Army Corps spokeswoman says agency processing county permit for northern section of creek in accord with standard procedures
Confusion arose this week about the status of a permit that the Sarasota County Public Works Department needs to dredge a portion of Phillippi Creek where sediment buildup led to repeated flooding of homes during the 2024 storm season, The Sarasota News Leader has learned.
Representatives of community organizations that have been urging the county commissioners to get the work on the creek underway as soon as possible reported this week that they had learned from a county representative that an application for an emergency permit that the county’s Public Works staff had submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) had been denied. As it turned out, the information initially came from County Administrator Jonathan Lewis, as the News Leader read in an email he distributed on June 25.
Spencer Anderson, director of Public Works, told the County Commission in May that the USACE permit was necessary for the dredging of Phillippi Creek from 1,200 feet east of U.S. 41 to Beneva Road.
In a June 25 email to Kristy Molyneaux, a member of an organization established this year called SAND (Supporters for Action Now in Dredging), County Administrator Jonathan Lewis wrote, “Yes, I did tell the Commissioners that the Emergency portion of the permit has been denied, which we continue to fight.”
Lewis added, “Our permitting process for the other work is continuing per the Army Corps process.
“As soon as the County receive the emergency permit,” Lewis pointed out, “Spencer Anderson has confirmed that his staff is immediately ready to do the work, plus supplementing with contracts.”
The same day Lewis sent his email — as shown in a link provided in the email chain on the county website — the News Leader also read an email from Anderson to Seth Johnson, a representative of homeowners in the Southgate community who live on Phillippi Creek.
Anderson explained that the USACE had denied the permit in the context of an emergency situation. “It is being processed as a standard permit,” Anderson wrote.
For more details, the News Leader contacted Amanda Parker, deputy chief of public affairs for the USACE at the agency’s Jacksonville District Office.
In a June 25 email, Parker explained, “The statement that we denied a permit for the proposed project is incorrect. Initially, it was anticipated the project would be authorized under the emergency permitting process.” However, Parker added, “there was not a general permit (NWP/GP) that the proposed work qualified under. We are processing the project as a Standard Permit, with a 21-day public notice and we are aware of the urgency/need for the project.”
“NWP” refers to the USACE’s Nationwide Permit program, while “GP” refers to general permits.
Parker also reported, “A public notice for the project was issued on June 9 with a public comment period ending June 23.”
Further, in her June 25 email, Parker noted, “Although [the public notice] says the public comment period ends June 23, we will continue to take comments until a decision is made on the permit. I cannot report if we received any comments during the comment period yet. The project manager is out on leave.”
If the News Leader wanted copies of any comments, she added that she could provide them after the project manager returns to the office.
During the May 20 County Commission meeting, the News Leader understood Anderson of Public Works to say that county staff had complied with the USACE criteria for an expedited permitting process.
In response to questions that day from Chair Joe Neunder, Anderson said that after staff submitted its emergency process permit application to the USACE, the federal agency sent staff a Request for Additional Information (RAI), and staff had responded to that.
The county timeline regarding the USACE permitting process
Along with Anderson’s response to Johnson of the Southgate community, the June 25 email exchange with leaders of the Phillippi Creek communities that the News Leader reviewed included a detailed timeline that Assistant County Administrator Mark Cunningham put together in regard to the USACE permit.
Cunningham’s remarks are as follows:
- 1. “Sarasota County submitted an emergency/expedited permit application to dredge [the high spots in the creek] to the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) on April 13, 2025, prior to the April 14, 2025 ‘emergency’ permit application deadline.
- 2. “Initial feedback from the USACOE via a Request for Additional Information (RAI) was received on April 15, 2025. The RAI informed the County that insufficient information was submitted to provide a complete review of the application.
- 3. “County staff communicated with USACOE staff on April 16, 2025, and was given the following general guidance:
— “Submit additional detail on the desired high spot dredging including plan and profiles along with proposed dredge volumes and sediment management plan.
— “Break out the separate high spot areas so the USACOE could potentially issue separate permits if certain areas of the creek are easier to permit than others (i.e. a previous permit exists in one area and not another).
— “The County would continue to qualify for the ‘emergency’ permit process because the original application submittal occurred before the ‘emergency/expedited’ permit process authorization expired.
- 4. “On May 13, 2025, the County provided documents the USACOE requested via the 4/15/25 RAI.
- 5. “On June 4, 2025, the USACOE informed the County of the following:
— “The County’s application would likely NOT qualify for the emergency permitting process because the RAI response documents were submitted after the emergency permitting process authorization expired.
— “Permitting the project in sections was no longer feasible due to technicalities of the project and permitting guidelines.
