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). 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: James Morris
CEMEX Construction Materials
11430 Camp Mine Road
Brooksville, Florida 34601
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect aquatic resources associated with Jumper Creek Canal. The 181-acre project site is located just west of the existing Center Hill Mine at 530 W Kings Hwy; at latitude 28.664092 and longitude -82.030676; in Center Hill, Sumter County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The proposed project area, referred to as the Center Hill Mine Extension Quarry C (Mine), will encompass approximately 181 acres located immediately west of the existing and operating CEMEX Mine within the Withlacoochee Watershed. The existing Mine (to east) is approximately 1,000 acres, has been in operation since prior to 1988, and was originally permitted by the Corps under file number SAJ-1987-45353. The proposed expansion area is located directly adjacent (west) to the existing Mine on lands historically used for cattle grazing. The entire site has been converted from natural conditions to improved pasture through land clearing and planting (pasture grasses) activities. Cattle grazing has altered vegetative communities and aquatic resources onsite.
The 181-acre project site consists mainly of uplands with eleven (11) wetlands covering a total of 4.85 acres and four (4) surface waters covering a total of 3.42 acres on site. According to the Florida Department of Transportation’s Florida Land Use, Cover and Forms Classification System (FLUCCS) landscape in the project area is mainly comprised of 174.4 acres of Cropland and Pastureland (FLUCCS 210), with 4.85 acres of Vegetated Non-Forested Wetlands (FLUCCS 640), and 3.42 acres of Streams and Waterways (FLUCCS 510). According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), eight (8) different soil series occur in the project area including three (3) somewhat poorly drained fine sands (Mabel, Sumterville, and Sparr series), four (4) poorly drained fine sands (EauGallie, Paisley, Pompano, and Ft. Green series), and one (1) very poorly drained mucky fine sand (Floridana series). Three (3) soil types on site are classified as hydric (Paisley, Pompano, and Floridana).
According to the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI), wetlands within the project area consist mainly of freshwater palustrine systems with herbaceous, emergent vegetation and semi-permanent flooding. Surface waters on site are tributary to Jumper Creek and occur as a man-altered canal system extending north-south to form a continuous linear feature along the eastern portion of the review area. The linear surface water has multiple culverted crossings, spoil piles from excavation located along banks, and is directly abutted by wetlands mapped on the NWI as a palustrine forested system. Waters generally flow in a northerly direction through the review area via surface water canals. Waters flow into the review area at the southeastern corner, flow north through the continuous surface water canal along the eastern portion of review area, flow out the northeastern boundary of review area, and discharge into Jumper Creek approximately 0.47 miles north of the review area. Jumper Creek flows northwest for approximately 15 miles and discharges into Withlacoochee River, the nearest traditionally navigable water.
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Limestone mining
Overall: Expand an existing limestone mine to extend the life of CEMEX Center Hill Mine in order to supply construction grade aggregates for local and regional infrastructure projects.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant requests a ten (10) year authorization to discharge of 1,564 cubic yards of clean fill material (sand and rock) into 0.97 acres of unnamed aquatic resources in order to expand the existing Center Hill Mine quarry for excavation of construction grade aggregate. The proposed Mine expansion includes construction of mine pits, haul roads, a berm system, overburden storage areas, and extraction of approximately 25 million cubic yards of limestone aggregate via open pit mining.
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 to contain stormwater during mining activities. Any excess overburden will be stockpiled in uplands on site to be used as backfill during reclamation. The mining process involves dewatering an active quarry, excavating limestone, allowing stone to dry, and then crushing, sorting, and conveying the rock to stockpiles for off-site distribution. Soils will be dewatered on site in the proposed quarries (C-1 and C-2) with unused materials to be disposed of in upland waste disposal areas. Excavated material will be conveyed to the existing processing area at the adjacent Mine with all ingress and egress for the proposed expansion via the existing Center Hill Mine located just west of the project area.
Upon mining completion, stormwater ditch and berm systems will be removed and regraded into backfill for reclamation. The total depth of excavation will be approximately 135 feet below ground elevation North American Datum 1988 (NAVD 88). The project is expected to be completed over a span of 10 to 12-years depending on market conditions. The mining rate will be approximately 1.25 to 1.37 million cubic yards per year with mining anticipated to occur between 2028 to 2038 and reclamation to be completed between 2038 to 2040.
The project will result in direct impacts to a total of 8.27 acres of aquatic resources (4.85 acres of wetlands 3.42 acres of surface waters) through dredging or filling activities and indirect or secondary impacts to a total of 0.11 acres of adjacent wetlands not directly impacted by dredging or filling activities.
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 stated “for CEMEX to remain competitive in the world market, cost-effective mining plans must be developed for the expansion parcel and mining around wetlands on site is not cost competitive or practicable because it would require operation of inefficient mine infrastructure corridors greatly increasing capital costs, electrical energy consumption, and excessive land utilization.” Although the mine plan dictates proposed impacts, onsite design modifications were considered to the extent feasible, and all efforts have been made to reduce and eliminate impacts to wetlands and surface waters. Wetlands proposed for impact have been historically impacted due to surrounding land use practices. Proposed unavoidable impacts to wetlands have been minimized to the greatest extent feasible and remaining wetland impacts are necessary for success of the mining operation.
To avoid any potential impacts to adjacent wetlands or waters, sedimentation and erosion controls will be installed and maintained during construction. Only clean fill material, free of debris and toxic or deleterious substances will be used for construction.
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 in-kind credits purchased from the federally approved Hilochee Mitigation Bank within the same watershed with loss of ecological functions for impacted wetlands calculated via the Unified Mitigation Assessment Method (UMAM). The applicant proposes to purchase 3.10 Freshwater Federal Herbaceous (UMAM) credits and has provided a letter from the Hilochee Mitigation Bank indicating these credits have been reserved for the project.
The Corps has not yet finalized its review of the avoidance, minimization, or proposed compensatory mitigation.
Describe the proposed compensatory mitigation briefly. This should reflect, in summary form, final information submitted from the applicant about compensatory mitigation. The public notice mitigation statement may be used here, but this section should ultimately describe the final, reviewed and accepted, mitigation plan.
CULTURAL RESOURCES:
The permit area/area of potential effects includes the project footprint of proposed mining activities (181 acres) as well as adjacent parcels for a distance of up to 150 feet from the edge of the project area, to allow for the consideration of potential indirect effects. The entire footprint has been surveyed for cultural resources. The Corps is aware of recorded archaeological 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. 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, federally recognized tribes and other interested parties.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps has performed an initial review of the application 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 the vicinity of the proposed project. Based on this initial review, the Corps has made a preliminary determination that the proposed project will have no effect on the eastern black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis ssp. jamaicensis), Everglade snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus), or monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). 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 or proposed critical habitat in the project vicinity. No other ESA-listed species will be affected by the proposed action.
Table 1: ESA-listed species and/or critical habitat 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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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.
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. The project site is located inland, and the project will impact only freshwater (palustrine) wetlands. The project area does not contain any Essential Fish Habitat (EFH). The Corps has determined the proposal would have no effect on EFH. Therefore, no consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service on EFH as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1996 is required.
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 is required from a State of Florida certifying authority, either the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) or the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). An application for the project has been submitted to FDEP under application number 0211510-019-EM.
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: Coastal Zone Consistency Concurrence is required from the State of Florida. 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 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 October 2, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or Barbara M. Cory at barbara.m.cory@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Attention Barbara M. Cory at the Tampa Permits Section at 10117 Princess Palm Ave., Suite 120, Tampa FL 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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