SAJ202101604_Lee_Wenner_Park_NW_13__NW_28_letter.pdf

South Atlantic Division Jacksonville District North Permits Branch Cocoa Section

SAJ-2021-01604 (NW-JAZ)

City of Cocoa Attn: Stockton Whitten 65 Stone St.

Cocoa, FL 32922 Emailed to: swhitten@cocoafl.gov

Dear Mr. Whitten, Your application for a Department of the Army permit received on March 6, 2025 has been assigned number SAJ-2021-01604 (NW-JAZ). Review of the information and drawings provided shows the proposed work is to replace docking facilities at Lee Wenner Park and install riprap in front of an existing seawall. The proposed construction includes:

1) Remove existing structures, as needed

2) Install 2,901 square feet of dock

a. West access pier (47.5 ft. x 6 ft.)

b. East access pier (40 ft. x 6 ft.)

c. Fixed dock (171 ft. x 8 ft.)

d. Six (6) mooring access piers (28 ft. x 6 ft. each)

3) Install two (2) revetments in front of exist bulkhead covering 5,492 square feet

a. West revetment (145 ft. x ~16 ft.)

b. East revetment (148 ft. x ~21 ft.)

The activities subject to this permit are authorized pursuant to authorities under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. § 403), and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1344). The project is located at 401 River Edge Blvd.

in the Indian River Lagoon within the North sublagoon in Section 33, Township 24 South, Range 36 East, Cocoa, Brevard County, Florida. Latitude 28.355132°, Longitude:

-80.722943°.

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

CORPS OF ENGINEERS, JACKSONVILLE DISTRICT

400 HIGH POINT DRIVE, SUITE 600

COCOA, FLORIDA 32926-6630

July 11, 2025

REPLY TO

ATTENTION OF

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Your project, as depicted on the enclosed drawings, is authorized by is authorized by Nationwide Permits (NWP) 13 (Bank Stabilization) and 28 (Modifications of Existing Marinas). This verification is valid until March 14, 2026. In order for this NWP authorization to be valid, you must ensure that the work is performed in accordance with the Nationwide Permit General Conditions, the Jacksonville District Regional Conditions, and the General and Project-Specific Special Conditions listed below.

Furthermore, if you commence or are under contract to commence this activity before the date that the relevant NWP is modified or revoked, you will have 12 months from the date of the modification or revocation of the NWP to complete the activity under the present terms and conditions of this NWP. You can access the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps) Jacksonville District's Regulatory Source Book webpage for links to view NWP information at: https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Source- Book/. Please be aware this Internet address is case sensitive and should be entered as it appears above. Once there, you will need to select “Nationwide Permits.” Among other things, this part of the Source Book contains links to the federal register containing the text of the pertinent NWP authorization and the associated NWP general conditions, as well as separate links to the regional conditions applicable to the pertinent NWP verification.

You must comply with all the special and general conditions for NWP-13 and NWP-28, including any project-specific conditions included in this letter and all conditions incorporated by reference as described above.

General Conditions (33 CFR PART 320-330):

1. The time limit for completing the work authorized ends on March 14, 2026.

2. You must maintain the activity authorized by this permit in good condition and in conformance with the terms and conditions of this permit. You are not relieved of this requirement if you abandon the permitted activity, although you may make a good faith transfer to a third party in compliance with General Condition 4 below. Should you wish to cease to maintain the authorized activity or should you desire to abandon it without a good faith transfer, you must obtain a modification of this permit from this office, which may require restoration of the area.

3. If you discover any previously unknown historic or archeological remains while accomplishing the activity authorized by this permit, you must immediately notify this office of what you have found. We will initiate the Federal and state coordination required to determine if the remains warrant a recovery effort of if the site is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

4. If you sell the property associated with this permit you must obtain the signature of the new owner on the transfer form attached to this letter and forward a copy to this office to validate the transfer of this authorization (Attachment 2).

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5. If a conditioned water quality certification has been issued for your project, you must comply with the conditions specified in the certification as special conditions to this permit.

6. You must allow a representative from this office to inspect the authorized activity at any time deemed necessary to ensure that it is being or has been accomplished in accordance with the terms and conditions of your permit.

Project Specific Special Conditions:

1. Reporting Address: The Permittee shall submit all reports, notifications, documentation, and correspondence required by the general and special conditions of this permit to either (not both) of the following addresses:

a. For electronic mail (preferred): SAJ-RD-Enforcement@usace.army.mil (not to exceed 15 MB).

b. For standard mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Division, Enforcement Section, P.O. Box 4970, Jacksonville, FL 32232-0019.

The Permittee shall reference this permit number, SAJ-2021-01604 (NW-JAZ), on all submittals.

