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PBSD MSTU Clam Bay Minutes 03/18/2024PELICAN BAY SERVICES DIVISION CLAM BAY COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 18, 2024 The Clam Bay Committee of the Pelican Bay Services Division met on Monday, March 18 at 1:30 p.m. at the PBSD Office in the Truist Building, 801 Laurel Oak Drive, Naples, Florida 34108. In attendance were: Clam Bay Committee Denise McLaughlin, Chair Pelican Bay Services Division Staff Neil Dorrill, Administrator (absent) Dawn Brewer, Ops. Support Spec. II (absent) Chad Coleman, Operations Manager Darren Duprey, Supervisor — Field I (absent) Also Present Jack Cullen, PBSD Board Mohamed Dabees, Humiston & Moore Michael Fogg, PBSD Board Michael Rodburg Rick Swider Dave Greenfield, Supervisor -Field II Karin Herrmann, Project Manager I (absent) Lisa Jacob, Project Manager II Barbara Shea, Admin. Support Spec. II Jeremy Sterk, Earth Tech Michael Weir, PBSD Board APPROVED AGENDA (AS PRESENTED) Pledge of Allegiance 2. Roll call 3. Agenda approval 4. Approval of 10/30/2023 meeting minutes 5. Audience comments 6. Update on Clam Pass 7. 2023 Clam Bay Monitoring Report 8. Adjournment ROLL CALL All members were present and a quorum was established. Mr. Rodburg motioned, Mr. Swider seconded to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF 10/30/2023 MEETING MINUTES Pelican Bay Services Division Clam Bay Committee Meeting March 18, 2024 Mr. Rodburg motioned, Mr. Swider seconded to approve the 10/30/2023 meeting minutes as presented. The motion carried unanimously. AUDIENCE MEMBER INTRODUCTION PBSD Board members, PBSD staff, consultants, and audience members introduced themselves. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Mr. Michael Movsovich, a representative of the Seagate Property Owners Association, commented that the 1998 Clam Pass dredge template extended from the inlet past the drawbridge. He noted that based on this precedent, and opinions of several coastal engineers, the Seagate Property Owners Association believes a return to this paradigm would enhance the tidal flushing in the system, which would improve the overall health, water quality, and stability of the Clam Bay system. Mr. Movsovich suggested that both navigation and fishing are now impaired. Mr. Movsovich commented that Clam Bay is impaired for nitrogen, phosphorus, and dissolved oxygen. He reported that the Seagate community has started the process of water quality testing in Seagate canals. Mr. Movsovich, on behalf of the Seagate Property Owners Association, encouraged obtaining permission (from the regulatory agencies) to extend the dredging area from the end of the inlet to past the drawbridge, before the current permit expires in 2027. He urged the PBSD to consider joining the Seagate community in exploring this path. Ms. Susan O'Brien thanked Ms. McLaughlin for her work on the Clam Bay Committee as well as the PBSD Board. She asked for an update on having the equation for water quality that impacts total phosphorus and total nitrogen, and approaching FDEP about getting that equation where it was intended to be with specific conductivity. UPDATE ON CLAM PASS Dr. Mohamed Dabees, Coastal Engineer with Humiston & Moore, provided an update on Clam Pass conditions and plans for a 2024 hydraulic dredge. • Clam Pass conditions have improved since Dec. 2023/Jan. 2024. • February tidal ratios continue to hover above an acceptable .6 level. Data from four tidal gauges within Clam Bay are continuously monitored and reviewed (per the Clam Bay Management Plan). • If the tidal ratios drop below .5, without recovery, the Pass will close. Whenever tidal ratios decline to this level, a survey is performed. • The template is now at full capacity of sand. There is significant shoaling in Section B. • Sustained waves from tropical storms cause a lot of sand to be pushed into the entrance to the Pass. However, Hurricane Irma and Ian pushed shoals out of the inlet, while Hurricane Idalia pushed sand into the inlet and eroded beaches. • The 1999 dredge project was the only time dredging was performed up to the drawbridge. Additionally, some dredging was performed in upper and inner Clam Bay. Some of the sand removed was placed on the dune and some was hauled off -site (non -beach compatible sand). • A recent bid request package sent out to County dredge contractors did not result in any bids (resulting from the inability to obtain the equipment necessary to perform the dredge within the next two months). We have now put out a public bid for the project which will take 3-5 Pelican Bay Services Division Clam Bay Committee Meeting March 18, 2024 months to obtain bids, and County bid and funding approvals, before the project can begin. Hopefully the project can be deferred until just after the end of turtle nesting season. COMMENTS RELATING TO THE RENEWAL "Al OUR DREDGING PERMIT Dr. Dabees provided a discussion of our plans for the renewal of our dredging permit (with the state of Florida and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). • Our current permit expires in 2027. We will seek to renew our permit for an additional 15 years, and begin the renewal process 2-3 years prior. • It is strategically recommended that we apply for and obtain our renewal permit (from the U.S.A.C.E.) prior to asking for any modifications. A "permit mod" could be requested after our permit is renewed in 2027. It is critical that we obtain authorization for corrective action, in case of an emergency situation, with no lapse in time. It is unknown how long it would take to obtain approval of a "permit mod." • A strong justification would be required to expand the permitted dredge area. • In order to obtain regulatory approval, any expanded area may not have any adverse environmental impact. Seagrasses and mangroves must be protected. • We will consider any input from the Seagate community during the permit renewal process. • We may identify areas of concerns at our U.S.A.C.E. pre -application meeting. • The depth, distance from the channel, and design (dead ends) of Seagate canals all prevent natural flow, impairing water quality. • If permitted (via a "permit mod"), it may be possible to surgically dredge areas with evidence of shoaling, without interfering with the environment. • We will continue to collaborate with the Seagate community. 