Florida Department of Environmental Protection Noticed General Permit for Dredging of Public Navigation Channel and Canal Infrastructure by the West Coast Inland Navigation District within Lee County
Background West Coast Inland Navigation District is charged with providing safe and adequate navigational access to public facilities. Department of Environmental Protection regulates activities in, on, or over waters of the state, and activities that affect sovereign submerged lands, to ensure water quality protection, habitat protection, and the equitable and reasonable use of state lands.
Past Partnering West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND) worked with the DEP Sarasota & Manatee Counties 62-341.490 (2002) This noticed general permit did not include any dredging in Aquatic Preserves and Outstanding Florida Waters which are given added protection under both the regulatory and proprietary rules, and require the project to be clearly in the public interest.
Published Studies A Regional Waterway Systems Management Strategy for Southwest Florida, Antonini, Gustavo A., and Paul Box, 1996 Regional Waterway Management System, Phases 1-3, 1 Swett, Robert A., David A. Fann, Gustavo A. Antonini and Lana Carlin Alexander 2000-2002 2002 Dredging Public Channels: Analyzing the Benefits to Restricted Boats in Lee County Waterways, Waterways, Antonini, Gustavo A., Robert A. Swett, and David Fann, Under development
Results Characteristics of boats using various navigational channels Available depths of channels Number and drafts of boats that were: unrestricted somewhat restricted restricted or severely restricted
Terms Unrestricted Somewhat restricted Restricted Severely restricted Blocked Vessel drafts deeper than channel segment by*: No conflict 0.0 or 0.5 ft. 1.0 or 1.5 ft. 2.0 or 2.5 ft. > 3.0 ft. * Based on depths at mean lower low tide (MLLW)
Trafficsheds and Secondary Channel Segments Identification of commonly used navigational routes that serve public access facilities: Marinas Restaurants Public boat ramps Trafficshed channels An area containing a concentration of vessels that use a common channel, exclusive to a trafficshed, to gain access to secondary channels or the ICW: Marinas Residential canal systems Secondary channels A channel that provides access from more than one trafficshed to the ICW
ICW Trafficshed #1 Trafficshed #2 Marina Secondary Channel
Resulted in: Lee County 35 trafficsheds 12 secondary channel segments
Proposed Rule Concepts Draft rule under development
Goals Compared drafts of boats within the trafficshed to the available depths Provide safe, unrestricted navigation for majority of boaters, while minimizing amount of dredging necessary Target dredge depths accommodate an average of ~95% of vessels within each trafficshed or secondary channel segment
Goals Minimize impacts to water quality and submerged resources of Caloosahatchee River & SW FL Aquatic Preserves: GasparillaSound/Charlotte Harbor Matlacha Pass Pine Island Sound Estero Bay Streamline permitting & SSL authorizations
Issue Many commonly used channels had no history of dredging or permitting documentation The proposed dredging would occur in areas within aquatic preserves. Aquatic Preserves are given the highest protection under the rules and new dredging is strongly discouraged.
Rule requirements Any impact to water quality, submerged resources, or habitat must be minimized and mitigated Any dredging in the Aquatic Preserve must be demonstrated as clearly in the public interest under Chapters 373, 403, 253 and 258, Florida Statutes
Spot Dredging To address rule criteria, dredging within the Aquatic Preserves through the proposed Noticed General Permit would be limited to surgical spot dredging to demonstrate the minimal necessary impacts and provide navigational access consistent with historical conditions.
Proposed Noticed General Permit 30 day notice required $100 fee Not circulated for comments Separate SSL application & authorization required for activities on SSL; can be included in NGP Includes SPGP for most projects; separate Corps authorization required if not covered by SPGP
ERP Noticed General Permits DEP & WMDs Boat Ramps Piers and Associated Structures Rip Rap Fences Culverted Driveway or Roadway Crossings & Bridges of Artificial Waters Bridge Alteration, Replacement, Maintenance & Operation (Govts( Govts.. only) Minor Activities in Existing Rights-of of-way (Govts( Govts.. only) Underground Cable, Conduit or Pipelines Subaqueous Utility Crossings of Artificial Waters Culverts & Water Control Structures in Mosquito Control Impoundments ments Breaching Mosquito Control Impoundments by Mosquito Control Agencies Minor Activities Minor Activities by WMDs Environmental Restoration & Enhancement (DEP & WMDs only) Operating Schedules for Water Control Structures (DEP & WMDs only) Minor Works within National Forests
Proposed NGP Limits Will apply ONLY to public navigation channels & canals: Trafficsheds Secondary channel system Will not apply to channels that do not provide public access Will not apply to channels that have submerged resources including coral communities, sponge beds, or oyster beds