2. Self-Certification: Within 60 days of completion of the work authorized by this permit, the Permittee shall complete the attached “Self-Certification Statement of Compliance” form (Attachment 1) and submit it to the Corps. In the event that the completed work deviates in any manner from the authorized work, the Permittee shall describe the deviations between the work authorized by this permit and the work as constructed on the “Self-Certification Statement of Compliance” form. The description of any deviations on the “Self-Certification Statement of Compliance” form does not constitute approval of any deviations by the Corps.

3. Cultural Resources/Historic Properties:

a. No structure or work shall adversely affect, impact, or disturb properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), or those eligible for inclusion in the NRHP.

b. If, during permitted activities, items that may have historic or archaeological origin are observed the Permittee shall immediately cease all activities adjacent to the discovery that may result in the destruction of these resources and shall prevent his/her employees from further removing, or otherwise damaging, such resources. The applicant shall notify both the Florida

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Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, Compliance Review Section at (850)-245-6333 and the Corps, of the observations within the same business day (8 hours). Examples of submerged historical, archaeological or cultural resources include shipwrecks, shipwreck debris fields (such as steam engine parts, or wood planks and beams), anchors, ballast rock, concreted iron objects, concentrations of coal, prehistoric watercraft (such as log "dugouts"), and other evidence of human activity. The materials may be deeply buried in sediment, resting in shallow sediments or above them, or protruding into water. The Corps shall coordinate with the Florida State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) to assess the significance of the discovery and devise appropriate actions. Project activities shall not resume without verbal and/or written authorization from the Corps.

c. Additional cultural resources assessments may be required of the permit area in the case of unanticipated discoveries as referenced in accordance with the above Special Condition and, if deemed necessary by the SHPO or Corps, in accordance with 36 CFR 800 or 33 CFR 325, Appendix C (5). Based on the circumstances of the discovery, equity to all parties, and considerations of the public interest, the Corps may modify, suspend, or revoke the permit in accordance with 33 CFR Part 325.7. Such activity shall not resume on non-federal lands without written authorization from the SHPO for finds under his or her jurisdiction, and from the Corps.

d. In the unlikely event that unmarked human remains are identified on non-federal lands; they will be treated in accordance with Section 872.05 Florida Statutes. All work and ground disturbing activities within a 100-meter diameter of the unmarked human remains shall immediately cease and the Permittee shall immediately notify the medical examiner, Corps, and State Archaeologist within the same business day (8-hours). The Corps shall then notify the appropriate SHPO. Based on the circumstances of the discovery, equity to all parties, and considerations of the public interest, the Corps may modify, suspend, or revoke the permit in accordance with 33 CFR Part 325.7.

Such activity shall not resume without written authorization from the SHPO and from the Corps.

4. Jacksonville District Programmatic Biological Opinion (JAXBO): Structures and activities authorized under this permit will be constructed and operated in accordance with all applicable PDCs contained in the JAXBO, based on the permitted activity. Johnson’s seagrass and its critical habitat were delisted from the Endangered Species Act on May 16, 2022. Therefore, JAXBO PDCs required to minimize adverse effects to Johnson’s seagrass and its critical habitat are no longer applicable to any project. Failure to comply with applicable PDCs will constitute noncompliance with this permit. In addition, failure to comply with the applicable PDCs, where a take of listed species occurs, would constitute an unauthorized take. The NMFS is the appropriate authority to determine compliance with the Endangered Species Act. The most current

-5-version of JAXBO can be accessed at the Jacksonville District Regulatory Division website in the Endangered Species section of the Sourcebook located at:

http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/SourceBook.aspx

JAXBO may be subject to revision at any time. The most recent version of the JAXBO must be utilized during the design and construction of the permitted work.

5. Turbidity Barriers: Prior to the initiation of any of the work authorized by this permit, the Permittee shall install floating turbidity barriers with weighted skirts that extend within 1 foot of the bottom around all work areas that are in, or adjacent to, surface waters. The turbidity barriers shall remain in place and be maintained daily until the authorized work has been completed and turbidity within the construction area has returned to ambient levels. Turbidity barriers shall be removed upon stabilization of the work area.

6. Fill Material: The Permittee shall use only clean fill material for this project. The fill material shall be free from items such as trash, debris, automotive parts, asphalt, construction materials, concrete block with exposed reinforcement bars, and soils contaminated with any toxic substance in toxic amounts, in accordance with Section 307 of the Clean Water Act.

7. Manatee Conditions: The Permittee shall comply with the “Standard Manatee Conditions for In-Water Work – 2011” (Attachment 3). The most recent version of the Manatee Conditions must be utilized.

