SAJ-2024-04409(SP-TMM)

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 Terri.M.Mashour@usace.army.mil.

APPLICANT:    Nirmal Roy

                          Osprey Point Village II, LLC

                          1111 Brickel Avenue, 10th Floor

            Miami, Florida 33133

WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect aquatic resources associated with unnamed wetlands.  The project site is located at on the east side of Highway 77 just south of 11530 Highway 77; at latitude 30.359565° and longitude –85.668192°; in Panama City, Bay County, Florida.

EXISTING CONDITIONS: The site is 2.25 acres in size and is an undeveloped forest. It is located adjacent to the east of Highway 77, south of two rural homesites. According to the National Wetlands Inventory layer, the wetlands on site consist of Freshwater Forested/Shrub Wetland (PFO1/2C). According to the Florida Cooperative Land Cover layer, the site includes mesic flatwoods (1,311) and mixed hardwood-coniferous swamps (2,240). The applicant has stated that the residential development area has been cleared and fill for the residential development is currently in process. The applicant has stated that fill has been placed and is almost completed for the residential subdivision and that no federal authorization was required as the fill was placed in uplands. The applicant does not have a no permit required letter for the fill and there are wetlands in the vicinity of the future residential subdivision. The Corps will work with the applicant to delineate the site to ensure no wetlands were filled. The applicant has stated that Florida Department of Transportation has designated the proposed site for the proposed road. 

PROJECT PURPOSE:

Basic:  The basic project purpose is transportation.

Overall:  The overall project purpose is to construct a road to connect State Road 77 to the future Osprey Point Village East residential division in Panama City, Bay County, Florida.

PROPOSED WORK:  The applicant requests authorization to place 891.94-cubic-yards of clean fill into 1.63 acres of aquatic resources (palustrine forested wetlands) for the ingress/egress roadway and stormwater management system that would lead to a residential subdivision. There would be 0.77-acre of wetlands to remain.

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 roadway is the minimum necessary for the alignment needed that is required for Florida Department of Transportation and the required stormwater management.”

COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment: “The applicant is proposing to purchase 1.13 palustrine forested from the Horseshoe Creek Mitigation Bank to offset the wetland impacts.”

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.

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 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. The proposed project is located in freshwater wetlands, which are inland and upstream of tidal waters. To minimize the erosion of material from entering downstream tidal waters and EFH. Our initial determination is that the proposed action would have no adverse effect on EFH and/or fisheries managed by Fishery Management Councils and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The effects of the project are determined to be minimal and permanent.

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 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 Northwest Florida Water Management District.

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: Coastal Zone Consistency Concurrence is required from the Northwest Florida Water Management District. 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 or the criteria established under authority of Section 102(a) of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. 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 27, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or to Terri Mashour at Terri.M.Mashour@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Attention:  Terri Mashour, 701 San Marco Boulevard, Jacksonville, Florida, 32207.  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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