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Survey delays extension of Ridge Road

The county needs to conduct a new biological check, which will take about six months, if it wants federal support.

By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published February 12, 2005

Tack another six-month delay onto the Ridge Road extension.

County officials recently learned they must conduct a new biological survey of the proposed 8.5-mile route if they hope to win the support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The survey, which checks for signs of Florida scrub jays and other threatened species, will take about two months, County Attorney Robert Sumner said. The wildlife service then has 132 days, or about 41/2 months, to review it, an agency spokesman said.

"It's the never-ending story," Sumner said with a sigh Friday. "We would still hope we'd be able to get the permit by the end of the year, but this new wrinkle may delay us further."

The permit would actually be from the Army Corps of Engineers, which consults the wildlife service and other agencies before deciding whether to give a green light to the project.

The plans for the road have stalled several times in recent years, under objections from environmentalists and scrutiny from the permitting agencies. Consultant Jake Varn assured a frustrated County Commission in May that the final permits would be in hand within six to nine months, barring any legal challenges.

The county clinched a permit in September 2003 from the Southwest Florida Water Management District but continues to go back and forth with the Army Corps, the other permitting agency.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife has steadfastly opposed the road, arguing it would create "a substantial and unacceptable adverse impact to aquatic resources of national importance," namely the waterways in the Serenova Nature Preserve.

Pasco officials hope to convince the agency otherwise. The wildlife service says it's willing to listen, but it needs the county to update its 2001 biological survey on the route.

"We're open to dialogue if they think they've got a different plan that might be more palatable to us," said Chuck Underwood, spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife office in Jacksonville.

The County Commission approved a slate of changes in August that reduced the Serenova wetlands destruction from 20 to 15 acres. Mike Nowicki, project manager for the Army Corps, said Friday he is awaiting additional information.

"We're trying to get to the point where Fish and Wildlife will either agree that the project is okay with them or they will maintain their objection," he said.

Nowicki said the Army Corps is still neutral on the project: "We're still, believe it or not, gathering information."

The proposed limited-access highway would link Moon Lake Road to the Suncoast Parkway and U.S. 41.

County officials argue it would provide much-needed east-west relief for state roads 52 and 54 and serve as a hurricane evacuation route. But environmentalists oppose the road because it would slice through Serenova and potentially open new areas for development.

The wildlife service shares some of those concerns, as Serenova was set aside as conservation land to offset the impact of the Suncoast Parkway.

"As soon as you start messing with the conservation easement on this property, you begin negating the reason the property was set aside to begin with," Underwood said. "You've kind of defeated the purpose."

It is possible for the corps to grant a permit over the objections of the wildlife service. But it's unlikely.

"As with any federal agency we work with, they understand if we don't agree on any given project, it's probably not in their best interest to approve the permit," Underwood said.

That's because the wildlife service decides whether a project complies with the Endangered Species Act, he said. If the agency determines a project doesn't fit the standards but the Army Corps permits it anyway, the corps could be held liable for any damage to the threatened species, he said.

Sumner is hopeful about getting the wildlife service's blessing. He said the Ridge Road extension was planned long before the Serenova tract became conservation land.

"It was understood there was going to be a road there," he said.

And he said there is no sign that scrub jays live in the area. One such bird was seen in a survey about six years ago, he said, but there was no sign of a colony and no sightings since.

"Maybe we can never satisfy them," Sumner said, "but I would hope we could."

Bridget Hall Grumet covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bhall@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 12, 2005, 00:25:13]