8. Protected Species - North Atlantic Right Whale: Information describing the presence of North Atlantic right whales and the Federal regulations governing the approach to North Atlantic right whales is provided as Attachment 3 to this permit.

9. Educational Signs: signs must be posted in a visible location(s), alerting users of listed species in the area susceptible to vessel strikes and hook-and-line captures. The most current version of the signs that must be downloaded and sign installation guidance are available at:

(https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/consultations/protected-species-educational-signs). The signs required to be posted by area are stated below:

All projects in Florida shall use the Help Save Protected Marine Life sign featuring the Dolphin, Sea Turtle, Sawfish, and Manta Ray. These signs include contact information to the sea turtle and marine mammal stranding networks and smalltooth sawfish and manta ray encounter databases.

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Projects within the North Atlantic right whale educational sign zone shall post the

Help Protect North Atlantic Right Whales sign.

10. Monofilament Recycling Bins: monofilament recycling bins must be provided at the docking facility to reduce the risk of turtle or sawfish entanglement in, or ingestion of, marine debris. Monofilament recycling bins must:

Be constructed and labeled according to the instructions provided at http://mrrp.myfwc.com.

Be maintained in working order and emptied frequently (according to http://mrrp.myfwc.com standards) so that they do not overflow.

11. Assurance of Navigation and Maintenance: The Permittee understands and agrees that, if future operations by the United States require the removal, relocation, or other alteration, of the structures or work herein authorized, or if in the opinion of the Secretary of the Army or his authorized representative, said structure or work shall cause unreasonable obstruction to the free navigation of the navigable waters, the Permittee will be required, upon due notice from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to remove, relocate, or alter the structural work or obstructions caused thereby, without expense to the United States. No claim shall be made against the United States on account of any such removal or alteration.

12. Regulatory Agency Changes: Should any other regulatory agency require changes to the work authorized or obligated by this permit, the Permittee is advised that a modification to this permit instrument is required prior to initiation of those changes. It is the Permittee’s responsibility to request a modification of this permit from the Cocoa Regulatory Office.

This letter of authorization does not include conditions that would prevent the ‘take’ of a state-listed fish or wildlife species. These species are protected under sec.

379.411, Florida Statutes, and listed under Rule 68A-27, Florida Administrative Code.

With regard to fish and wildlife species designated as species of special concern or threatened by the State of Florida, you are responsible for coordinating directly with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). You can visit the FWC license and permitting webpage (http://www.myfwc.com/license/wildlife/) for more information, including a list of those fish and wildlife species designated as species of special concern or threatened. The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (http://www.fnai.org/) also maintains updated lists, by county, of documented occurrences of those species.

This letter of authorization does not give absolute Federal authority to perform the work as specified on your application. The proposed work may be subject to local

-7-building restrictions mandated by the National Flood Insurance Program. You should contact your local office that issues building permits to determine if your site is located in a flood-prone area, and if you must comply with the local building requirements mandated by the National Flood Insurance Program.

This letter of authorization does not preclude the necessity to obtain any other Federal, State, or local permits, which may be required.

Thank you for your cooperation with our permit program. Should you have any questions related to this NWP verification or have issues accessing the documents reference in this letter, please contact Jacob Zehnder at the letterhead address, by telephone at 321-504-3771 ext. 0017, or by email at jacob.a.zehnder@usace.army.mil.

Sincerely, Jacob A. Zehnder Project Manager, Cocoa Section

Enclosures:

Attachment 1 - Self-Certification of Compliance (1 pg.)

Attachment 2 - Permit Transfer Request (1 pg.)

Attachment 3 - Regulations for Approaching Right Whales (1 pg.)

Attachment 4 - Manatee Conditions (2 pgs.)

Attachment 5 - Project designs (7 pgs.)

CC: Noah Adams (Taylor Engineering, Inc.)

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SELF-CERTIFICATION STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE

Permit Number: NW 13 & NW 28 Application Number: SAJ-2021-01604 (NW-JAZ)

Permittee’s Name & Address (please print or type):___________________________

Telephone Number:__________________________________________________

Location of the Work:______________________________________________

Date Work Started:______________ Date Work Completed:______________

Description of the Work (e.g., bank stabilization, residential or commercial filling, docks, dredging, etc.):________________________

Acreage or Square Feet of Impacts to Waters of the United States:

Describe Mitigation completed (if applicable):_____________________

Describe any Deviations from Permit (attach drawing(s) depicting the deviations):

I certify that all work, and mitigation (if applicable) was done in accordance with the limitations and conditions as described in the permit. Any deviations as described above are depicted on the attached drawing(s).

