altered, lack sufficient architectural or engineering features, are not significant embodiments of a type, period, or method of construction, and do not appear eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). No other resources were identified in the APE. Based upon this information, there are no historic properties that are listed in, determined eligible, or that appear potentially eligible for listing in the NRHP within the APE; therefore, the Corps has determined that there will be no effect to historic properties. The Corps is seeking concurrence from the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) and will coordinate with the appropriate Federally recognized Tribes on the determination.
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.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has performed an initial review of the application, the 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 proposed and final designated critical habitat may occur in vicinity of the proposed project. Based on this initial review and existing conditions at the project site, the Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project will have no effect on Aboriginal prickly-apple, American alligator, beautiful pawpaw, crested caracara, eastern black rail, everglade snail kite, Florida panther, monarch butterfly, puma, red-cockaded woodpecker, and whooping crane. The Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect species listed below. There is no Designated Critical Habitat within or immediately adjacent to the project area and no other ESA-listed species will be affected by the proposed action.
Table 1: The Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect species the following ESA-listed species 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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Eastern indigo snake
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Drymarchon couperi
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Threatened
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Florida Bonneted Bat
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Eumops floridanus
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Endangered
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Wood stork
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Mycteria americana
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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 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 not alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.
WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: Water Quality Certification (WQC) is required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) or the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). The project is being reviewed for an Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) by the FDEP under Application No. MMR_452371-001.
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