Okaloosa County BOCC — May 20, 2014 — USACE--OkaloosaIslandReefPermit — reading text

specific project, outside these general conditions, if applicable, will be addressed in the primary consultation. Revised: March 23, 2006 O:\forms\Sea Turtle and Smalltooth Sawfish Construction Conditions.doc  STANDARD MANATEE CONDITIONS FOR IN-WATER WORK 2011 The permittee shall comply with the following conditions intended to protect manatees from direct project effects: a. All personnel associated with the project shall be instructed about the presence of manatees and manatee speed zones, and the need to avoid collisions with and injury to manatees. The permittee shall advise all construction personnel that there are civil and criminal penalties for harming, harassing, or killing manatees which are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act. b. All vessels associated with the construction project shall operate at "Idle Speed/No Wake” at all times while in the immediate area and while in water where the draft of the vessel provides less than a four-foot clearance from the bottom. All vessels will follow routes of deep water whenever possible. c. Siltation or turbidity barriers shall be made of material in which manatees cannot become entangled, shall be properly secured, and shall be regularly monitored to avoid manatee entanglement or entrapment. Barriers must not impede manatee movement. d. All on-site project personnel are responsible for observing water-related activities for the presence of manatee(s). All in-water operations, including vessels, must be shutdown if a manatee(s) comes within 50 feet of the operation. Activities will not resume until the manatee(s) has moved beyond the 50-foot radius of the project operation, or until 30 minutes elapses if the manatee(s) has not reappeared within 50 feet of the operation. Animals must not be herded away or harassed into leaving. e. Any collision with or injury to a manatee shall be reported immediately to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Hotline at 1-888-404-3922. Collision and/or injury should also be reported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Jacksonville (1-904- 731-3336) for north Florida or Vero Beach (1-772-562-3909) for south Florida, and to FWC at ImperiledSpecies@myFWC.com  Vessel Strike Avoidance Measures and Reporting for Mariners NOAA Fisheries Service, Southeast Region Background The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has determined that collisions with vessels can injure or kill protected species (e.g., endangered and threatened species, and marine mammals). The following standard measures should be implemented to reduce the risk associated with vessel strikes or disturbance of these protected species to discountable levels. NMFS should be contacted to identify any additional conservation and recovery issues of concern, and to assist in the development of measures that may be necessary. Protected Species Identification Training Vessel crews should use an Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico reference guide that helps identify protected species that might be encountered in U.S. waters of the Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. Additional training should be provided regarding information and resources available regarding federal laws and regulations for protected species, ship strike information, critical habitat, migratory routes and seasonal abundance, and recent sightings of protected species. Vessel Strike Avoidance In order to avoid causing injury or death to marine mammals and sea turtles the following measures should be taken when consistent with safe navigation: 1. Vessel operators and crews should maintain a vigilant watch for marine mammals and sea turtles to avoid striking sighted protected species. 2. When whales are sighted, maintain a distance of 100 yards or greater between the whale and the vessel. 3. When sea turtles or small cetaceans are sighted, attempt to maintain a distance of 50 yards or greater between the animal and the vessel whenever possible. 4. When small cetaceans are sighted while a vessel is underway (e.g., bow-riding), attempt to remain parallel to the animal’s course. Avoid excessive speed or abrupt changes in direction until the cetacean has left the area. 5. Reduce vessel speed to 10 knots or less when mother/calf pairs, groups, or large assemblages of cetaceans are observed near an underway vessel, when safety permits. A single cetacean at the surface may indicate the presence of submerged animals in the vicinity; therefore, prudent precautionary measures should always be exercised. The vessel should attempt to route around the animals, maintaining a minimum distance of 100 yards whenever possible. NMFS Southeast Region Vessel Strike Avoidance Measures and Reporting for Mariners; revised February 2008.  