SAJ-2025-01143 (SP-JRP)

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The purpose of this notice is to advise the public that the United States (U.S.) Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District has implemented special emergency processing procedures approved by South Atlantic Division for the following request for Department of the Army (DA) authorization for an energy activity covered under Executive Order 14156, Declaring a National Energy Emergency, which was issued on January 20, 2025. That Executive Order directed the establishment of these special emergency processing procedures for permitting activities associated with the identification, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy sources, including energy infrastructure. For the reasons stated in Sec. 1 of EO 14156, the President has found that these activities would result in an unacceptable hazard to life, a significant loss of property, or an immediate, unforeseen, and significant economic hardship if corrective action requiring a permit is not undertaken within a time period less than the normal time needed to process the application under standard permitting procedures.

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 Janice.R.Price@usace.army.mil.  

APPLICANT: Franck Leblanc

                        Florida Power & Light Company

                        15430 Endeavor Drive, D01/JW

          Jupiter, Florida 33478

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect aquatic resources associated with palustrine non-vegetated wetlands.  The project site is located within the existing 8-mile circuit between the Santa Rosa and Sandestin Substations starting at latitude 30.380149°, longitude -86.311463° and ending at latitude 30.371635°, longitude -86.187713°; in Miramar Beach and Santa Rosa Beach, Walton County, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The work would occur within an existing utility easement. The site is surround by existing transmission line corridor between Miramar Beach and Santa Rosa Beach.   According to the National Regulatory Viewer - South Atlantic Division - Florida (Regulatory Viewer), the Florida Land Use and Cover Classification System (FLUCCS) land use codes within and adjacent to the proposed project area include the following: Commercial and Services (1400), Electric Power Substations (8315), Electrical Power Transmission Lines (8320), and Surface Water Collection Basins (8370). In addition, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetland Inventory (NWI) mapping layer on the Regulatory Viewer, the following wetland code is identified within the proposed project area: PEM1B, PEM1C, PEM1F, PEM1/F04B, PF04/1B, PF04/EM1B. This is a Freshwater Emergent Wetland and Freshwater Forested/Shrub Wetland.

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic:  The basic project purpose is improvement of an existing electrical transmission line.

Overall:  The overall project purpose is to maintain electrical reliability to meet future load growth and continue to meet applicable transmission standards in Walton County, Florida.

PROPOSED WORK:  The applicant requests authorization to add a new circuit and reconductor to an existing circuit within an existing 8-mile corridor between the Santa Rosa and Sandestin Substations.  The new line will be placed on a new double circuit concrete poles that average 100 feet in height to replace the existing single-circuit concrete poles that average100 feet in height. The new proposed poles will impact 0.5 acres of palustrine non forested wetlands.  In addition, the applicant is proposing to construct a new at-grade patrol road which will result in the fill of 9.26 acres of palustrine non forested wetlands and the fill of 0.17 acres of palustrine non forested wetlands for low water crossing locations (total of 23,000 cubic yards of fill).  Lastly, the applicant is proposing 3.05 acres of temporary impacts to palustrine non forested wetlands for the placement of temporary matting for the stagging of equipment and accessing the proposed project location.  

AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment: Minimization of wetland impacts was accomplished by designing the new transmission line as a double circuit with an existing line. The new line will require no additional easement or right-of-way, and the previously forested wetlands have already been cleared for the two existing lines in the corridor. Avoidance and minimization of future wetland impacts will be accomplished through the construction of new at-grade patrol roads that will be used during the pole replacements on the double circuit and conductor replacement on the single circuit line.

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: The applicant proposed to purchase 4.89 federal UMAM mitigation bank credits from the Nokuse Plantation Mitigation Bank (SAJ-2007-02663).

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, federally recognized tribes and other interested parties.

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 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 (EFH): 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 Corps has determined the proposal would have no effect on any Essential Fish Habitat (EFH). The proposed project is located in freshwater wetlands, which are inland and upstream of tidal waters and 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 may be required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).  The project is being reviewed under FDEP application no. 66-458491-001-EI.

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: Coastal Zone Consistency Concurrence is required from FDEP. In Florida, the State approval constitutes compliance with the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan. The project is being reviewed under FDEP application no. 66-458491-001-EI.

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 September 29, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Janice Price at Janice.R.Price@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Attention:  Janice Price, P.O. Box 4970, Jacksonville, Florida 32232.  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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