Commenting to the Corp

What You Can Do/Commenting To The Corps

[Commenting To The Corps]

Commenting to the Corps on Dredge & Fill Permit Applications

What is the purpose of commenting? To provide a bit of a counterbalance to the omnipresent pressure of the development community. Remember: the Corps needs to hear from citizens, not just developers. Commenting aims to let the Corps know that there is a broad public interest in the permitting program apart from the developers' desire for carte blanche, expedited permitting. Commenting also seeks to let the Corps know that there are concerned citizens who know the rules and expect the Corps to abide by them.

STEP 1: GET ON THE CORPS' EMAIL LIST.

If you want to be notified by email of pending permit applications for comment, contact Corps' employee Nancy Show at:

E-mail for Corp Permit Applications

Provide Ms. Show with your name and residential address and tell her which county or counties you want to be notified on regarding Corps' permit applications. The Corps's public notice web site is organized by county. Find it at:

Corp Public Notice Web Site

For example, if you are interested in commenting on projects that impact the St. Johns River, you will want to be notified of all projects in Duval, Nassau, Clay, St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam, Volusia, Seminole, Osceola and Brevard. If you're interested in Everglades protection, request to be notified about projects in Monroe, Dade, Broward, Collier, Palm Beach, Hendry, Martin, Glades, Okeechobee and St. Lucie. Or maybe you're just worried about Martin County or Orange County. (Is anybody worried about Orange County or is it just too late?)

STEP 2: BUY A FLORIDA ATLAS

The "Florida Atlas & Gazatteer" is available in most drug stores and bookstores. It will cost you $19.95. The Gazatteer is a valuable tool for commenting. It shows wetlands, water bodies, publicly owned lands, roads, mines, pumping stations, developed areas, etc. It can help you figure out what watershed a particular proposed activity is located in. If you can't visit a site personally, you can look it up in the Gazatteer. It also gives you a sense of how much of Florida is comprised of wetlands.

STEP 3: REVIEW THE PUBLIC NOTICE

You don't have to be an engineer, consultant, or lawyer to read a public notice.

Follow this link and select your county: http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/permit/public_notice.htm

You want to know the following from the public comment:

What is the due date for comments? Add 30 days to the date listed on the public notice. The due date is also typically posted on the public notice.
What is the "work & purpose" for the proposed activity? This is important for determining whether the activity is water-dependent or non-water dependent.
How many acres of wetlands will be filled?
What watershed is the proposed activity in? Use the Gazatteer to make this determination. A watershed is an area that drains into a particular watercourse or water body. Examples: St. Johns River watershed, Everglades, Withlacoochie Bay; Indian River; Lake Okeechobee; West Bay; Lake Jackson, etc.
Has the wetland jurisdictional determination for the property been verified by the Corps through a site inspection? The public notice should indicate this information. If it does not, tell the Corps that the public notice is incomplete.
Has the Corps verified the area of impact through a site visit to the property? Is a detailed site description provided?
Is the quality and function level of the wetlands described in the public notice? Is the type of wetland described? This information should be provided in the public notice. If it is not, note to the Corps in your comment that the public notice is incomplete.
Does the public notice describe the upland and wetland vegetation? Does the public notice provide information about species on site? Have any animal surveys been conducted.
Is the proposed mitigation plan detailed in the public notice? Mitigation is essentially the terms the Corps and permit recipient agree to in order to offset the harmful impacts of a dredge and fill. Mitigation typically includes wetland "enhancement," "preservation," "creation" and money payments. It should be noted that mitigation has a poor track record of offsetting harmful impacts.