The Port plays an integral role in the restoration, improvement and protection of the environmental health of Tampa Bay. As a part of that role, the Port has proven that industrial development need not be at the expense of the environment, and in many cases, can actually enhance it. Our award-winning mitigation site is a perfect example. It is a 276-acre wetland community of high and low salt marshes, mangrove swamps, tidal channels and salt flats. The mitigation site, on Pendola Point, has been established as a natural preserve to offset the impact of filling in 60 acres at the William Hooker's Point Berthing Facility. The Port constantly strives to ensure that our large-scale and diversified enterprise operates safely and responsibly within Florida's fragile coastal ecosystem.

TAMPA PORT AUTHORITY TO PERFORM WETLAND MITIGATION IN THE COCKROACH BAY AQUATIC PRESERVE

The Tampa Port Authority has agreed to perform wetland mitigation in the Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve in the Tampa Harbor to off-set environmental impacts associated with two new development projects in the Port of Tampa. The Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve is located in southeast Hillsborough County on approximately 8500 acres of sovereign submerged lands, owned by the Port Authority, and uplands. The submerged lands of the preserve include seagrass beds, hard-bottom and oyster reefs. The shoreline is protected by numerous mangrove islands that provide nursery areas for snook, red drum and other gamefish. Natural and spoil islands are within the boundary and are also managed as part of the preserve. The mitigation project will involve habitat restoration of about seventy-five (75) acres of the Preserve to estuarine wetlands.

The wetland improvements will be designed and constructed to satisfy all permit mitigation requirements of the joint Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP)/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Environmental Resource Permit for both projects. The design will be reviewed by the South West Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) prior to implementation to assure conformance with the District’s wetland restoration master plan for Cockroach Bay.

The total cost of the project will not exceed $1 million. In consideration for the Tampa Port Authority using the Cockroach Bay preservation area as its mitigation site, the Port Authority will separately pay Hillsborough County a one-time payment of $100,000, which the County will use to perform general upland maintenance work at Cockroach Bay. A Usage Agreement for the Port Authority’s use of the County land at Cockroach Bay conservation area has been prepared and entered into between the County and the Tampa Port Authority, subject to approval by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. In addition, an Agreement between SWFWMD and the Tampa Port Authority will be prepared and executed to pay for any project cost in excess of the Port Authority’s $1 million dollar project budget.

Despite the relatively high cost, the Tampa Port Authority considers the project a good investment because the off-site mitigation reserves uplands owned by the Port for future development for Port operations and also assists the County in completing habitat restoration in Cockroach Bay, as well as SWFWMD restoration master plan for the area. The project effectively balances important commercial requirements with sensitive environmental needs.

Marine Construction Permitting

The following documents are available in PDF format:

When you click on the PDF file, the document will populate in the Acrobat Reader. Use this as you do Internet navigation tools. It will allow you to move forward, backward, and print the document. This program does open a new browser window, so if you click the X on the top right, you will return to the Port Authority website.

Also, the Permit Application is available in Microsoft Word, Click here to download.