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) as described below.
If you are interested in receiving additional project drawings associated with this public notice, please contact the project manager by electronic mail at Kelly.A.Bunting@usace.army.mil.
APPLICANT: Benjamin Rogers
3795 Forsythe Way
Tallahassee, Florida 32309
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States (U.S.), which can include wetlands, associated with Apalachicola Bay. The project is located at 1719 Lark Lane in Section 29, Township 9 South, Range 6 West, St. George Island, Franklin County, Florida.
Directions to the site are as follows: From U.S. Highway 98 in downtown Panama City, travel east on Highway 98 for 64.4 miles. Turn right onto South Bayshore Drive and travel for 5.1 miles. Turn right onto Gulf Beach Drive and travel for 2.2 miles. Enter the Plantation gated community and continue straight for 2.6 miles. Turn right onto Lark Lane and travel for 0.1 mile. The site will be on the left just before the cul-de-sac, 1917 Lark Lane.
APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude: 29.632581° North
Longitude: -84.929422° West
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Residential development.
Overall: To construct a single-family residence with water access and associated stormwater infrastructure in St. George Island, Franklin County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project site is currently undeveloped and has not been cleared. The property totals 1.12 acres and is bordered to the north by Apalachicola Bay, to the east by marsh and a tidal creek, to the south by Lark Lane, and to the west by a single-family residence with a dock on Apalachicola Bay. The project site currently contains wet flatwoods with an open overstory of slash pine and cabbage palm, a shrub layer with groundsel tree and yaupon holly, and ground cover dominated by sawgrass. Waterward of the wet flatwoods, the wetland transitions into tidal salt marsh dominated by black needle rush. There is a small area of uplands on the west side of the parcel containing slash pine and yaupon holly. Approximately 0.984 acre of the 1.12 acres on the parcel are wetlands.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant proposes to fill 0.26 acre/12,579 square feet of wetlands for the construction of a single-family residence including a piling-supported home, driveway, and utility system. No additional clearing of vegetation is proposed outside of the fill area. Approximately 0.72 acre of wetlands would remain undisturbed on the project site, including the tidal marsh wetlands immediately adjacent to Apalachicola Bay.
AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION INFORMATION: The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment: The project has been modified in the design phase to reduce the amount of impact to wetlands including siting the proposed residence on the north side of the proposed onsite utility system in a position to reduce wetlands impacts to the greatest extent possible. As currently designed, 0.72 acre of the 0.98 acre of wetlands on the property would be unimpacted by the proposed project. Best Management Practices (BMPs) for erosion control such as silt fencing would be employed during project construction to minimize impacts to adjacent wetlands.
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant has offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: The applicant has proposed to purchase 0.16 federal palustrine credits from the Horseshoe Creek Mitigation Bank.
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, those federally recognized tribes with concerns in Florida and the Permit Area, and other interested parties.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: Eastern Indigo snake may utilize the project site. Review of the project in accordance with the Florida Programmatic Concurrence and Key dated January 25, 2010, results in a not likely to adversely affect determination for the Eastern Indigo snake (A-B-C-D-ENLAA) provided the Standard Protection Measures for the Eastern Indigo Snake (Service 2013) would be used during site preparation and construction.
ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT (EFH): This notice initiates consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service on EFH as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would not have an adverse impact on EFH or Federally managed fisheries in Apalachicola Bay. 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 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 (33 USC 408) because the activity, in whole or in part, would not alter, occupy, or use a Corps Civil Works project.
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 jurisdictional line has been verified by Corps personnel.
COMMENTS regarding the potential authorization of the work proposed should be submitted in writing within 21 days from the date of this notice. Comments should be submitted via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) public notice module at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs/public-notices. Alternatively, you may submit written comments through the Panama City Permits Section at 415 Richard Jackson Boulevard (Blvd), Suite 411, Panama City Beach, Florida 32407.
The decision whether to issue or deny this permit application will be based on the information received from this public notice and the evaluation of the probable impact to the associated waters of the United States, which can include wetlands. This is based on an analysis of the applicant's avoidance and minimization efforts for the project, as well as any compensatory mitigation proposed.
QUESTIONS concerning this application should be directed to the project manager, Mrs. Kelly Bunting, in writing at Panama City Permits Section, 415 Richard Jackson Blvd, Suite 411 Panama City Beach, Florida 32407; by electronic mail at Kelly.A.Bunting@usace.army.mil; or, by telephone at (850) 763-0717, extension 2.
IMPACT ON NATURAL RESOURCES: Coordination with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Marine Fisheries Services, and other Federal, State, and local agencies, environmental groups, and concerned citizens generally yields pertinent environmental information that is instrumental in determining the impact the proposed action will have on the natural resources of the area.
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 or the criteria established under authority of Section 102(a) of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972.
The US Army Corps of Engineers (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.
WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: Water Quality Certification (WQC) is required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). WQC was granted by the FDEP on July 29, 2025.
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: Coastal Zone Management Consistency (CZMA) was granted by the FDEP on July 29, 2025.
REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARING: Any person may request a public hearing. The request must be submitted in writing to the District Engineer within the designated comment period of the notice and must state the specific reasons for requesting the public hearing.
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