JACKSONVILLE – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, (Corps) is preparing an integrated Limited Reevaluation Report (LRR) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document to support modifications being considered for the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) South Phase. The proposed modifications are located within Water Conservation Area 3B (WCA 3B) immediately downstream of the S-631, S-152, S-632, and S-633 structures in the L-67A levee and along the L-67C canal and are necessary to enhance project function as described in the 2014 CEPP Final Project Implementation Report and Environmental Impact Statement (PIR/EIS) and Chief’s Report.

Features of the recommended plan from the 2014 CEPP Final PIR/EIS to be implemented in the CEPP South Phase include conveyance features that function to deliver and re-distribute water from WCA 3A to WCA 3B, and into Everglades National Park through Northeast Shark River Slough. The CEPP South Phase includes: (1) construction of the L-67A gated culverts (S-631, S-632, and S-633 (500 cubic feet per second (cfs) each)); (2) spoil removal along the northwestern side of the L-67A canal (approximately up to 1.7 miles); (3) construction of the L-67D Blue Shanty levee (approximately 8.5 miles); (4) degrade of the L-67C levee (approximately 8 miles) within the Blue Shanty Flowway footprint, including one L-67C levee gap north of the Flowway (downstream of S-631); (5) backfill of a portion of an east-west agricultural ditch (approximately 4.1 miles) in WCA 3B; (6) degrade of a segment of the L-29 levee (approximately 4.3 miles) within the Blue Shanty Flowway footprint; (7) construction of the S-333 spillway modification (S-333N); (8) construction of the S-355W gated spillway (1,230 cfs); (9) construction of the S-334E spillway and S-356E pump station (1,000 cfs); (10) Old Tamiami Trail road removal (approximately 5.45 miles); and (11) degrade and backfill of the L-67 Extension levee and canal (approximately 5.5 miles). Construction has been completed or is ongoing for several of the features. Several features are also currently in design.

The Department of the Army and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) entered into a Design Agreement dated May 12, 2000, and amended on July 29, 2004 and August 13, 2009 for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The Decompartmentalization and Sheetflow Enhancement Physical Model (DPM) was conducted pursuant to that agreement as a design effort to gather information to formulate decompartmentalization of WCA 3 and inform the design of CERP features. The DPM was designed to provide information regarding the ecological benefits of sheetflow restoration and the effects of levee removal and canal backfill on the ridge and slough landscape. NEPA documentation was completed on April 13, 2010, to support construction and operation of the DPM. The DPM included: (1) construction of 10, 60-inch culverts (collectively called S-152) along the L-67A levee; (2) gapping of the L-67C levee for 3,000 feet; and (3) placement of material from the L-67C levee to create three 1,000-foot backfill treatments (no backfill, partial backfill and complete backfill) located within the L-67C canal (approximately 9,000 feet south, southeast of S-152 on the L-67A levee directly west of the L-67C levee gap). The Corps completed a post-authorization change report in January 2023 with supporting NEPA documentation that allowed S-152, the backfill treatments, and the gapping of the L-67C levee to be added to the CEPP South Phase.

The recommended plan from the 2014 CEPP Final PIR/EIS included degrade of the L-67C levee (approximately 8 miles), however modifications to the L-67C canal were not included as part of the CEPP South Phase as findings from the DPM were not yet available. Findings from the DPM were reported in Volume 1 of the SFWMD South Florida Environmental Reports in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024 and the applicability of these findings to the design and construction of features in the CEPP South Phase was evaluated and endorsed by REstoration, COoridnation, and VERification (RECOVER). RECOVER is an interdisciplinary collaboration of agencies, tribes and institutions who organize and apply scientific and technical information in ways that are essential in supporting the objectives of the CERP.

Findings from the DPM and hydraulic modeling conducted during the Preconstruction Engineering and Design phase indicate the potential need for: (1) spreader swales to be located downstream (south) of the L-67A levee to dissipate localized high velocities (i.e., > 3 centimeters per second (cm/s)) from S-631, S-152, S-632, and S-633 that may result in the potential loss of the periphyton community within existing sloughs; and (2) modifications to the L-67C canal, (i.e. backfilling or plugs) to reduce canal to marsh flow that may result in phosphorus enrichment in the adjacent marsh. The Corps is preparing an integrated LRR and NEPA document to address environmental considerations related to the construction of the proposed modifications under consideration for the CEPP South Phase. The proposed modifications are necessary to enhance project function as described in the 2014 CEPP Final PIR/EIS.

We invite the participation of federal and state agencies, native American tribes, local agencies, interested parties and individuals to provide comments and to identify any issues or concerns. Please share this notice with any interested party. Public scoping meetings will be held virtually on the following date and times.

NEPA Public Scoping Meeting (Virtual)

February 25, 2025 (12 p.m. to 2 p.m.)

Via Webex:

https://usace1.webex.com/usace1/j.php?MTID=mc63b829fede992005ac8eae0c08702f2

+1-844-800-2712 US Toll Free

Meeting Number (Access Code) 2831 961 9155

NEPA Public Scoping Meeting (Virtual)

February 25, 2025 (6 p.m. to 8 p.m.)

Via Webex:

https://usace1.webex.com/usace1/j.php?MTID=m5b8451d96c1c5dfa0bb6f817102737c9

+1-844-800-2712 US Toll Free

Meeting Number (Access Code) 2819 316 1386

Please provide comments on the modifications being considered (i.e., spreader swales, canal backfill or plugs) for the CEPP South Phase. Your comments may be transmitted electronically to CESAJ-CEPPSouth@usace.army.mil or to the attention of Melissa Nasuti, Project Biologist, at the letter head address above no later than March 13, 2025. Comments received will inform the integrated LRR and NEPA document. For more information on the project, including up to date meeting information, please go to the following website: https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental/Ecosystem-Restoration/Central-Everglades-Planning-Project/