SAJ-2025-01022 (SP-EWG)

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 Edgar.W.Garcia@usace.army.mil

APPLICANT: Cynthia Rivera
Pasco County
4111 Land O'Lakes Blvd,
Suite 307
Land O' Lakes, FL 34639

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect aquatic resources associated with Five Mile Creek - Pithlachascotee River. The project site is located at 9906 Foundation Way; at latitude 28.30178° and longitude -82.486279°; in Land O’ Lakes, Pasco County, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project area encompasses approximately 9.77 acres within the larger 384.12-acre parcel owned by Pasco County, known as the Pasco County Public Safety Campus. This campus is home to several including Central Boulevard, the Pasco County Jail, and the Sheriff's Office. Surrounding the project site is a 105.19-acre cypress swamp identified as wetland “D” which serves as a habitat for various wildlife species and contributing to the region’s water management system. This forested wetland consists of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) and red maple (Acer rubrum). Subcanopy vegetation observed included dahoon holly (Ilex cassine), sweet bay (Magnolia virginiana), gallberry and wax myrtle. Groundcover vegetation observed included panic grass (Panicum sp.), swamp fern (Blechnum serrulatum), cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) and various sedges (Cyperus spp.) and rushes (Rhynchospora spp.)

PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Roadway and Building
Overall: To build a facility for Pasco County's Facilities and Maintenance Department to efficiently store materials and serve as a base for workers and vehicles, meeting the needs of the growing population.

PROPOSED WORK: The applicant requests authorization to utilize 18071.14 cubic yards of fill to impact 2.71 acres of cypress swamp forested wetlands for the construction of a 19,510-square-foot office, warehouse building and Foundation Way roadway. The building facility will be designed to support a variety of operations and will include a dedicated loading dock to facilitate the efficient movement of goods. Additionally, the project will feature ample parking areas for both employees and visitors, and two stormwater treatment ponds, which collectively will cover an area of 3.74 acres and impact 0.61 acres of wetlands.

To provide access to the warehouse facility, Pasco County also proposes to impact 2.09 acres of wetlands for the construction of Foundation Way roadway. This new roadway will extend over 6.03 acres, connecting Symphony Parkway to Central Boulevard. The design of Foundation Way consists of a 2.07-mile roadway with two 12-foot-wide travel lanes, which will accommodate average and heavy vehicle traffic, and 5-foot paved shoulders for safety and emergency access. Furthermore, the roadway will incorporate linear stormwater management features to effectively handle water runoff.

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment: Several design modifications were implemented to avoid and minimize wetland impacts. Initially, the roadway was designed to pass along the eastern edge of the project boundary, with the proposed improvements positioned slightly more west than they are currently. This was changed to minimize wetland impacts from the roadway, while keeping wetland impacts from the proposed building improvements identical. The roadway is now proposed along the western project boundary, and proposed improvements were shifted slightly east. Modifications also included reconfigurations of the warehouse site to locate the proposed improvements within uplands to the greatest extent possible and use of a retaining wall along the eastern edge of the proposed development to reduce the project footprint in the wetland. Further reconfigurations also took place due to a conflict with the northern stormwater pond and the roadway swale. Additional measures to avoid and minimize wetland impacts include installing silt fences along the project boundary and prioritizing the excavation and grading of the proposed stormwater ponds at the beginning of site grading activities. This approach directs runoff into the ponds early in construction, reducing the potential for runoff to reach offsite and wetland areas.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: The applicant plans to offset environmental impacts by purchasing mitigation credits from the Old Florida Mitigation Bank. This includes 0.470 credits for the building portion of the project and 1.63 UMAM credits for the roadway portion of the project, ensuring compliance with permitting criteria set by both the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) for 404 permitting.

CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Corps evaluated the undertaking pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) utilizing its existing program-specific regulations and procedures along with 36 CFR Part 800. The Corps’ program-specific procedures include 33 CFR 325, Appendix C, and revised interim guidance issued in 2005 and 2007, respectively. The District Engineer consulted district files and records and the latest published version of the National Register of Historic Places and initially determines that: No resources listed in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places are known to be present in the vicinity of the proposed work; however, the permit area has not been formally surveyed for the presence of cultural resources. Additional work may be necessary to identify and assess any cultural resources that may be present. This notice serves as a request to SHPO, THPO, and/or other interested parties to provide any information they may have regarding historic properties.

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, 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 will not affect any listed species or critical habitat.

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 not alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: Water Quality Certification may be required from the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD).

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: Coastal Zone Consistency Concurrence may be required. 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 activity's impact on public interest will also include the application of guidelines promulgated by the Administrator, EPA, under the 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 Jacksonville District will receive written comments on the proposed work, as outlined above, until August 8, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Edgar W. Garcia at Edgar.W.Garcia@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Attention: Edgar W. Garcia, Tampa Permits Office at 10117 Princess Palm Avenue, Suite 120, Tampa, Florida 33610. 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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