January 5, 2015 F/SER47: GG / pw

(Sent via Electronic Mail)

Colonel Alan M. Dodd, Commander

U

. S

. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District

PO Box 4970 Jacksonville, Florida 32232

Thomas McGill Wetlands, Coastal and Oceans Branch U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 61 Forsyth Street, SW Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Attention: Patrick Griffin and Christopher McArthur

Dear Colonel Dodd and Mr. McGill :

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) reviewed the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Designation of an Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site Offshore of Jacksonville, Florida (EIS),

dated October 2014, and the letter from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 ( EPA)

, dated October 6, 2014. Both the F inal EIS and letter, which included an updated E ssential F ish H abitat (EFH) A ssessment 1 , address the EFH conservation recommendations NMFS provided by letter dated July 11, 2012, for the expanded or new Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site (ODMDS). The Draft EIS identified two preferred alternatives. Alternative Site 1 would expand the existing Jacksonville ODMDS

to the south and east

, and Alternative Site 2 would designate a new ODMDS south of the existing site. NMFS recommended the final site selection be held in abeyance until NMFS reviewed information likely

to show use of Alternative Site 3 as the new ODMDS would result in fewer impacts to live/hardbottom

habitat. Alternative Site 3 would be a new site (4 square nautical miles) 6 nautical miles north of the existing Jacksonville ODMDS and 1 nautical mile south of the Fernandina Beach ODMDS. The center of

Alternative Site 3 is 5.9 nautical miles northeast of the mouth of the St. Johns River

.

T he Final EIS , updated EFH Assessment, and additional material provided by EPA confirm use of

Alternative Site 3 as the ODMDS would have the least impact upon live/hardbottom habitat designated a Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) . EFH Assessment Se ction 2.4.3 lists the live/hardbottom acreage as 6.9 acres, 0.05 acres, and 0.0 acres, respectively

, for Alternative Sites 1, 2, and 3. Other public interest factors, primarily the cost of the hauling dredged material the extra distance, have led EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to conclude neither Alternative Site 2 nor Alternative Site 3

is most practicable as the new Jacksonville ODMDS. To reduce impacts to live/hardbottom habitat, EPA and USACE have modified the boundary of Alternative 1 by eliminating 0.26 square nautical mile s (approximately 220 .4 acres) from the eastern side of the ODMDS expansion. The revised Alternative 1

, referred to as Alternative Site 1a in the Final EIS and updated EFH Assessment , reduces the overlap with

live/hardbottom habitat by 3.4 acres and with silty sand bottom designated EFH for pennatulacean soft

corals by 217 acres. Further, Alternative Site 1a does not include a small area were ivory tree coral

1 E ssential Fish Habitat Assessment for a New Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site off Jacksonville, Florida

, dated August 2014.

### 2

( Oculina vericosa ) were reported from trawl surveys EPA conducted in 2010 to characterize Alternative

Site 1

.

NMFS maintains Alternative Site 3 would have the least impact on EFH, however, use of Alternative Site 1a as the ODMDS would impact less EFH tha n use of Alternative Site 1 and EPA and USA C E have

p rovided the substantive justification required by 50 CFR 600.920(k) for not following the EFH

conservation recommendation

. NMFS appreciates the efforts by EPA and USACE to engage NMFS throughout the site characterization and evaluation process and looks f orward to working with EPA and USACE on project specific release zones within the expanded Jacksonville ODMDS to take advantage of rocky dredged material that may be suitable for building an artificial reef that may offset the proposed impacts to live/hard bottom habitat.

Finally, in accordance with section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, it is the responsibility of the lead federal agency to review and identify any proposed activity that may affect endangered or threatened species and their habitat. Determinations involving species under NMFS jurisdiction should be reported to our Protected Resources Division at the letterhead address.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments throughout this process. M s

. Jaclyn Daly

- Fuchs at

our Charleston office is available if further assistance is needed. She may be reached at 219 Fort Johnson

Road

, Charleston, South Carolina, 29412 , by telephone at ( 843 ) 762

- 86 10 , or by email at Jaclyn.Daly@noaa.gov

.

Sincerely,

/ for

Vi rginia M. Fay Assistant Regional Administrator

Habitat Conservation Division

cc:

COE, Patrick.M.Griffin@usace.army.mil EPA, McArthur.Christopher@epa.gov SAFMC, Roger.Pugliese@safmc.net FWC, L isa. G regg@MyFWC.com F/SER47, Jaclyn.Daly @noaa.gov