2023 CLAM BAY MONITORING REPORT Mr. Jeremy Sterk, Environmental Consultant with Earth Tech (ETE), provided a discussion of highlights of the ETE 2023 Annual Clam Bay Monitoring Report which included the following. • ETE has been monitoring Clam Bay biologicals since 2016. Reports on biological monitoring activities are issued annually. The 2020-2023 reports are posted on the PBSD webpage of the Collier County website. • Mangrove health is monitored by quantitative health scoring (in March and September each year) of the trees within each of 20 plots. These scores are tracked over time. Plots are scattered throughout Clam Bay. The number of trees per plot is tracked. Overall, we have seen an improvement in mangrove health from March 2023 — September 2023, and expect to see further improvement at the March 2024 assessment. • Mangrove health is also monitored through drone photography, which enables us to easily identify stressed mangrove areas. Stressed areas have been compared to prior years. We continue to see negative impacts from Hurricane Irma and Ian. Increased maintenance work on the hand -dug channels over the past five years has improved the health of mangroves in stressed areas. We are now seeing red mangrove recruitment (replacing prior black mangroves). • Dead mangroves adjacent to the Marker 36 facility have been removed and replaced with dune plantings including sea oats, railroad vines, and other ground cover. The health and growth of this area will be closely monitored. • Seagrass fixed transects are tracked over time. We have seen a significant overall decline in mapped acreage of seagrass since 2016. The existence of macro algae negatively affects Pelican Bay Services Division Clam Bay Committee Meeting March 18, 2024 June/July seagrass acreage, followed by a recovery in acreage during August/September, as the algae disappears. Mr. Coleman noted that the existence of seagrass in Outer Clam Bay will make it difficult to extend the dredging template. • It would be very difficult to transplant seagrass into Clam Bay. Also, a donor site would be required, which is currently unavailable. • Channel marker #13 was replaced last month by the County's C.Z.M. Dept. • The gopher tortoise population was decimated by Hurricane Ian, reducing the population from 80 to about 12 or 13. An application has been started to obtain approval to establish Clam Bay as a waif site. Ms. McLaughlin commented that the Naples Botanical Gardens is "testing for value," a mix of dune plantings for resistance to storm damage. Mr. Sterk commented that typically there is a lack of availability of these types of plantings. Mr. Swider suggested that it may be beneficial to spend more on adding hand -dug channels, and less on a lengthy annual report. Mr. Sterk commented that the price of the annual report has not increased over the past several years, and provides a lot of data. He also noted that over the past several years, we have increased the number of areas where hand -dug channel maintenance is performed each year. Mr. Swider questioned whether the maintenance budget should be increased to include even more areas. Mr. Coleman noted that permitting would be required to dig additional channels. Mr. Sterk confirmed that a U.S.A.C.E. permit would be required to add hand -dug channels. Areas have been identified that would benefit fiom additional channels to increase drainage. Dr. Dabees commented that water percolation through the mangroves is only a small component of the flushing in the Clam Bay system, and suggested that adding more channels may not be significant enough to increase water flow out of Clam Bay. Ms. O'Brien commented that the Annual Report cites four areas of stressed mangroves, and that three of these have improved as a result of additional hand -dug channel maintenance. She suggested that Mr. Sterk has stated that the fourth area would benefit from additional channels. Ms. O'Brien commented that two years ago, we had discussed having a pre -application meeting with S.F.W.M.D. to discuss the required process and documents needed to obtain a permit for additional channels. Exhibits had been prepared at that time. She suggested that E.T.E. may want to have that meeting to determine the feasibility of obtaining a permit for additional channels. Mr. Sterk commented that he has not approached the D.E.P. in regard to the conductivity issue brought up by Ms. O'Brien. Ms. Jacob suggested that he checks with the County's Pollution Control Dept. as a first step. Ms. O'Brien commented that this issue may be causing 20% more exceedances of nutrient levels in our sample results. Ms. McLaughlin commented on the "sideways trees" within the NRPA adjacent to the berm. Mr. Sterk commented that no trees may be removed from a NRPA area, unless drainage is impeded. He reported that ETE is working on removing invasives in the intermediate zone. Ms. McLaughlin commented that this would be her last Clam Bay Committee meeting (as she has resigned from the board effective March 19, 2024). She thanked Ms. Shea for her exceptional ability to capture what was discussed at our meetings into our meeting minutes. She also thanked Ms. Jacob, Mr. Coleman, and Ms. Herrmann for their project management, overseeing many projects over the past few years. Pelican Bay Services Division Clam Bay Committee Meeting March 18, 2024 The meetine was adiourned at 3:26 Michael RodbiugfCh r Minutes approved as presented OR as amended ON a9 a date