SCOPING MEETING FOR GULF INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY (GIWW) DREDGE READINESS AND OPERATION PLAN (DROP) GIWW: Caloosahatchee River to Anclote River Laurel P. Reichold and Aubree G. Hershorin, Ph.D. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District January 24 & 25, 2018 I’m Laurel Reichold, a project manager with the Corps, and this is Aubree Hershorin, Corps biologist and NEPA expert. And we’ll be giving the presentation tonight.

SCOPING MEETING FOR GIWW DROP AGENDA 4:00 – 4:15: Presentation 4:15 – 5:15: Poster Session and Q/A 5:15 – 5:30: Presentation (identical to the presentation at 4:00 p.m.) 5:30 – 6:00: Poster Session and Q/A Housekeeping items – emergency exits, restrooms, sign-in sheets, comment cards/pens, poster locations?

Overview: GIWW CR to AR 160 miles from Caloosahatchee River to Anclote River 1945 authorization 9 foot depth X 100 feet wide Construction completed 1967 Spot dredging as needed Full bathymetric survey in 2016/2017 Majority of the GIWW is stable Shoaling near Inlets 1939 feasibility study completed. Background on the GIWW Congress authorized the construction and maintenance of this 160-mile section of the GIWW in 1945, with construction beginning in 1960. The Corps completed construction in 1967. The authorized depth is 9 feet plus 2 feet of over depth Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) There are 9 federally-maintained inlets along the GIWW within the project area, and the Venice Inlet is one of these. This means that maintenance of the Venice Inlet can be conducted along with the GIWW under this Federal authority. The waterway is located within 5 Counties, including Manatee, Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, and Pinellas. The non-Federal Sponsor for Manatee, Lee, Sarasota, and Charlotte counties is the West Coast Inland Navigation district, and Pinellas County is the local sponsor for the portion of the GIWW within its border.

Dredge Readiness and Operation Plan (DROP) https://arcg.is/bni14 Purpose and Need of the GIWW DROP There are several reasons for the Corps wanting to take a longer view, programmatic view of maintenance needs of the GIWW versus a shorter term, single project approach. Inefficient use of Federal resources without a larger programmatic view Prioritization of dredging for critical areas USCG search and rescue Maintaining safe and efficient navigation for recreational vessels DROP- launch geoportal, open and transparent, tool to bring data and info together to be used by all stakeholders and public. The DROP will help the Corps identify and document “trouble spots” within the GIWW, and institute a maintenance dredging program over the next 10-15 years; however, this timeline can be expedited , or conversely, delayed depending on the availability of funding. The DROP will also identify the types of placement options that are available to the Corps. These include: Upland disposal in approved placement areas Ocean disposal (such as the Tampa Bay Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site (ODMDS)) Beneficial reuse: nearshore and beach nourishment Placement of dredged material will be dependent on the type and quality of the sediment that is dredged, as well as the cost for transport; however, the Corps intends to prioritize placement through beneficial reuse of sediments wherever possible. Lastly, the DROP will help identify data gaps, such as geotechnical information about particular sediments, that are associated with proposed priority maintenance dredge areas.

GIWW Dredging Priorities Dredge Ready Prioritize Maintenance Dredging Locations USCG search and rescue, ATON asset management More efficient use of Federal funds Opportunities for Placement of Dredged Material Maximize beneficial reuse of material Programmatic National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 5 dredging event over the next 15 years = 1 dredging every 3 years. These priorities can be revisited as things change, again does not include the inlets.

VENICE INLET, SARASOTA COUNTY (Dredge Priority #1) Fall 2018 Dredging Event 75kcy of material from Venice Inlet and adjacent GIWW cuts Geotech evaluation underway Upland Placement Offshore Dredge Material Disposal Site Near Shore Disposal Beach Re-nourishment Ecosystem Restoration Based on the Corps’ findings, the GIWW near Venice, and the Venice Inlet, were determined to have the most significant shoaling that would require more immediate maintenance dredging. As such, this proposed priority would be the first to be addressed.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to disclose its actions and evaluate the effects of those actions on the environment I’m now going to hand it over to Aubree Hershorin who’s the project biologist and NEPA expert for this project. ------Aubree------------------------- Federal means that one of the following is involved: federal jurisdiction, money or employees   Action means "New & continuing activities, Projects or programs funded or conducted by agencies; new agency rules, regulations, plans, policies or procedures or Legislative proposals"

NEPA Applies to all Federal Actions Does not manage or protect one or more specific resources (unlike Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, etc.) Federal agencies CONSIDER and document the effects of their proposed actions as part of an agency’s OVERALL planning and decision-making Action agencies cooperate with Federal, state and local governments, and other concerned public and private organizations and citizens during planning Federal means that one of the following is involved: federal jurisdiction, money or employees   Action means "New & continuing activities, Projects or programs funded or conducted by agencies; new agency rules, regulations, plans, policies or procedures or Legislative proposals"

NEPA: We Need Your Input! Analyze effects on social, economic, natural, cultural and historical resources Scoping provides opportunity for input from the public (citizens, agencies, government, non-profit organizations, etc.) on resources and opportunities in the project area Human environment includes physical/natural environment AND the social, economic, cultural, historical"   Scoping helps an agency to meet its requirement to make diligent efforts to invite and solicit comments from interested and affected public.

What Happens After Scoping? Iterative Screening of Alternatives Resource studies Natural resources (fisheries, benthic communities) Archeology Geology Consultation under Federal laws Corps prepares draft document Draft NEPA document will be available to the public for 30-day comment period In the case of the GIWW DROP, the Corps will be preparing a Programmatic Environmental Assessment. The PEA will identify various alternatives for dredging and disposal, and evaluate associated impacts to a number of resource areas. The public will have the opportunity to comment on the PEA in the future. It is important to note that each of the priority maintenance dredging projects identified in the DROP will require implementation of the NEPA process in the future, under which the public will again be afforded the opportunity to comment. Federal laws include: Endangered Species Act (ESA), Essential Fish Habitat (EFH), National Historic Preservation Act (SHPO), Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA)

Project Schedule MILESTONE INITIATE COMPLETE NEPA SCOPING LETTER SENT January 12, 2018   NEPA SCOPING February 16, 2018 NEPA DOCUMENT PREPARATION January 2018 March 2018/April 2018 PUBLIC REVIEW OF DRAFT NEPA DOCUMENT April 2018 April 2018/May 2018 INCORPORATION OF PUBLIC COMMENTS May/June 2018 May/July 2018 NEPA DECISION DOCUMENT SIGNED June-August 2018 WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATE PERMIT Spring 2018 Summer 2018 ADVERTISE AND AWARD 1st DREDGING CONTRACT Fall 2018 MAINTENANCE DREDGING Winter 2018 Venice (DROP and Venice Presentation) Here is the current project schedule. Highlighted are the times when public input is needed, beginning right now with the NEPA scoping process.

COMMENTS ARE NEEDED BY FEBRUARY 16, 2018 Submitting Comments COMMENTS ARE NEEDED BY FEBRUARY 16, 2018 E-mail: Aubree.G.Hershorin@usace.army.mil Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District Planning and Policy Division 701 San Marco Blvd Jacksonville, Florida 32207 Attention: Aubree Hershorin http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/GIWWCRtoAR/ Your comments are needed by February 16th. There are comment cards at the registration station that you can fill in and submit to us today, or if you prefer, you can send written comments to the Corps at the following mailing and email address. Now we are going to break for the poster session and Question/Answer period. Please ask questions of the subject matter experts during this time.