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I I . DERM Class [ Permit for Coastal Construction and Mangrove Trimming, Standard Form, may need approval by county Environ-mental Quality Board depending on mangrove impacts and public involvement results. DERM notities all riparian owners within 300 feet of project and a Public Hearing by the County Commission is held for Standard Form permits. Permit process takes 10 weeks to more than I year. Dewatering permit also is obtained by the contractor from the County for unavoidable dewatering. . Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit (under delegation by USEPA in Florida). Construction contractors apply for these permits but utilize Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP) that are developed as part of project plan set. Class V Deepwell Permit would also be obtained from FDEP, if needed. GF is proposing swales or othcr, non-injection treatment and disposal methodologies for stormwater from additional impervious surface areas. 'I 1 1 A voidance and minimization 0 f impacts: . Boardwalk design: providing walkway grating to allow light to enter water below the boardwalk plus a minimum 5-foot understructure elevation from mean high water can avoid "formal consultation" under Section 7 of the ESA (personnel communication, Penny Cutt, USACOE, April 20, 2007). Opaque materials have also bcen used in nearby boardwalks/piers to allow Johnson's seagrass more light than grating, avoiding a "Determination of Effect" from NOAA or USFWS. GF alignment could avoid not only mangrove outcrops but potentially the seagrass patches as well. . Bridge design: avoiding or minimizing dredging/tilling wetlands or submerged lands in "other surface waters" (i.e., canal waters past mangroves or seagrasses), minimizing indirect impacts such as shading (minimal bridge deck width, maximum under-deck height by thinner superstructurc design) and avoiding or minimizing placement of bridge structures like piles or piers in the water as much as possible. I I I 1 Mitigation a mitigation plan will be developed during permitting as necessary, taking into account the following: . Existing mangroves are an "enhancement" mitigation site (mitigation that involved mangrove planting within a naturally occurring marsh) from a nearby project under a SFWMD permit (personnel communication, Ron Peekstok, April 23, 2007) and likely are under a conservation easement. GF can determine the presence, and implications, of such an casemcnt early on in permitting to assist obtaining approval by the SFWMD Governing Board to impact these mangroves but for a well-demonstrated public safety bridge project. GF would demonstratc that the proposed impacts are minimized and unavoidable. Mitigation at highcr rates than impacts to natural, non-mitigation wetlands would be rcquircd (per Luis Otero and Lisa Spadafina, DERM meeting held on April 18, 2007). . Onsite mitigation unlikely, no appropriate nearby shoreline availablc. . Offsite mitigation, possibly in Oleta River State Park, as done along with enhancing thc Mangrove Preserve, (both on- and off-site mitigation offset the same project's impacts). Mitigation banks such as the FPL Evcrglades Mitigation Bank (EMB) may also havc mangrove "credits" to sell. . Seagrass impacts are mitigated on a case by case basis, and can include planting ("in-kind, direct" mitigation); substrate restoration for seagrass natural recruitment ("in-kind, indirect" mitigation); or combinations such as substrate restoration with a monitoring time period (3 - 5 ycars typically) followed by planting seagrass "plugs" or "runners" to achieve minimum "success criteria" established in the permits. Mitigation bank seagrass credits may also be available, possibly from FPL's EMB. I I I I I I Required surveys/assessments: Thc Gannett Team has in-housc staff experienced conducting, documenting and submitting required pcrmit application elements that will provide all scientific surveys or assessments for this project (preliminary survey complete, see pictures below). . ~~:I~ .:~,~ .- '-:0 t.,. '~~.: I I I I