Services Environmental Permitting

Description of Work: Sundance Trails Ranch is a 768 acre development in eastern Okeechobee County. For 40 years, the site was used as a sod farm. However, the site contains wet prairie, forested wetland and marsh communities in addition to upland pine flatwoods and mixed hardwood forests. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) claimed 254 acres as jurisdictional wetlands. CECOS was contracted to obtain a USACE permit to develop the property. This project involved complex environmental permitting and agency negotiations to obtain federal permit authorization under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Initial permit activities began in 2007 with permit authorization received in 2008 for a residential development. In 2013, CECOS was requested to modify the permit to reflect a change in use. The site was ultimately developed to host large-scale music festivals. This change required a permit modification, which was authorized in 2015. A goal of the client was to preserve as much of the natural habitats as possible and work them into the ‘experience’ of the site. Specific activities included evaluating the USACE jurisdictional wetland delineation, evaluating the on-site wetland communities using Uniform Mitigation Assessment Method (UMAM), analyzing wetland impacts and updating impacts based on various project concepts, and developing and modifying a wetland mitigation plan. The original mitigation plan involved on-site creation and restoration of 34 acres and enhancement of 62 acres of wetlands and uplands. After construction of some of the sites, the mitigation plan was revised and a permit modification obtained. Extensive agency negotiation and coordination was necessary to obtain the permit modification due to rule changes associated with mitigation requirements (i.e., use of a Bank instead of onsite mitigation).

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Description of Work: Florida Department of Transportation is currently constructing an expansion of I-75 from north of Griffin Road to I-595 (referred to as Segment E) to include express lanes within the existing median. The proposed improvements also include drainage improvements and noise barriers. CECOS provided environmental permitting and list species surveys for the Design-Build Team. CECOS was a subconsultant to WSP and was responsible for modifying the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) permit due to design changes including the construction of a noise barrier and drainage improvements within jurisdictional wetlands and filling a pond. The permit was originally obtained for the entire corridor from Miami Gardens Drive in Miami-Dade County to I- 595 in Broward County. We evaluated on-site replacement wetlands, which resulted in zero net impacts to wetlands and required no additional mitigation. The results were presented to the USACE during an interagency meeting on behalf of the FDOT. A permit modification was required for the proposed placement of muck fill into jurisdictional ponds/borrow pits which had substantial vegetated littoral zones. We prepared the permit modification application with the required supporting documentation, which was approved within one month. A second modification was required due to additional changes during construction including impact to over one acre of wetlands. CECOS also permitted this effort which included development of a wetland restoration plan. The plan included restoring 1.22 acres of land impacted by fill activities. This was accomplished by excavating the area to adjacent elevations. This site is currently being monitored for compliance with permit conditions.

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Description of Work: This Design and permitting project was part of a supplement agreement to the Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Phase of the contract. Under the PD&E phase for a 25 mile segment of SR 710, CECOS was responsible for preparing the NEPA document and support environmental documents (wetlands, threatened and endangered species and contamination). Under this contract, CECOS was responsible for preparing all environmental permit applications. FDOT determined that this project was a candidate for a Design-Build project, therefore permits had to be obtained under a reduced schedule. CECOS was able to obtain permits prior to NTP being issued to the selection Team. The design project traverses significant environmentally sensitive areas. CECOS was responsible for preparation of a South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) and a US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Section 404 Dredge and Fill permit. Specific activities conducted to complete the applications included: wetland delineation, mapping and assessments (over 50 acres of impact) and listed species surveys. Wetland delineation and mapping the jurisdictional boundaries was accomplished through field delineation utilizing a submeter GPS unit in conjunction with the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis and aerial photo-interpretation. CECOS was responsible for preparing the permit application, responding to any Requests for Additional Information (RAIs), identifying mitigation options and calculating mitigation credits through UMAM, WRAP, M-WRAP and WATER assessments. CECOS was also responsible for conducting a wood stork functional assessment to define wood stork mitigation credits, cumulative impact assessment and conducting agency coordination.

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Description of Work: The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), District 4, in association with the City of Ft. Lauderdale is replacing four low level bridges that link the Bridges of the Isles to Las Olas Boulevard and a bridge that connects Sunrise Key to the mainland. All five bridges were structurally deficient and functionally obsolete with substandard typical sections. As a result of public input, local government coordination, and a detailed comparative analysis of viable alternatives, the alternative was selected to replace the bridges along their existing horizontal and vertical alignments and all bridges are currently being replaced to meet current safety and design standards. CECOS was part of the MCM/Gannett Fleming Design Build Team and responsible for environmental permitting. As part of the permitting effort, CECOS conducted a marine benthic survey to determine if significant benthic resources were present. The benthic survey revealed Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii), a federally listed species, was present at two of the bridges. It was determined that impact to a small amount of seagrass was unavoidable. SEE MORE

Description of Work: This Design-Build project involved the replacement of four fixed, low level bridges located along US-1 over the Lake Worth Creek oxbow. The project consisted of constructing parallel (twin) bridge structures for both the northern and southern bridges at the same location as the existing bridges. This bridge replacement project is located within the Loxahatchee River Aquatic Preserve and Outstanding Florida Water (OFW). CECOS was responsible for the environmental permitting effort and associated environmental support studies. Specific activities included preparation of permit applications (South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) SLERP, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Section 404 Dredge/Fill permit and USCG Bridge Permit). Support activities included conducting a seagrass survey and mangrove delineation to map and defined wetland impacts.

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Description of Work: The City of Deerfield Beach, under the Local Agency Program (LAP) agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), conducted a Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Study to evaluate alternatives for mobility and safety improvements to SR A1A. The project limits are from SE 3rd Street to NE 7th Street, a distance of approximately 0.84 mile. Three alternatives were evaluated for possible improvements and included modifying traffic circulation. Public involvement was a critical component to address potential impacts to businesses, including a reduction of parking.

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Description of Work: The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is proposing improvements to Krome Avenue between Kendall Avenue and Tamiami Trail to address safety concerns and traffic demands. The improvements will result in an expansion of the roadway from its current two-lane design to a fourlane divided roadway to meet current safety and design standards. CECOS was contracted to prepare and acquire the environmental permits for this project. The land cover in the project area is predominantly undeveloped and includes wetlands, agriculture and industrial land uses. The project involved acquisition of right of way and impacts to approximately 54 acres of wetlands, which required compensatory mitigation. The habitat in the project area supports several state-listed threatened and endangered species including the Eastern indigo snake, Florida panther, West Indian manatee, wood stork, and several other species.

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Description of Work: The project site is located within Port Everglades, adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) in Broward County, Florida. The project involves extending a major docking facility, Berth 27, for a length of approximately 360 feet, within an existing dredged basin. The site is surrounded by existing port facilities to the west and to the east is John U. Lloyd State Park an important sea turtle nesting area, as well as designated Outstanding Florida Waters. CECOS was responsible for preparing and obtaining environmental permits for construction of the new berth. Permits were required from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), Broward County Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Environmental issues include potential degradation to water quality, hydrodynamic circulation impacts within the basin, risks to protected species (i.e., manatee and nesting sea turtles), impacts to essential fish habitat (EFH) and marine benthic resources, addressing contaminant concerns associated with dredged material and development of appropriate construction methods to avoid/minimize turbidity and sedimentation impacts.

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