Limits, cont. To extent practicable, dredging alignments must: Follow existing channels & previously dredged areas Avoid & minimize impacts to seagrass communities
Limits, cont. < 8,500 cubic yards of dredged material cumulatively removed over 5-year 5 period within each trafficshed or secondary channel system No Class II approved shellfish harvesting waters http://www.floridaaquaculture.com/seas/s eas_shamap.htm
Requirements Does not apply to areas already subject to a currently valid individual Environmental Resource Permit Dredging limited to a top channel width of 30 ft. and a bottom width of 20 ft. Dredging is limited to target depths per trafficshed/secondary channel
Target Depth Represents the minimum necessary depth to provide access to majority of boats And represents minimal dredging and resource impact in the aquatic preserves Developed through discussion between Lee County, WCIND, Sea Grant, DEP regulatory staff, and DEP Coastal and Aquatic Management staff
Trafficshed or Secondary Channel System Name NGP Dredge Depth (ft) All Channels Length (ft) Public Channel Length (ft) Total NGP Dredge Length (ft) Public Channel Length in AP (ft) Dredge Length in AP (ft) Dredge Length Outside AP (ft) Dredge Length in AP Sea Grass (ft) Dredge Length in Any Sea Grass (ft) Bob Swett 10/26/2006 Bokeelia (east) 4.5 33027 9760 1174 7053 962 220 449 AP = Aquatic 464Preserve Bokeelia (west) 3.5 48391 14765 1982 14186 1982 18 68 68 Burnt Store Marina 6.5 18037 3018 0 2822 0 0 0 Caloosa Isle Marina 5 28326 8343 2539 0 0 2539 0 Cape Coral Southwest 359431 10603 1521 0 0 1521 0 Chantry Canal 4.5 76137 11315 458 0 0 458 0 Compass Rose 4.5 1172 1172 0 97 0 0 0 Deep Lagoon 6 37861 9242 545 0 0 545 0 Demere Key 3.5 21647 19721 1052 18927 896 156 735 735 East Fort Myers 7 26534 2588 1622 0 0 1622 0 Everest Canal 5 124094 4928 2494 0 0 2494 0 Fish Tale Marina 4 7391 1849 0 305 0 0 0 Fish Trap Bay 2 2.5 8893 3213 520 3213 520 0 0 Fort Myers Yacht Basin 7 7941 7941 4987 0 0 4987 0 Franklin Locks East 5 38843 2478 1405 0 0 1405 0 Getaway 5 2604 2604 1066 0 0 1066 0 191 Hancock Creek 5 57956 19635 2630 0 0 2630 0 Imperial River-Lower 3.5 31336 15203 661 9225 661 0 0 Imperial River-Upper 2.5 37630 9913 713 0 0 713 0
Notice Requirements Notice to use NGP required for each dredging event, including details: Schedule of work Location, length, width, depth Volumes to be dredged Capacity & location of disposal sites Water quality monitoring plan Resource inventory report (qualitative) Plan for resource relocations Pre-application meeting required
Conditions Resource relocations: All seagrass Individual specimens corals, sponges & oysters to maximum extent practical Upland disposal of dredged material Prevent water quality violations (mixing zone granted & use of turbidity controls around work sites) Manatee & marine turtle protections
Conditions, cont. As-built survey after completion Channels marked with aids to navigation Channels < 4 ft. MLLW marked with precautionary signage WCIND to facilitate update of Lee County Boater s s Guide
Resource Impacts Impacts to seagrasses offset through establishment of No Internal Combustion Motor Zones ( NICMZs,( NICMZs, aka Pole and Troll Zones) Allows natural healing of prop scar impacts Avoids future impacts Provides public interest in aquatic preserves
Pole and Troll Zones Zones marked Allows use of electric trolling motors or poling for fishing or other passive recreational uses Enforceable by Lee County sheriff or other law enforcement agencies Must be established through rule making by DEP or FWCC
Pole and Troll Zones Lee County and DEP developed list of potential Pole and Troll zones that would be feasible, based on considerations of: Location Size & shape Characteristics (heavy focus on prop scarred areas) Potential benefit Enforceability
Pole and Troll Zones Estimated dredging impacts to seagrass based on maps developed by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Impacts within each Aquatic Preserve must be offset by a Pole and Troll zone located within that AP Impacts to seagrasses outside Aquatic Preserves may be offset within an AP
Estero Bay NICMZs
Matlacha Pass NICMZs
Pine Island NICMZs
Possible NICMZ Areas and Locations Impact Area Gasparilla Sound/ Charlotte Harbor NICMZ Name Bokeelia West North half (PI1) Pine Island Sound Bokeelia West South half (PI1) Matlacha Pass Matlacha Pass NW South (MP2) Estero Bay Big Carlos Pass (EB2) Acres (approx.) 265 265 122 105 Chili Pepper (EB6) 303
Pole and Troll Zones Monitoring will be conducted after the establishment of the Zone to document benefits to seagrasses Must be a expected benefit adequate to offset the impacts to submerged resources and demonstrate that the project is clearly in the public interest (in addition to the public interest aspects of providing safe navigation)
Submerged Lands NGP would also constitute Consent of Use under Chapter 253 and 258 Florida Statutes to conduct works on sovereign submerged lands
Status Still in Rule making process DEP has responded to letters from several conservation groups listing concerns We are planning to hold additional meetings with these groups http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/rules_dr.htm #erp