Public Notice
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DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY JACKSONVILLE DISTRICT CORPS OF ENGINEERS ST 2833 NW 41 ST. UNIT 130 GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA 32606 REPLY TO ATTENTION OF June 1, 2018 Regulatory Division West Branch Tampa Permits Section Gainesville Field Office PUBLIC NOTICE Permit Application No. SAJ-2011-02369 (SP-JED) 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) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §403) as described below: APPLICANT: Florida Department of Environmental Protection Attn: Marshall W. Flake 3900 Commonwealth Blvd. Tallahassee, FL 32399 WATERWAY AND LOCATION: The project would affect waters of the United States associated with the Gulf of Mexico. The project site is located at the .Honeymoon Island State Park, 1 Causeway Boulevard, in Sections 7, 8, 17, and 18, Township 28 South, Range 15 East, Dunedin, Pinellas County, Florida. Directions to the site are as follows: From the intersection of US-19 and SR-586 (Curlew Rd.) in Pinellas County, proceed west along Curlew to Dunedin Causeway. Follow the causeway to Honeymoon Island State Park. Once inside the park, continue to the south beach parking lot to access the dredge area, or the north beach parking lot to access the fill area. APPROXIMATE CENTRAL COORDINATES: Latitude 28.057553° Longitude -82.825009° PROJECT PURPOSE: Basic: The basic project purpose is shoreline stabilization. Overall: The overall project purpose is dredging to obtain suitable fill material to perform beach and dune renourishment to stabilize the of Honeymoon Island shoreline. EXISTING CONDITIONS: Honeymoon Island contains 2.6 miles of Gulf of Mexico frontage and is accessible to the mainland by a causeway. It is largely undeveloped, with only a few acres of residential development on its southern tip. While some portions of the shoreline have receded more than 30 feet overall, some portions of the shoreline have advanced. On the northern portion of the island a sand spit and beach ridge have been growing and extending northward. However, erosion has occurred in the central and south central areas. The beach contains limestone cobbles which were dredged up by previous owners of the island in the early 1960s. The island was to be developed as a commercial and single-family development. The permits, however, were not renewed and the dredging ceased. The beach is a remnant of this development activity and consists of a thin veneer of sand that has accreted naturally over the cobbles. The sea floor within the area proposed for renourishment is comprised almost entirely of sand bottom with areas of large boulders and scattered rocks near the shoreline. No seagrass beds or hardbottom features are located in this area. On its southern extent, Honeymoon Island is separated from Caladesi Island by a channel known as Hurricane Pass. A sand spit is advancing into Hurricane Pass from the southern extent of the Honeymoon Island Beach. An area of seagrass has recruited and established on the leeward side of the sand spit. PROJECT HISTORY: In 2008, the applicant completed a project known as “Honeymoon Island Beach Renourishment, Phase I”. This work was authorized by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) permit SAJ-2002-08266. Phase I included the installation of a single low-profile groin supplemented by approximately 150,000 cubic yards of sand hydraulically dredged from an ebb shoal area of nearby Hurricane Pass to provide erosion control for approximately 2,500 linear feet of shoreline. Phase I was intended as an interim project to provide an improved recreational beach area and protect the south parking lot. The applicant opted to install a single groin structure to evaluate its performance before proposing additional structures. Monitoring of Phase I has showed that the northern end of the project eroded rapidly, as expected. On May 9, 2013, the Corps authorized the applicant to complete the work known as “Honeymoon Island Renourishment, Phase II”. The Corps authorized the following work with a 5-year work window: The construction of three low profile T-groins supplemented by approximately 149,000 cubic yards of sand hydraulically dredged from an ebb shoal area of nearby Hurricane Pass to provide erosion control for approximately 3,200 linear feet of shoreline. The proposed groins were constructed of sheet pile and rock. The area of fill for the groins and additional sand is approximately 17.3 acres. The groin installation required removal of approximately 50 linear feet of an existing, submerged groin. Two warning markers were placed waterward of the new groin structures at the northern and southern limits of the work authorized Phase II. The Phase I temporary sandbag protection located along the west side of the