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From: lisamarie carrubba (Lisamarie.Carrubba@noaa.gov)

To: coralations@yahoo.com;
Date: Thu, July 29, 2010 12:45:49 PM
Cc: David.Bernhart@noaa.gov; Robert.Hoffman@noaa.gov; roy.crabtree@noaa.com; Jim.Lecky@noaa.gov;
Subject: Re: Federally Funded Shopping Mall Culebra

Mary Ann:

You are correct that projects with a federal nexus, including federal funding and permits, require section 7
consultation pursuant to the requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) if the project will impact
listed species or their habitat. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Protected Resources Division
does not have a record of consultation with HUD or EPA for this project, which consists of the construction
of a small two-story building with space for 10 commercial facilities and parking. However, based on the
information you provided and after speaking with the biologist from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) who reviewed this project, the project is located on uplands adjacent to El Eden restaurant and
store and is not adjacent to the coast. Information from the USFWS project file indicates that neither the dry
creek that is east of the project site and drains toward Ensenada Honda, nor vegetation along the mountain
slope south and west of the project will be disturbed by the project. Only areas that were previously cleared
as part of the preparation of the project site will be impacted by the construction of the building, and earthen
berms and other sediment control measures will be employed during project construction to minimize the
transport of sediment from the site during construction activities.

Given the project's location on uplands that are not adjacent to the coast, do not contain listed species under
NMFS' purview, and are not within coastal waters designated as critical habitat for green sea turtles and listed
coral species, HUD and/or EPA, as funding and permitting agencies, respectively, for the project, would not
need a section 7 consultation with NMFS for the project. If any listed species or their designated critical
habitat occur within the terrestrial footprint of this project, USFWS would be the Service with jurisdiction.

On the other hand, if, during construction of the shopping center, you provide evidence to NMFS that the
construction activity is resulting in sediment transport to nearshore waters and this is impacting listed sea
turtles and/or listed corals, our law enforcement agent responsible for investigating cases in Culebra, Kenneth
Henline, can investigate to determine whether a NOAA enforcement action is warranted.

Thank you,
Lee

Dr. Lisamarie Carrubba

NOAA Fisheries
Caribbean Field Office
P.O. Box 1310
Boquerón, PR 00622
787-851-3700
787-851-5588 (fax)

CORALations wrote:
Dear NOAA:

This is to bring to your immediate attention the allocation of federal HUD funds in support of a strip-style shopping center on
the small island of Culebra, Puerto Rico. A notice referencing the release of federal funds appeared in a local paper on 13th of
July and was the first we learned of the federally funded project.
However, dramatic clearing in 2007 deforested much of the watershed of the site and resulted in sedimentation to coastal

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waters was documented by our org.

It is not clear from the documents reviewed if this impact was associated with federal funding released from earlier phases of this
project, since the documents available for review are confusing at best and very incomplete, if, in fact, what we were shown was
the complete document.

This is urgent because Federal funds are scheduled to be allocated 15 days after the notice printed on the 13th meaning deadline
for comments is today at midnight.

Specifically, we are requesting a response from your agency indicating whether NMFS NOAA was involved in the
Section 7 review on this project given that all of Culebra is in the Coastal Zone and coastal waters are federally
listed as critical habitat, and,

we are hoping your agency can intervene if they have not enjoyed a section 7 review on the release of these Federal
Funds until NOAA does review.

While the announcement in the paper referenced no numbers, in the documents available for short notice review we found two
numbers matching the
same project description as written in the public notice:

04-AB-21-002, Fase I de III, Diseno y construccion del Centro de Comercio Playas Sardinas, en el Mun. de Culebra,
and
04-FC-21-002, Fase II de III, Diseno y constrccion del Centro de Comercio Playas Sardinas, en el Mun. de Culebra.

Federal funds are being allocated from OCAM for this shopping center on Culebra possibly this week based on the information in
the announcement on the 13th.

Oficina del Comisionado de Asunto Municipales

Apartado Postal 70167
San Juan, PR 00936-8167
787-754-1600 fax 787-753-8254
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other relevant contacts:

Armando Fana
Acting Field Office Director
Federal Office of Housing and Urban Development
San Juan Field Office
Parque Las Americas I
235 Federico Costa Street, Suite 200
San Juan, PR 00918-1322
787-766-5400 Fax 787-766-5995
PR_Webmanager@hud.gov

Certifying Officer is Hon. Abraham Pena Nieves note: the Mayor is very ill right now and not in the office,
Alcalde de Culebra
Apartado Postal 189
Culebra, PR 00775
787-742-3521, 742-3523
Fax 787-742-0111

THANK YOU,

Mary Ann Lucking

Director
CORALations
P.O. Box 750
Culebra, PR 00775
www.coralations.org
1-877-77CORAL / 1-877-77(2-6725) (gratis / toll free)
(o) 787-556-6234 email: maryann@coralations.org

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"How quickly it could all disappear! And how it is beginning to drive us further into where we hope are impenetrable places,
green secrets at the end of bad roads, head-lands where the next view is not of a hotel but of some long beach without a figure
and the hanging question of some fisherman's smoke at its far end..." Derek Walcott, Nobel Lecture 1992

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