Regional General Permit and Ecosystem Management Agreement
JOE believes that environmental planning should extend beyond the lifespan of one landowner, one company or one group. Following this guiding principle, JOE worked with local citizens, community leaders and local and national environmental groups to create the Regional General Permit (RGP), a model for large-scale ecological protection.
The RGP will implement environmental and development planing for 48,150 acres in Walton and Bay counties and protects some of the most environmentally sensitive areas in Northwest Florida.
More than 70 percent of the land covered by the RGP - approximately 30,000 acres that include high quality wetlands - will be protected forever. The agreement protects the water resources of 19 sub-basins in the Western Bay County and Walton County watershed and is critical to the preservation of surface water quality for area residents. The plan created by this permit will create a wildlife corridor extending from Choctawhatchee Bay to St. Andrews Bay to preserve the ecological integrity and biological diversity of Northwest Florida’s most important watersheds.
In developing the RGP, JOE worked with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For its work to preserve wetlands under this permit, JOE was awarded the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Regional Director’s Conservation Award for 2005. Also in 2005, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps received the Council for Sustainable Florida’s 2005 Sustainable Florida Governmental Award for “forging a protective, comprehensive agreement with The St. Joe Company to save wetlands.” According to Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Colleen Castille, “This comprehensive agreement provides far-reaching wetlands protection, preserving sensitive natural resources while still providing for responsible growth in the area. By allowing the economy to grow while safeguarding important water resources, we are protecting the quality of life of those that live and work in Northwest Florida.”
Coastal Dune Lake Protection at WaterColor
Coastal dune lakes are unique to the Gulf region because the part these fresh water lakes play in nature is intimately connected with the Gulf itself. When the water level, through rain or other inflow, reaches a certain critical height, the dune lake will “pop-off,” releasing its water into the Gulf. At that point, sea water may enter the lake temporarily creating a mix of salt and fresh water, similar to an estuary. After the lake water level subsides, the connection to the Gulf will disappear until the lake is ready to discharge once more. Given the cyclical nature of the hydrology, these lakes are known to have a high level of biodiversity, supporting species which exist in fresh water, estuarine and marine environments.
For example, the WaterColor community is nestled between the Gulf Coast and Western Lake, a coastal dune lake. In the earliest stages of planning WaterColor, we took special care to ensure that the construction and existence of the community would have no detrimental effect on Western Lake. The homes are set several hundred feet back from the shore line and the woods form a natural buffer. We installed a series of interconnected storm water ponds to catch and filter run-off water. In addition, we planted native vegetation to simulate the filtering effects of natural wetlands. In this way sediment and pollutants are removed from the run-off water as it filters through the vegetation and underground water table, before reaching Western Lake.
Covenants prohibit the removal of trees and vegetation between private lots and the lake in order to preserve natural vegetation and habitat surrounding the lake. To ensure this preservation does not pose a fire hazard, JOE works with The Nature Conservancy to monitor and create plans for managing these natural areas.
Crooked Creek RiverCamp's Watershed Protection Easement
On its RiverCamps property in Bay County, JOE has provided an average of 500-foot buffer along the length of Crooked Creek. Government regulations only required a 30-foot setback. Additionally, no individual property owners docks will be allowed along the creek and JOE will provide recreational and educational amenities for homeowners such as a kayak launch, bird-watching towers and an interpretive center.
Protecting Water Quality
By designing master-planned communities that avoid piecemeal sales, JOE has been able to employ central water and wastewater systems that result in nitrate reductions. For example, 16,000 units could have been put on septic tanks in the West Bay sector plan area. However, JOE decided in favor of providing a central wastewater system. Another example is on St. James Island where JOE is providing advanced waste water treatment.
Camp Creek Golf Course
Featuring a dunescape appearance, Camp Creek golf course demonstrates JOE’s commitment to potable water conservation. The golf course is irrigated with reclaimed water and became a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary in 2004. This entailed receiving certification in six categories, including environmental planning, wildlife and habitat management, chemical use reduction and safety, water conservation, water quality management, and outreach and education. At least, 50 percent of the site is preserved for conservation and green space.
Walton County Effluent Facility
JOE is currently constructing an effluent holding pond in South Walton County that is designed to store a 30-day supply of public use effluent water from the wastewater treatment plant. The effluent holding pond is designed to furnish irrigation for the WaterSound project as well as future St. Joe projects in South Walton County.
Removing Effluent from West Bay
JOE has partnered with the City of Panama City Beach to provide a 4,000-acre spray irrigation site to accommodate the disposal of the City’s treated wastewater. Once implemented, the spray irrigation site will allow the City to discontinue the surface water discharge of up to 10 million gallons of treated wastewater per day to West Bay. The resulting reduction in nutrients discharged to West Bay is expected to improve water quality and provide long-tern ecological and recreational benefits to the Bay. Conversely, the upland and wetland vegetation would allow for a significant increase in nutrient assimilation at the spray irrigation site.
Permeable Concrete Use
JOE has replaced the shell and gravel alleys in WaterColor with permeable concrete that is a hard surface, yet allows for additional stormwater treatment to occur naturally by storing the runoff in the voids of the concrete. This material also reduces pure runoff from the site.
Tupelo Bend
Tupelo Bend comprises 6,000 acres of the most ecologically diverse property in JOE’s inventory of land. Formerly a commercial rice and crawfish farm, 1,100 acres of the area is now managed for waterfowl and waterfowl hunting. JOE enhanced and restored these wetlands for wildlife by flooding former pinelands with water pumped from a tributary to the Apalachicola River. The flooded impoundments and other natural wetlands of this area provide important foraging habitat for migrating waterfowl, raptors, shore, wading and song birds.