north parking lot was removed and a portion of the existing parking lot was forfeited and integrated as part of the active beach and dune area. Dune vegetation was planted along the area where the portion of the parking lot was removed. The dredged area under Phase II consists of approximately 34 acres and constitutes an expansion of the dredge area for Phase I. The Phase II dredge area, in combination with that from Phase I of the project, has been designed to maintain flows through Hurricane Pass by creating a straighter channel. Maximum flow velocities will 2 be toward the west through the cut in the shoal and away from the Honeymoon Island State Park shoreline. The order of construction for Phase II was as follows: construction of the T-groins; removal of the parking area to be converted to beach use; followed by dredging and sand placement. PROPOSED WORK: The applicant seeks authorization with a 10-year work window to complete the following work: Re-initiate the hydraulic dredging of 149,000 cubic yards of sand from the previously authorized 34 acre Hurricane Pass dredge area and discharge the material into the previously authorized 17.3 acre beach renourishment area behind the three previously constructed groins; Dredge an additional 60,000 cubic yards of beach quality sand material from a 5.5 acre spit that has formed on the southern extent of the Honeymoon Island beach into Hurricane Pass to a design depth of -6 feet NAVD with an allowable over dredge to -7 feet NAVD; and Discharge the 60,000 cubic yards of sand below the mean high water line of Honeymoon Beach in a 7.33 acre area between Florida Department of Environmental Protection Reference Monuments R-7.5 and R-9.5 to create a beach berm with a crest elevation of 4.15 NAVD. 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 applicant designed the proposed project to avoid direct dredge impacts to the seagrass area in the lee of the sand spit. Furthermore, the applicant proposes to leave the north east margin of the sand spit intact so that a natural break water would remain to shield the seagrass. Lastly, the applicant proposes to utilize floating turbidity barriers and proper erosion control measures to ensure that sediment and turbidity associated with the proposed work would not escape the authorized work area. COMPENSATORY MITIGATION – The applicant has provided the following explanation why compensatory mitigation should not be required: The applicant designed the proposed dredge area to avoid direct impacts to the seagrass in the vicinity of the proposed work area as well as leave a natural breakwater for the existing seagrass. In addition, the applicant proposes to utilize appropriate measures to ensure that turbidity, sedimentation, and erosion would not escape the authorized work area and cause indirect impacts to the aquatic environment and resources in the vicinity of the proposed work area. Thus, the applicant stated that compensatory mitigation is not warranted for the proposed project. CULTURAL RESOURCES: 3 The Corps has determined the permit area where the dredging would occur has been created within the last 45 years. Thus, there is little likelihood of a dredge-related impact upon a historic property. Similarly, the proposed discharge area is located within a dynamic intertidal zone. Thus, the work associated with the fill discharge has little likelihood of a discharge related impact upon a historic property. Lastly, the Corps is not aware of any known historic properties within the permit area. By copy of this public notice, the Corps is providing information for review. Our final determination relative to historic resource impacts is subject to review by and coordination with the State Historic Preservation Officer and those federally recognized tribes with concerns in Florida and the Permit Area. ENDANGERED SPECIES: (a) Manatee: The Corps has determined that the proposed project in its entirety may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus). Since the proposal by the applicant is for in-water construction, potential impacts to the endangered West Indian manatee were evaluated using The Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, and the State of Florida Effect Determination Key for the Manatee in Florida, April 2013 (Key). Use of this Key resulted in the following sequential determination: ABCGNOP4/P5 may affect, not likely to adversely affect. The proposed project would not impact submerged aquatic vegetation. Also, the proposed project would not occur in Manatee designated critical habitat, or a Key-designated Important Manatee Area or Warm Water Aggregation Area. Furthermore, the applicant elects to adhere to the Standard Manatee Conditions for In- Water Work, 2011. Therefore, according to the key, a may affect but is not likely to adversely affect determination is appropriate.