SAJ-1999-00532 (SP-JLA)

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 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 Jennifer.L.Alexander@usace.army.mil.

APPLICANT: West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND) Justin McBride Anderson

                     Sarasota County

                     111 2nd Avenue NE, Suite 1100

         St. Petersburg, Florida 33701

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect aquatic resources associated with Phillippi Creek.  The project site is located at the mouth of Phillippi Creek beginning between Robert’s Bay and Little Sarasota Bay (latitude 27.273769° and longitude -82.529399 °) and ending at Carmilfra Road (latitude 27.273769° and longitude -82.529399 °) just east of US 41; in Sarasota, Section 22, Townships 52 South, Range 26 East, Sarasota County, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The proposed dredging will affect the lower estuarine portion of Phillippi Creek, a tidal creek system that is part of the Larger Sarasota Bay Watershed. Over time natural processes such as erosion and sedimentation have gradually contributed to the accumulation of material within the creek bed. As a result, several segments of the waterway have become increasingly shallow and are now impassable for vessels during periods of low tide. Historic dredging efforts were targeted at the mouth of the creek from Little Sarasota Bay north and east to US 41 and a few small areas within the areas of Proctor Road and south of Bee Ridge Road, the most recent being in 2000. The typical water depth for the creek is -4 mean low water (MLW). A benthic marine resources survey was conducted June 11, 12 and 17, 2024. The submerged lands at the Project site are mostly devoid of seagrass, with small intermittent patches (<20 SF) located within the near-Intracoastal portion of the creek. There are sparse seagrass beds at the mouth of the creek along the shorelines, but these are outside of the Project footprint. Consolidated oyster beds were located sporadically along the perimeter of the creek, primarily along natural mangrove shorelines and outside of the Project footprint. Unconsolidated oyster shell/clusters (estimated <10% live cover) were located throughout a larger portion of the creek bottom near the mouth of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), with small patches of oysters documented sporadically elsewhere in the survey area. The substrate observed throughout the survey area generally consisted of silt and muck, with occasional rock/concrete rubble in some locations. A thick biofilm was observed on the creek bottom as the biologists moved upstream. Additionally, a hydrogen sulfide odor was present during the survey when sediment was disturbed. Mangroves are present on shoreline sections of the creek, but not within the Project footprint.  

PROJECT PURPOSE: The project purpose is to dredge Phillippi Creek to -4 MLW for the purpose of navigation.

Basic:  The basic purpose is for navigation.

Overall:  The overall project purpose is to dredge lower Phillippi Creek between the mouth of Phillippi Creek to East of US 41, Sarasota, Sarasota County, Florida.

PROPOSED WORK:  The applicant requests authorization to perform a maintenance dredge of the previously authorized 30-foot wide by 19,700 foot long channel within Phillippi Creek to -4 below Mean Low Water (MLW) and remove 557,850 square feet (19,141 cubic yards) of substrate using a shallow barge. Material will be stored within containers located within Phillippi Estate Park, 5500 S Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34231, then before being hauled and deposited at a County landfill. The project proposes impacts to 25 square feet of seagrass, 69 square feet of live oyster patches, 362 square feet of oyster beds, and 29,662 square feet of oysters shell hash.

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment: No avoidance measures are proposed. To ensure additional minimization of potential environmental effects, the following Best Management Practices will be implemented:

• A shallow-draft barge with adequate clearance will be used to avoid impacting the creek bed outside of the dredge footprint.
• Floating turbidity curtains will be deployed and monitored to reduce disturbance beyond the dredge from suspended sediment. Turbidity monitoring will be implemented as required by permits.
• All construction will comply with applicable protection conditions, including the “Standard Manatee Conditions for In-Water Work” and “Sea Turtle and Smalltooth Sawfish Construction Conditions,” as required.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required: Given the low biological value of the impacted areas, and the fact that dredging is occurring within a previously authorized navigational channel, the minor impacts associated with this Project do not represent a significant environmental loss. The dredging activity will result in minimal and unavoidable impacts to marginal benthic resources, those impacts should not warrant compensatory mitigation due to their low ecological value, insignificant footprint, and the Project's location within a previously disturbed and maintained navigational footprint. Therefore, mitigation is not being currently being proposed.

The Corps is evaluating the proposed impacts and need for mitigation.

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:

Historic properties (i.e., properties listed in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places), are present within the Corps’ permit area; however, the undertaking will have no adverse effect on these historic properties. The Corps subsequently requests concurrence from the SHPO and/or THPO.

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), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southeast Region Section 7 Mapper, and the NMFS Critical Habitat Mapper 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.

The Corps has determined the proposal may affect but is not likely to adversely affect the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus). The Corps evaluated potential project related effects to the manatee by using The Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, and the State of Florida Effect Determination Key for the Manatee in Florida, (Key) dated April 2013.  Using the Key, A>B>C>G>N>O>P couplet 5, resulted in a “May Affect Not Likely to Adversely Affect” determination.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has given programmatic concurrence with this determination through use of the key and no further coordination is required.

The Corps has determined the project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect Loggerhead (Caretta caretta), Green (Chelonia mydas), and Kemp’s Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles, and the Smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) or its designated critical habitat.  The Corps will request concurrence with this determination from the National Marine Fisheries Service pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by separate letter or by programmatic agreement.

This notice serves as request to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries 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.

This notice initiates the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would have no substantial adverse effect to EFH and/or fisheries managed by Fishery Management Councils and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Implementation of the proposed project would directly impact approximately 12.8 acres of benthic habitat; specifically the project proposes impacts to 25 square feet of seagrass, 69 square feet of live oyster patches, 362 square feet of oyster beds, and 29,662 square feet of oysters shell hash. The effects of the project are determined to be minimal and permanent. These habitat(s) are utilized by the following species and their various life stages:

Table 1. NOAA habitats within project area.

Our final determination relative to project impacts and the need for mitigation measures is subject to review by and coordination with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

NAVIGATION: The proposed activity is located approximately 160 feet away from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The project will not impact the Federal right of way.

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 Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: Coastal Zone Consistency Concurrence is required from Florida Department of Environmental Protection (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 Jacksonville District will receive written comments on the proposed work, as outlined above, until August 13, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Jennifer Alexander at Jennifer.L.Alexander@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Attention:  Jennifer Alexander, 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.

Click here for public notice and graphics