- 6. “The June 4, 2025, determination came as a significant surprise to the County since it was contrary to what was discussed and directed by the USACOE on April 16, 2025.
- 7. “Historically, all the proposed high spot dredge areas within the Phillippi Creek are documented to have been previously dredged. This is originally documented with the creation of the Phillippi Creek Drainage District in the 1920’s (plans available); from the mouth of the Creek to Tuttle [Avenue] in 2002; and, other individual project or permit areas along the proposed dredge corridor.
- 8. “There are no elements of this waterway that County staff considers to be of federal interest, other than limited submerged aquatic vegetation that could be impacted by the proposed dredging. The Creek is not a shipping corridor, there is no port, major or minor, and there is no marine commerce in this geographic area. In our opinion, the only federal interest is issuing the permit.
- 9. “Obtaining the USACOE permit is the only roadblock to the County to begin the dredging of the high spots within the Creek. Florida Emergency Orders and local permit authorizations are in place to allow for this emergency work to commence.
- 10. “It was requested of the ACOE that the permit be issued immediately utilizing the emergency process timeline so we can restore stormwater conveyance capacity within the Phillippi Creek allow runoff from future major rainfall events.”
The USACE permit notice
The USACE permit notice explains the following: “The project would affect aquatic resources associated with Phillippi Creek. The project site is located within 11 separate sections of Phillippi Creek beginning at Riverbluff Parkway … and ending at Beneva Road (latitude 27.3268° and longitude -82.4976°) …”
Then the notice provides details about the current conditions in the project area: “The proposed dredging will affect the lower estuarine portion of Phillippi Creek, a tidal creek system that is part of the Larger Sarasota Bay Watershed. The lower portion of the Phillippi Creek, east of Beneva Road and south of Bahia Vista Street, encompasses approximately 7 miles of relatively unaltered shallow estuarine tidally influenced waters with naturally occurring bends and little development of the creek itself. The majority of the surrounding banks are bulkheaded and contain small residential docking structures.”
This is the proposed work, the notice says: “The applicant requests authorization to dredge Phillippi Creek to -4 below Mean Low Water (MLW) and remove 9,480 square feet (35,906 cubic yards) of substrate using a shallow barge. Material will be stored within containers on the barge and within an upland material management site until dry, then dredged material will be disposed of at an approved upland landfill or used for roadway expansion projects.”
The notice also explains, “Historic dredging efforts were targeted at the mouth of the creek from Little Sarasota Bay north and east to US 41 and a few small areas within the areas of Proctor Road and south of Bee Ridge Road, the most recent being in 2000. The existing creek has experienced a large accumulation of sedimentation which has created navigational and flood control hazards due to stormwater runoff and unauthorized ‘prop dredging’ throughout much of the creek with the larger sedimentation occurring north of Bee Ridge Road to Beneva Road.”
Further, the notice points out, “The typical water depth for the creek is -4 mean low water (MLW). In areas of sedimentation, water levels average between -2 MLW and -0.5 MLW or have areas of sediment exposure and are impassible for recreational watercraft. The 2024 hurricane season contributed to the Phillippi Creek sedimentation from excessive flooding and runoff from the nearby Fruitville community.”
In regard to the USACE’s evaluation of the project, the notice says the following: “The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits, which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal, must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors which may be relevant to the proposal will be considered including cumulative impacts thereof; among these are conservation, economics, esthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historical properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food, and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership, and in general, the needs and welfare of the people. A permit will be granted unless its issuance is found to be contrary to the public interest.”
The WCIND dredging initiative
On June 25, the News Leader also contacted Justin McBride, executive director of the West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND), for an update on that organization’s efforts to get the permits it needs for maintenance dredging of Phillippi Creek from the mouth of the creek to U.S. 41.
In an email response that morning, McBride wrote, “WCIND has applied … for the necessary permits from the DEP [Florida Department of Environmental Protection] and the USACE. The permits are in-process and, by all accounts progressing through the review process. WCIND did provide response to requests for additional information (RAI) to both agencies. We responded [to] DEP on 6/6/2025 and to the USACE on 6/13/2025.”
He added that the permit applications are “moving along nicely in our estimation.”
The News Leader further inquired as to whether he had an idea yet about when the dredging could begin from the mouth of the creek to U.S. 41. McBride pointed out, “Until I have permits, it is very hard for me to give you any sort of accurate timeline. What I can tell you is that WCIND, in conjunction with Sarasota County, is doing everything possible to complete the project as fast as possible. We are nearly complete with the bid documents and once we have the authorization will advertise the work within hours.”