Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/11681/26681
Title: San Juan, Puerto Rico : Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Mitigation Environmental Assessment
Authors: United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Jacksonville District
Keywords: San Juan (P.R.)
Environmental protection
Aquatic plants
Publisher: United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Jacksonville District.
Abstract: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposes to fill approximately 4 acres of certain dredged holes in Condado Lagoon to create habitat as mitigation for impacts of widening the Puerto Nuevo Channel in San Juan Harbor in 2001. The project would involve placing approximately 46,000 cubic yards of suitable material to a depth of -12 feet to -15 feet to create 1.2 acres of habitat for sea grass (Halophila decipiens) and marine macro-algae. An earlier mitigation plan involved raising the bottom elevation of a portion of San Juan Harbor to support sea grass. This earlier mitigation plan presents (among other concerns) engineering concerns over the confinement of the material used for raising the elevation. Extensive and costly structures would be needed to contain the material and prevent migration of material into the navigation channel. The fill material for the currently proposed mitigation plan would come from the recently shoaled areas of the La Esperanza Ecosystem Restoration project located along the western shore of San Juan Bay. In La Esperanza, one borrow source would be the north-facing opening into San Juan Bay. The east-facing opening could also provide some material if needed. Both of these areas have experienced substantial shoaling since the completion of the La Esperanza Ecosystem Restoration Project on May 20, 2005. The filling of dredged holes in the Condado Lagoon was previously proposed in 2004 as a “beneficial use of dredged material” project under Section 204 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 (a Continuing Authorities Program). In addition, restoration of sea grass beds in Condado Lagoon would support a goal of the San Juan Bay Estuary Program’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. The mitigation would involve the use of pipelines, boats, and other equipment. Activities in Condado Lagoon would be subject to the requirements and restrictions imposed by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER). The placement of pipeline and the use of boats and equipment for the proposed mitigation could conflict with other uses for portions of Condado Lagoon. Portions of the lagoon and other project areas may experience a temporary increase in sedimentation and turbidity but this would be mostly limited to the deeper areas (the dredged holes).
Description: Environmental Assessment
Rights: Approved for Public Release; Distribution is Unlimited
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/11681/26681
Appears in Collections:Environmental Documents

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