Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act and Endangered Species Act

500 Pages·2014·31.77 MB·English

Annex A FWCA & ESA Compliance

ANNEX A

FISH AND WILDLIFE COORDINATION ACT

AND ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT COMPLIANCE

CEPP Final PIR and EIS July2014
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

A FISH AND WILDLIFE COORDINATION ACT AND ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT COMPLIANCE ........... 1

A.1 Planning Aid Letters ................................................................................................................... 1

A.2 Coordination Act Reports ........................................................................................................ 38

A.3 Recommendations and responses under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act Report .... 123

A.4 Listing of Threatened and Endangered Species ....................................................................... 13

A.5 Endangered Species Act Biological Assessment .................................................................. 1446

A.5.1 Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) Programmatic Biological

Assessment submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service ............................ 147

A.5.2 Central Everglades Planning Project Biological Assessment submitted to the US Fish

and Wildlife Service .................................................................................................. 259

A.5.2.1 US Fish and Wildlife Service Request for Additional Information ............................ 485

A.5.2.2 Supplemental Technical Analysis in response to Fish and Wildlife Service Request

for Additional Information on the Central Everglades Planning Project Biological

Assessment ............................................................................................................... 497

A.6 Endangered Species Act Biological Opinion ........................................................................... 689

A.6.1 National Marine Fisheries Service Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan

Endangered Species Act Programmatic Biological Opinion ...................................... 690

A.6.2 US Fish and Wildlife Service Programmatic Biological Opinion for the Central

Everglades Planning Project ...................................................................................... 772

A.7 Endangered Species Act Correspondence ............................................................................. 994

CEPP Final PIR and EIS July 2014

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A FISH AND WILDLIFE COORDINATION ACT AND ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT COMPLIANCE
A.1 Planning Aid Letters
Planning Aid Letters (PAL) were received from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on January 20, 2012,
March 27, 2012 and December 12, 2012.

CEPP Final PIR and EIS July 2014

Annex A-1
United States Department of the Interior
FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

