Florida Inland Navigation District: Permitting and Construction of the M-5 Island Offloading & Crossroads Maintenance Dredging and the NA-1 Upland DMMA Facility Authored by Lori Brownell, P.E. and John Adams, P.E. Presented by Jim Marino, P.E., D.CE October 2012

Presentation Overview Long-Range Planning Efforts for Florida  General Dredged Material Management Plan  Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway  Florida’s Okeechobee Waterway Permitting Challenges in Florida  M-5 Island Offloading and Crossroads Maintenance Dredging  NA-1 Dredged Material Management Area Construction

Long-Range Planning Efforts for Florida Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) established in 1927 Shifts in perception occurred in mid-1980s regarding dredging/dredged material management Taylor Engineering became the District Engineer in 1986 Dredged Material Management Plan development guided by  Technical advisory committee  Citizens’ advisory committee 12 county-specific plans Two-phased approach

Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway 404 channel miles within two federally-authorized navigation projects Constructed to present depths 1941 – 1961 Environmentally diverse Multibillion-dollar economic impact  16 tidal entrances  5 deep-water ports 60 placement sites  8 beach  52 confined upland placement sites 31 properties acquired 18 operational 1 final design/permitting 2 under construction

Florida’s Okeechobee Waterway Expanding FIND’s DMMP  1996 and 2005 legislation added 98 channel miles (4 segments)  FIND total – 502 channel miles Fundamental differences between ICWW and OWW  Initially authorized and constructed for flood control/water distribution  No history of channel maintenance  Variation in lake levels  Active phosphorus load reduction effort

DMMP Permitting Challenges in Florida DMMP Purpose: Assist the USACE with dredging operations in a manner dictated by economic and engineering considerations, and environmental and socioeconomic constraints Economic and engineering considerations  Dredged Material Placement Areas (DMMAs)  Material locations (shoals)  Material volumes (cubic yards [cy])  Material types (sand, clay, silt) Environmental and socioeconomic constraints  Natural resources  Threatened and endangered species  Cultural resources  Adjacent land use and zoning restrictions

M-5 Island Offloading & Crossroads Maintenance Dredging Economic and engineering considerations  Island dredge material management area  Diverse and challenging wind and wave conditions  Tight beach compliance criteria Environmental and socioeconomic constraints  Adjacent aquatic water preserve  Active least tern and sea turtle nesting areas  Offshore hardbottom  Multiagency coordination – County, FDEP, USACE, NMFS, National Wildlife Refuge  Adjacent land use and zoning restrictions

Repeat Taylor Engineering project  1997 = 625,000 cy at M-SLI A and M-SLI B  ICWW pipeline corridor Fundamental differences  1997 = DMMA construction  2012 = 350,000 cy between R59 and R80  Increased environmental scrutiny  Beach pipeline corridor Crossroads Maintenance Dredging  ICWW and OWW intersection  2 – 3 year dredging cycle  50,000 – 60,000 CY/dredging cycle  M-5 DMMA Placement Project Overview

M-5 capacity: 290,000 cy (4 – 6-yr dredging cycles) Intermodal area challenges  Federal channel  Wind and wave forces  Gabions  Adequate navigation depth  Seagrass  Mangroves M-5 DMMA

Pipeline route  Martin County easement Beach design challenges  St. Lucie Inlet State Park  Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge  St. Lucie Aquatic Preserve OFW  Vicinity of hardbottom  Sea turtles Pipeline Corridor

NA-1 Dredged Material Management Area Economic and engineering considerations  Variable subsurface soil conditions  Installation of wick drains  Rigorous seepage and slope stability analyses  Off-site material required for construction Environmental and socioeconomic constraints  Dense natural maritime hammock community  Healthy saltmarsh and freshwater wetland communities  Active planning coordination with FFWC, FWW, adjacent neighbors (Amelia Island Plantation and Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport)

Project Overview

NA-1 Unique Site Challenges Geotechnical conditions  ICWW dredge material placed on the eastern side of the island between 1943 and 1960  Western soils comprise medium to dense clean silty sand (3 – 9 feet below ground surface) underlain by 5 – 10 feet of very soft clayey sand 1960 Aerial Photograph 1943 Aerial Photograph Environmental site conditions  Narrow band of freshwater wetlands located between the eastern and western portion of the island lobes  Centrally located eagle’s nest

Summary of Settlement Analysis Results

DMMA Cross Sections Western DMMA Cross Section Eastern DMMA Cross Section

Summary Long-Range Planning Efforts for Florida  DMMP for ICWW and OWW ongoing since 1986 and 1996  Permitting and construction phases remaining Florida Permitting Improvements  Advance coordination  Active communication  Government-driven streamlined process Contact Information  Jim Marino  Lori Brownell  John Adams