Signature of Permittee

Date

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DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY PERMIT TRANSFER REQUEST

PERMIT NUMBER: SAJ-2021-01604 (NW-JAZ)

When the structures or work authorized by this permit are still in existence at the time the property is transferred, the terms and conditions of this permit will continue to be binding on the new owner(s) of the property. Although the construction period for works authorized by Department of the Army permits is finite, the permit itself, with its limitations, does not expire.

To validate the transfer of this permit and the associated responsibilities associated with compliance with its terms and conditions, have the transferee sign and date below and mail to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Enforcement Section, Post Office Box 4970, Jacksonville, FL 32232-0019 or by electronic mail at saj-rd-enforcement@usace.army.mil.

(TRANSFEREE-SIGNATURE) (SUBDIVISION)

(DATE) (LOT) (BLOCK)

__________________________________ (STREET ADDRESS)

(NAME-PRINTED)

(MAILING ADDRESS)

(CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE)

Summary Interpretations of the noise impact zones associated with the project shown in Table 80 are as follows:

• Potential injury for fish and sea turtles from single pile strikes (sSEL) is not measurable as the source levels do not exceed the threshold values for injury.

• Potential injury to fish from cumulative sound exposure (cSEL) each day is possible within

10 m from the pile. For the purpose of this example, fish includes sturgeon and smalltooth sawfish. Since threshold values for sea turtles are not currently known we assume the thresholds used for fish also apply to sea turtles. Therefore we assume the 10 m cumulative sound exposure injury zone also applies to sea turtles.

• Behavioral responses of sea turtles may occur up to 46 m (150 ft) from the project.

• Behavioral responses of fish may occur up to 215 m (705 ft) from the project.

Appendix C: North Atlantic Right Whale Information Form 16 Federal Regulations Governing the Approach to North Atlantic Right Whales

1. Federal regulations governing the approach to North Atlantic right whales can be found at 50 CFR 224.103(c). It is illegal to approach and remain within 500 yards of right whales; 500 yards is equal to the distance of 5 football fields.

Prohibitions on approaching right whales are as follows (Excerpts from 50 CFR 224.103(c), available at www.ecfr.gov): Unless otherwise lawfully allowed or unless doing so would create an imminent and serious threat to a person or vessel, it is unlawful to:

(i) Approach (including by interception) within 500 yards

(460 m) of a right whale by vessel

(ii) Fail to undertake required right whale avoidance measures. If underway, a vessel must steer a course away from the right whale and immediately leave the area at a slow safe speed.

2. Updates can be downloaded from:

a. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/rightwhale_northatlantic.htm, or

b. www.ecfr.gov http://www.ecfr.gov/ http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/rightwhale_northatlantic.htm http://www.ecfr.gov/

STANDARD MANATEE CONDITIONS FOR IN-WATER WORK

The permittee shall comply with the following conditions intended to protect manatees from direct project effects:

a. All personnel associated with the project shall be instructed about the presence of manatees and manatee speed zones, and the need to avoid collisions with and injury to manatees. The permittee shall advise all construction personnel that there are civil and criminal penalties for harming, harassing, or killing manatees which are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act.

b. All vessels associated with the construction project shall operate at "Idle Speed/No Wake” at all times while in the immediate area and while in water where the draft of the vessel provides less than a four-foot clearance from the bottom. All vessels will follow routes of deep water whenever possible.

c. Siltation or turbidity barriers shall be made of material in which manatees cannot become entangled, shall be properly secured, and shall be regularly monitored to avoid manatee entanglement or entrapment. Barriers must not impede manatee movement.

d. All on-site project personnel are responsible for observing water-related activities for the presence of manatee(s). All in-water operations, including vessels, must be shutdown if a manatee(s) comes within 50 feet of the operation. Activities will not resume until the manatee(s) has moved beyond the 50-foot radius of the project operation, or until 30 minutes elapses if the manatee(s) has not reappeared within 50 feet of the operation.

Animals must not be herded away or harassed into leaving.

e. Any collision with or injury to a manatee shall be reported immediately to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Hotline at 1-888-404-3922. Collision and/ or injury should also be reported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Gainesville (1-352-448-9151), and emailed to FWC at ImperiledSpecies@myFWC.com.

f. Temporary signs concerning manatees shall be posted prior to and during all in-water project activities. All signs are to be removed by the permittee upon completion of the project. Temporary signs that have already been approved for this use by the FWC must be used. One sign which reads Caution: Boaters must be posted. A second sign measuring at least 8½ " by 11" explaining the requirements for “Idle Speed/No Wake” and the shut down of in-water operations must be posted in a location prominently visible to all personnel engaged in water-related activities. These signs can be viewed at:

https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/wildlife/manatee/education-for-marinas/. Questions concerning these signs can be forwarded to the email address listed above.