South Florida Ecological Services Office

1339 2o•h Street

Vero Beach, Florida 32960

January 20, 2012
Colonel Al Pantano
District Commander
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
701 San Marco Boulevard, Room 372
Jacksonville, Florida 32207-8175
Dear Colonel Pantano:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has prepared this Planning Aid Letter (PAL) to
assist in developing the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP), an expedited planning
process to implement portions ofthe Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP)
located in the central Everglades. This PAL is provided in accordance with the Fish and Wildlife
Coordination Act of 1958, as amended (FWCA) (48 Stat. 401; 16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.), and
section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (87 Stat. 884; 16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.). This PAL does not constitute the report ofthe Secretary of Interior as required by
section 2(b) ofthe FWCA, nor does it constin1te a biological opinion under section 7 of the Act.
The purpose ofthis PAL is to provide the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) with
recommendations regarding several aspects of the planning process including but not limited
to the project goals and objectives, management actions that should be considered (e.g., project
components), ecological performance measures, and to provide a list of Threatened and
Endangered species that may be encountered within the Study Area.
BACKGROUND
Project Purpose
While CERP has made considerable progress on projects on the periphery ofthe remaining
Everglades less has been achieved in the most critical areas of the central Everglades.
Constrnction has begun on the first generation of CERP project modifications already authorized
by Congress. These include the Picayune Strand, Indian River Lagoon South and Site 1 projects.
Project Implementation Reports have been completed, or are nearing completion, for the second
generation of CERP projects for Congressional authorization. These include the Biscayne Bay
Coastal Wetlands, Broward County Water Preserve Area, Caloosahatchee River (C-43) West
Basin Storage Reservoir, and C-111 Spreader Canal Western projects.
TAKE PRIDE®l!f:; 1
•NAM ERICA~
Annex A-2
Central Everglades Planning Project Page 2
The next step for implementation of the Plan, and the main focus of CEPP, is to redirect water
that is currently discharged to the east and west coast estuaries from Lake Okeechobee and
restore water flow to the south. This will allow for restoration of natural habitat conditions and
water flow in the central Everglades and re-connect the central Everglades ecosystem with
Everglades National Park (ENP) and Florida Bay. The Corps, who is leading the planning eff01t
in partnership with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), has recommended
that the Everglades Agricultural Area Storage and Treatment (EAA), DecompartmentaJization of
Water Conservation Area 3 (Decomp PIR I), and Everglades Seepage Management (ESM)
projects form the core of CEPP. These are highly interdependent features of the Plan that must
be formulated and optimized in a comprehensive and integrated manner.
Planning Process
The CEPP wiJI be one of five nationwide pilot projects to utilize a streamlined planning process
with the goal of significantly reducing the amount of time it takes to plan projects. Over the last
decade it has become apparent that the current Corps planning process is perceived by sponsors,
State and Federal partners, Congress and the public as taking too long, being too cumbersome,
too detailed, too expensive and does not lead to a better product or decision commensurate with
the added years of effort to an already long process. The Corps and senior leadership at the
Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) have initiated a pilot program for
candidate planning studies designed to assess the effectiveness of transforming the Civil Works
Planning Program to better meet the needs of the nation' s water resources challenges.
Based on the above, the proposed approach foJ the CEPP is to incorporate the new science and
understanding of the hydrology of the ecosystem and build upon the information and tools
developed by SFWMD in support of a more streamlined planning process that utilizes the
concepts for transformation of the Corps planning process. A general outline of the proposed
process for CEPP is shown in Figure 1.
Annex A-3
Central Everglades Plannjng Project Page 3
Central Everglades Planning Project
>
Target = 18 months
Incorporate
> Updated Develop Develop
SCOPING Science & Next TSP &
1. Hydrology Increment PIA
I ____...._____......______,____
1 EXECUTION 1>
IPR
3 months Coonlinated Review
Decision Point 1 .....__--------------' ->-------..>
Determine Study ~ IPR 2 !PR 3 IPR -l REVIEW 6)1
Direction \.;!:.I _ _ .
• Study scope/schedule 1 I 1
• Analysis tools & techniques {"';:;\ IPR 5 IPR CONFIRMATION
• Risk register \..=2:./ _ .
• Key Assumptions G) I
-w/out project conditions IPR 7
-policy/process assumptions
• Review Plan Decision Point 2 ©
• Initiate model approvals Tentatively Selected Plan
lncomorate UlliJated Develog Next
Science & Hydrology Authorization Increment DevelogTSP Decision Point 3 Decision Point 4
• Evaluation tools • Establish criteria • Detailed development Civil Works Review Board Final Chief's Report
•Update targets -Restoration of TSP • Complete draft PIA • Final EIS tiled
• Formulation Thresholds • Project assurances • Public review • State & agency
Scenarios -Other considerations • Reservations • Policy review review
Management • Plan formulation & • Prepare draft PIA • IEPR • Prepare final
Measures/Features evaluation • Agency Technical Review • Prepare final PIA Chief's Report
• Develop updated • Identify increment tor
Conceptual framework authorization (TSP)
Figure 1
Figure 1: General outline of the proposed process for CEPP.
Project Objectives
The major goal of the project, as stated by project managers, is to redirect water that is currently
discharged to the east and west coast estuaries from Lake Okeechobee and restore water flow to
the south, all.owing for restoration of natmal habitat conditions and water flow in the central
Everglades. This will re-connect the central Everglades ecosystem with ENP and Florida Bay.
This portion of the Plan will include those components that provide for storage, treatment and
conveyance south of Lake Okeechobee, removal of canals and levees within central Everglades
and seepage management features to protect the urban and agricultural areas to the east from the
increased flow of water through the central portion of the system. An integrated study effort on
these components is needed to set the direction for the next decade of implementation of the
Plan. The goaJ of the study effort would be to develop an integrated, comprehensive technical
plan for deljvering the right quantity, quality, timing and distribution of water needed to restore
and reconnect the central Everglades ecosystem. The study area for the CEPP has been defined
to include Lake Okeechobee, Caloosahatchee and St. Luci.e Estuaries, EAA, Greater Everglades,
BNP, and Biscayne and Florida Bays (Figure 2).
Annex A-4
Central Everglades Planning Project Page4
To achieve the goals stated above, the Corps and SFWMD have drafted pselimjnary project
objectives as follows:
);;>- Restore seasonal bydroperiods and freshwater distribution that support a natural mosaic of
wetland and upland habitat in the Everglades System.
)» Improve sheet flow patterns and surface water depths and durations in order to reduce soil
subsidence, frequency of damaging fires, and decline of tree islands.
)» Reduce water loss out of the natural system to promote appropriate dry season recess.ion rates
for wildlife utilization.
)» Restore more natural water level responses to rainfall predicted by project modeling that wrn
promote plant and an.imal diversity and habitat function.
).;> Increase oyster habitat and sea grass populations in the Northern Estuaries by redudng
salinity fluctuations from freshwater regulatory pulse discharges.
Annex A-5
Everglades Planning Project Page 5
..t pOJtTANT DI~CV&ltR
"'"·....,.·"-fll~lllat
CENTRAL EVERGLADES
Planning Project
Draft Base Map ..
All boundanes are approx1mate and subJeCt to change
Figure 2. Central Everglades Planning Project Study Area.
Annex A-6