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:
WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect aquatic resources associated with The Indian River. The project site is located north of Indrio Road, adjacent to Spanish Lake Blvd; at latitude 27.526163° and longitude –80.444767°; in Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Florida.
EXISTING CONDITIONS: The project site, formerly agricultural land, is located to the east and west of Spanish Lake Blvd, north of Indrio Road, within St. Lucie County. Surrounding land use is unimproved pasture, roadways, and agricultural land. The entirety of the proposed project is situated within previously disturbed habitat. The site was extensively altered prior to the 1980’s where it was converted to agricultural use. Remnant wetlands and surface waters were altered over the years during agricultural operations to better serve as drainage features and treatment ponds. Vegetative assemblages present on site are predominantly herbaceous.
PROJECT PURPOSE:
Basic: Residential development.
Overall: To provide residential development and floodplain compensation areas through the re-development of fallow agriculture within Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Florida.
PROPOSED WORK: The applicant requests authorization to fill 6.68 acres of surface waters. The activity will include fill, grading, and construction activities on the site to facilitate the construction of a residential development.
AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION: The applicant has provided the following information in support of efforts to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the aquatic environment:
“As the Project proposes the alteration of surface waters that were previously altered during the original agricultural development of the subject site. Avoidance and minimization of potential wetland and surface water impacts were incorporated in the development of the proposed alternative layouts, where possible. This plan represents the applicant’s best effort to avoid and minimize impacts to wetlands and surface waters.”
COMPENSATORY MITIGATION: The applicant offered the following compensatory mitigation plan to offset unavoidable functional loss to the aquatic environment:
“No wetlands are present on the project site. All on-site man-made surface waters (4.68 acres) are proposed for impact. No mitigation should be required or is proposed for surface water impacts. A silt fence will be placed around the project site to prevent any sedimentation into adjacent waters.”
CULTURAL RESOURCES:
The Corps evaluated the undertaking pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) utilizing its existing program-specific regulations and procedures along with 36 CFR Part 800. The Corps’ program-specific procedures include 33 CFR 325, Appendix C, and revised interim guidance issued in 2005 and 2007, respectively. The District Engineer consulted district files and records and the latest published version of the National Register of Historic Places and initially determines that:
No resources listed in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places are known to be present in the vicinity of the proposed work; however, the permit area has not been formally surveyed for the presence of cultural resources. Additional work may be necessary to identify and assess any cultural resources that may be present. This notice serves as a request to SHPO, THPO, and/or other interested parties to provide any information they may have regarding historic properties.
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 and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC) (Project Code: 2025-0154595) 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.
The Corps has determined the proposed project may affect, not adversely affect wood stork (Mycteria americana), and eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon corais couperi).
The Corps Has determined that the proposed project will have no effect on Florida panther (Puma (=Felis) concolor coryi), Puma (=mountain Lion) (Puma (=Felis) concolor (all subsp. except coryi)), red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), whooping crane (Grus americana), Everglade snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus), crested caracara (Caracara plancus audubonii), eastern black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis ssp. Jamaicensis), and monarch butterfly (Danaus Plexippus).
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: Water Quality Certification may be required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) or South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD).
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT CONSISTENCY: Coastal Zone Consistency Concurrence is required from Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) or South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD. 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 21, 2025. Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs/public-notices or to Corey Maier at corey.m.maier@usace.army.mil. Alternatively, you may submit comments in writing to the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Attention: Corey Maier, 400 High Point Drive, Suite 600, Cocoa, Florida 32796. 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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