6. Whales may surface in unpredictable locations or approach slowly moving vessels. When an animal is sighted in the vessel’s path or in close proximity to a moving vessel and when safety permits, reduce speed and shift the engine to neutral. Do not engage the engines until the animals are clear of the area. Additional Requirements for the North Atlantic Right Whale 1. If a sighted whale is believed to be a North Atlantic right whale, federal regulation requires a minimum distance of 500 yards be maintained from the animal (50 CFR 224.103 (c)). 2. Vessels entering North Atlantic right whale critical habitat are required to report into the Mandatory Ship Reporting System. 3. Mariners should check with various communication media for general information regarding avoiding ship strikes and specific information regarding North Atlantic right whale sighting locations. These include NOAA weather radio, U.S. Coast Guard NAVTEX broadcasts, and Notices to Mariners. Commercial mariners calling on United States ports should view the most recent version of the NOAA/USCG produced training CD entitled “A Prudent Mariner’s Guide to Right Whale Protection” (contact the NMFS Southeast Region, Protected Resources Division for more information regarding the CD). 4. Injured, dead, or entangled right whales should be immediately reported to the U.S. Coast Guard via VHF Channel 16. Injured or Dead Protected Species Reporting Vessel crews should report sightings of any injured or dead protected species immediately, regardless of whether the injury or death is caused by your vessel. Report marine mammals to the Southeast U.S. Stranding Hotline: 877-433-8299 Report sea turtles to the NMFS Southeast Regional Office: 727-824-5312 If the injury or death of a marine mammal was caused by a collision with your vessel, responsible parties should remain available to assist the respective salvage and stranding network as needed. NMFS’ Southeast Regional Office should be immediately notified of the strike by email (takereport.nmfsser@noaa.gov) using the attached vessel strike reporting form. For additional information, please contact the Protected Resources Division at: NOAA Fisheries Service Southeast Regional Office th 263 13 Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33701 Tel: (727) 824-5312 Visit us on the web at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov NMFS Southeast Region Vessel Strike Avoidance Measures and Reporting for Mariners; revised February 2008.  FLORIDA ARTIFICIAL REEF MATERIALS CARGO MANIFEST AND PRE-DEPLOYMENT NOTIFICATION (Issued pursuant to Ch. 379.249(6)(b), Florida Statutes) I, ______________________________________________ ______________________ ________________ Name of individual managing reef deployment (print) Signature Date whose address is __________________________________________________________, (____) _____ - _____ Street City State Zip Code Phone declare that I am staging and transporting the following artificial reef construction materials allowable pursuant to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Artificial Reef Permit referenced below and agree to comply with all permit conditions in the permit listed below and attached to this manifest. I understand this artificial reef site is open to public access and this authorization does not provide any rights or exclusive private use over those rights or uses to the general public. The address of the land based reef materials staging area is: ______________________________________ Transporting Vessel Registration Number: _____________________________________________________ Vessel Owner: _____________________________ Vessel Operator: ______________________________ The following items are to be deployed as reef material (attach additional sheets when more than four locations): MATERIAL TAG Descriptions of material ID NUMBER(S), GPS Coordinates if applicable (number of pieces, type, dimension, weight) degrees, minutes, decimal minutes (DD°MM.mmm’) Lat:_____°___.__ __ __’ Lon:____°___.__ __ __’ Lat:_____°___.__ __ __’ Lon:____°___.__ __ __’ Lat:_____°___.__ __ __’ Lon:____°___.__ __ __’ Lat:_____°___.__ __ __’ Lon:____°___.__ __ __’ A copy of the below referenced permit(s) and all associated conditions is attached to this manifest and shall be carried on board the vessel during loading, storing, or transporting artificial reef material. -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY -- (TO BE COMPLETED BY PERMIT HOLDER, OR AUTHORIZED ARTIFICIAL REEF INSPECTOR) Permit Holder: ______________________________________________________________________________ Name of U.S. Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers (ACOE) Permit Holder ACOE permit number ________________________, permitted site name _______________________________ issued on _________________________________ and has an expiration date of ________________________. Local tracking number (if applicable): __________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ (Name of FWC authorized Artificial Reef Inspector, printed) _________________________________________________________ ________________ (Signature) (Date) Revised 4/23/07  EXPLANATION SHEET FOR THE