spearfisher

I recieved this email from Robert Turpin today. Attatched at the bottom is the document that was sent to Escambia County on March 5, 2008 regarding this issue.

Richard,


The pdf file is attached. I have pasted the text of two of my recent responses, icluding a couple of points as requested by Marine Advisory Committee) PLEASE NOTE: These are not the only communications, merely the most recent responses. We keep telling them our position as requested by the stakeholders via Marine Advisory Committee, but they keep coming back to us apparently wanting us to change our answers.



1. Here is the language from my 17 Nov. 2008 email:
"The stakeholders have spoken with county commissioners and county administrator. They desire the LAARS West permit modifications and expansion as requested (no deployment/post-deployment monitoring or precise coordinate reporting). Escambia County Marine Advisory Committee voted unanimously in favor of maintaining the requested modifications and expansion."




2. Here is my Reply one month later-
I will address each of the 5 points in FWC's March 4, 2008 letter below:

1. "Programmatic and Management Oversight"- Escambia County will conduct visual inspections of proposed artificial reef materials according to the existing LAARS permit conditions and operational protocols. No change is proposed to existing procedures. Upon determination that the proposed artificial reef materials meet LAARS permit conditions, Escambia County will issue an authorization for the deployment of the materials; the authorization will be valid for 60 days. The individual to whom the authorization is issued will be responsible for completing the reporting requirements required by LAARS Permit. Post-deployment reporting of reef coordinates will not include decimal fractions less than one minute of latitude/longitude. Applicants' signatures on the form certify the materials were deployed within theLAARS permit area. No deployment or post-deployment compliance monitoring will be conducted. Escambia County will maintain an Excel spreadsheet of all LAARS West personal reef deployments. Escambia County will electronically transmit the LAARS West Personal Reef Deployments Spreadsheet to Army Corps of Engineers on an annual basis, no later than April 1 of the following year.

2. "Reporting and compliance monitoring"- As indicated in #1 (above), the individual to whom the authorization is issued will be responsible for completing the reporting requirements required by LAARS Permit. Post-deployment reporting of reef coordinates will not include decimal fractions less than one minute of latitude/longitude. Applicants will utilize the "honor system" in certifying the materials were deployed within theLAARS permit area. No deployment or post-deployment compliance monitoring will be conducted.

3. "Material performance"- Materials of 50 lbs in weight and metal thickness of 1/8th-inch per existing LAARS permit standards will be maintained. Escambia County will obtain and deploy "Study Reefs"( artificial reef materials similar to those deployed in LAARS West as "personal reefs"). These Study Reefs will be monitored by Escambia County as part of the county's annual underwater artificial reef monitoring. Reef attributes and recreationally-important fish abundnace will be recorded. When practical, underwater video recordings will be made. An annual "Study Reefs Summary" will be compiled and reported to Army Corps of Engineers, no later than April 1 of the following year.

4. "SIte Expansion"- Escambia County maintains the request to expand LAARS West as previously requested. Upon Escambia County's receipt of the exact coordinates of any pipeline, structure, or object of concern, Escambia County will review the proposed reef coordinates in each LAARS personal reef application, and notify the applicant if potential conflicts occur. Other than one pipeline, no other specific coordinates of conflict have been identified in the expansion area. Personal reef builders will conduct a fathometer scan of the seafloor to ensure no artificial reef materials are deployed within 200 feet of any natural reef, hard-bottom, outcropping or similar benthic community.

5. "Coordination with other user groups"- Public notice of the proposed activity has been accomplished by Army Corps of Engineers. In addition, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) staff have meet with commercial fishers in the Florida panhandle. The topic of LAARS and porposed expansion has been discussed in the print, radio and television media for more than one year. All legal requirements have been fulfilled.


Escamabia County remains firmly supportive of stakeholder desires on these issues.

Regards,
Robert Turpin, Manager
Escambia County Marine Resources Division

Attached Files

Clearinghouse_Letter_08-3934C_(COE_LAARS-West_Site).pdf (3.65 MB, 18 views)

spearfisher

what absolutely positively doesn't make any sense to me is that FDEP issuedthe statepermit for this project on October 30, 2007 and then on March 5, 2008 (five months later) FWC a state entity turned around and made negative comments concerning the federal permit. If they had misgivings about the project why not adress that when the state permits were issued!? This needs to be adressed with our FWC commissioners at the next FWC meeting! :banghead:banghead:banghead:banghead:banghead:bang head:banghead:banghead