Abstract
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recommended the construction of spreader swales to improve flow downstream of the existing culverts under Tamiami Trail into Northeast Shark River Slough in Everglades National Park (ENP). Additional technical information from the USACE, South Florida Water Management District, and National Park Service differs in the amount of potential benefit that can be attributed to swales. Therefore, ENP agreed to evaluate the effectiveness of swales through potential modeling and/ or construction of pilot swales. The potential environmental impacts associated with this project were analyzed through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA). In this report, I will provide some background of ENP and the Pilot Spreader Swale Project, as well as an overview of the NEPA process. I will also describe the Pilot Spreader Swale Project EA and my involvement, as well as my primary responsibility, which involves the coordination and preparation of documented Categorical Exclusion level projects, using the Tamiami Trail Swales Topographic Survey as an example.