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Mr. Vincent Burke 09 July 2013 Page 2 The purpose of the proposed oyster reef is to improve water quality conditions in the Indian River and to provide potential habitat and refugia for invertebrate and juvenile fish species . The occurrence of these species within the boundaries of the oyster reef is expected to attract larger game fish to the site. The proposed oyster reef also is expected to remove nutrients from the River and from the FDOT ditch discharging to the River at a point adjacent to the northeast corner of the SBM site The proposed oyster reef would be approximately 0.25 acres (0 . 10 Ha.) in size and located just to the northeast of SBM off the end of the FDOT ditch located along the northern boundary of SBM, see Figure 1 . The base of the oyster reef will be formed by 2 .0 ft. by 4 . 0 ft. 18 gauge wire mesh panels that will be pinned to the sediments. Concrete rubble will be stacked on top of the wire mesh base. The size concrete rubble will generally range from 0 . 5 ft. to 2 . 0 ft. pieces that will be hand stacked to form discrete clusters that range in size from approximately 4 . 0 if to 25 ft' in diameter. The clusters will be randomly interspersed through the project area with approximately 2 . 0 ft. to 2 . 5 ft. of bare sand between the clusters, see Figure 2 . The four corners of the oyster reef will be marked using buoys or 2 . 0 inch PVC pipe with reflective tape and labeled as "Indian River County Oyster Reef Project Area". The oyster reef will be located at a point off-shore that will maintain 8 . 0 inches of water over the reef at low tide . The oyster reef will be located in an area that has been monitored since 2008 . Seagrass has not been found in this area since 2008 , and was not present when the site was inspected in June 2013 . The River bottom at the proposed oyster reef site is nearly level and is composed of fine sands intermixed with organic accumulations. There are no noticeable significant benthie structures or communities present within the project area. Therefore, the proposed oyster reef will not affect significant existing benthic resources or fishery habitat. This project will include three tasks . The first task will include preparation of the St. Johns River Water Management District and U. S . Army Corps of Engineers permit applications . The second task will include construction of the oyster reef. The third task will include follow-up monitoring of the oyster reef. This monitoring will include estimating the colonization rate and growth rates of the oysters and other select sessile macroinvertebrates on the reef, and the presence of juvenile fish species within the reef. The monitoring also will include estimating the total nitrogen and total phosphorus uptake rate per square meter of reef area. This estimate will be based on water quality sampling and analysis of nutrient storage in three different age classes of oyster found on the reef. The County will be responsible for all laboratory costs associated with the estimation of these uptake rates .