SAJ-2024-02032 (SP-KSM)

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). 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 kevin.s.mannie@usace.army.mil.

APPLICANT:    Nirmal Roy

                          Osprey Point Village, LLC

                          1111 Brickell Avenue

            10th Floor

           Miami, Florida 33131

AGENT:            Bethany Womack

                          Cypress Environmental of Bay County, LLC    

                          P.O. Box 16062     

            Panama City, Florida 32406

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect aquatic resources, including wetlands, associated with Little Burnt Mill Creek.  The project site is located southwest of Florida State Highway 77 and White Oaks Boulevard in Section 31, Township 1 South, Range 14 West, at latitude 30.359804° and longitude -85.682105°; in Panama City, Bay County, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The overall property parcel comprises approximately 628.3 acres. The Osprey Point Village – Phase A project site encompasses ±295.6 acres, of which freshwater wetlands occupy approximately 147.55 acres (~50%), including 0.1 acre of Little Burnt Mill Creek. Within the project site are two (2) vegetative communities as classified using the Florida Land Use, Cover and Forms Classification System (FLUCCS): 411 – Pine Flatwoods and 625 – Hydric Pine Flatwoods. The following provides descriptions of each:

Pine Flatwoods (FLUCCS 411): These forests are quite common throughout much of Northern and Central Florida. Originally, longleaf pines were common on drier sites while slash pines, which are less fire-resistant, were confined to moister sites; wildfire being the contributing factor in this distribution. However, fire control and artificial reforestation have extended the range of slash pine into former longleaf sites. The pine flatwoods class is dominated by either slash pine, longleaf pine or both and less frequently pond pine. The common flatwoods understory species include saw palmetto, wax myrtle, gallberry and a wide variety of herbs and brush.

Hydric Pine Flatwoods (FLUCCS 625): Forest with a sparse to moderate canopy of Slash pine. The understory is grasses, wiregrass, forbs, and at times with sparse saw palmetto.

Within the upland areas, vegetation includes slash pine (Pinus elliottii), southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), live oak (Quercus virginiana), wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera), gallberry (Ilex glabra), and saw palmetto (Serenoa repens). No hydric soil or hydrology indicators were observed within the area identified as upland.

Within the freshwater wetland area, dominant vegetation includes slash pine (Pinus elliottii), Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera - an invasive, exotic species), and sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana).

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic:  Residential housing

Overall:  The overall project purpose is single-family residential development with associated infrastructure and appurtenant stormwater management facilities in north-central Bay County, Florida.

PROPOSED WORK:  The applicant requests authorization to discharge approximately 223,450 cubic yards (CY) of fill material into approximately 38.33 acres (ac) of forested freshwater wetlands to construct a single-family residential development, with associated infrastructure and stormwater management facilities.

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 proposed project would impact approximately 26% (38.33 ac) of the wetlands within the Phase I project area. The remaining 74% (109.22 ac) within Phase I would remain undisturbed. Additionally, further minimization of wetland impacts would be realized in Phase II, which would include approximately 263.5 ac of wetland enhancement / preservation. Complete wetland impact avoidance would render the project unfeasible. Design constraints were affected by the configuration of the wetland areas, state and local government stormwater management requirements, as well as local government minimum requirements for parking, building setbacks, roadway design, infrastructure, and emergency vehicle access that would serve the development.

During construction, all necessary steps to ensure that no adverse impacts to water quality would be taken for the duration of the proposed project activities. This may include, but is not limited to, siltation curtains, hay bales and floating turbidity screens, and other typical construction Best Management Practices (BMPs) as necessary. All newly exposed surfaces would be seeded as soon as practicable. BMPs (as appropriate) would be installed along the limits of disturbance areas when adjacent to any undisturbed wetland areas. Stormwater management for the Project Area was specifically designed to reduce and mitigate potential impacts to downstream waters and to restore to the greatest extent practical pre-project surface water flow conditions. The development plan was designed to maintain downstream flow by avoiding the large central wetland flow ways.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: Mitigation would be provided through mitigation bank credits. Based on the Uniform Mitigation Assessment Method (UMAM) scores, the applicant proposes to purchase 26.12 state and federal flatwood/emergent credits from the Horseshoe Creek Mitigation Bank, which has confirmed credit availability.

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 (SHPO), federally recognized tribes, the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO), and/or other interested parties.

The applicant requested a search of the Florida Master Site File (FMSF) inventory of historical and cultural resources. In response to the request, a letter was provided stating that the FMSF lists no cultural resources recorded for the subject parcel. The Corps notes that this record search is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a project review or final determination. This search only identifies resources recorded at the FMSF and does not provide any form of project approval related to Cultural Resources.

The applicant completed a Phase I Cultural Resource Assessment Survey, entitled A Cultural Resource Assessment of the ‘Osprey Point Village Phase A’ Residential Development Bay County, Florida,” dated February 21, 2025.

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

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) IND-005-322109-1, which include an individual water quality certification, was issued by the Northwest Florida Water Management District (NWFWMD) on June 12, 2025.

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. 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 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 September 5, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Kevin Mannie at kevin.s.mannie@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, Attention:  Kevin Mannie, 2000 Fort Point Road, Galveston, Texas 77550. 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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