Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Upper Ohio Navigation Study, PA, in Allegheny and Beaver Counties, 57487-57488 [06-8358]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
• Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
• Engineers Corps

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 189 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57487-57488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-8358]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Upper 
Ohio Navigation Study, PA, in Allegheny and Beaver Counties

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 
Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is 
seeking public comment on the environmental scope of an upcoming study, 
named the ``Upper Ohio Navigation Study, Pennsylvania.'' This study 
will consider and evaluate the feasibility of alternatives for 
maintaining commercial navigation on the Pennsylvania portion of the 
Ohio River, and also consider and evaluate the feasibility of ecosystem 
restoration opportunities.
    The focus of the upper Ohio River navigation feasibility study is 
to develop the best plan for maintaining safe, environmentally 
sustainable, and reliable navigation on the upper 40 miles of the Ohio 
River in Pennsylvania. Navigation is currently provided through three 
old lock and dam facilities--Emsworth, Dashields and Montgomery locks 
and dams--dating from the 1920s. The study will consider a 60-year 
period from 2010 to 2070. Navigation alternatives will consider 
facility operation and maintenance, rehabilitation, and new 
construction needs and opportunities.
    In order to facilitate early public involvement in the planning 
process, the Corps will be conducting two environmental scoping 
meetings open to the public in the study area. The public is invited to 
attend these meetings to hear an overview of the study, and assist in 
the identification of significant issues to be considered during the 
study process. (See DATES).

DATES: Public scoping meetings will be held on:
    1. October 24, 2006, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monaca, PA.
    2. October 25, 2006, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Coraopolis, PA.

ADDRESSES: The meeting locations are:
    1. Monaca, PA--Community College of Beaver County, Library Resource 
Center, Conference Room 103, One Campus Drive, Monaca, PA 15061.
    2. Coraopolis, PA--Holiday Inn, 8256 University Boulevard, 
Coraopolis, PA 15108.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Corps' point-of-contact for 
questions or comments on the study and the environmental impact 
statement is Mr. Conrad Weiser, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Pittsburgh District, 2200 William S. Moorhead Federal Building, 1000 
Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222-4186. Telephone: (412) 395-7220. 
E-mail: Conrad.E.Weiser@usace.army.mil. Requests to be placed on the 
study mailing list should also be sent to this address. General 
information on the study is also posted on the Corps' internet site: 
https://www.Lrp.usace.army.mil/pm/upper--ohio.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Authority: The proposed action is being conducted under the 
authority of United States Senate, Committee on Public Works resolution 
dated May 16, 1955; and United States House of Representatives, 
Committee on Public Works and Transportation resolution dated March 11, 
1982.
    2. Background: a. The Corps is initiating a study to identify and 
evaluate feasible alternatives to maintain environmentally sustainable 
commercial river navigation on the upper 40 miles of the Ohio River in 
Pennsylvania. Existing locks and dams to be considered in this study 
are the Emsworth, Dashields, and Montgomery (EDM) locks and dams. The 
EDM facilities are the uppermost three of the 19 facilities forming the 
Ohio River Navigation System. This system provides navigable depths the 
full 981-mile length of the river between its origin at the ``Point'' 
in Pittsburgh, PA, to its mouth at Cairo, IL.
    b. Emsworth is the oldest operating facility of the Ohio River 
system. Its locks date from 1921, while its original fixed crest dams 
were replaced in 1938 with higher gated structures. Dashields and 
Montgomery locks and dams were placed into operation in 1929 and 1936, 
respectively. Locks and Dams 52 and 53 near the river's mouth are the 
only other pre-World War II facilities on the Ohio River system, and 
these are in the process of being replaced by a single facility, 
Olmsted Locks and Dam.
    c. Emsworth, Dashields, and Montgomery each have two lock chambers, 
a main chamber measuring 110' x 600' and an auxiliary 
chamber measuring 56' x 360'. Compared to the 110' x 1,200' main lock 
chambers at the modern Ohio River facilities, they are the lowest 
capacity locks on the river. They form a bottleneck between the modern 
downstream Ohio River navigation structures and the tributary 
Monongahela River locks with their 720-foot chambers. The disparity in 
capacity is magnified during main chamber closures when all traffic 
must use the small 56' x 360' chambers. These small chambers can only 
process one barge at a time, necessitating multiple lockages for 
typical tows of as many as 15 barges, more or less. This study will

[[Page 57488]]

consider the potential benefits of larger main lock chambers at EDM.
    d. Additional concerns at EDM involve the structural integrity of 
the aged concrete lock walls. Internal cracks throughout the concrete 
lock walls may eventually propagate through entire wall sections and 
lead to significant movements of wall sections. A major cause of 
cracking is concrete deterioration. Because these three locks and dams 
were constructed prior to the advent of air-entrainment in concrete, 
the concrete has been particularly susceptible to weathering and 
freeze-thaw damage. Another source of concern is that concrete 
construction practices of the 1920's and 1930's, including mix-design, 
placement, consolidation, curing, and cold/hot weather protection, were 
much less stringent compared to the quality control tolerances required 
for a similar project constructed today. Still another contributing 
factor is the raising of the Emsworth Dams and pool in 1938, which 
increased the head between the upper and lower pools and increased 
structural loads on the concrete lock walls.
    e. Major rehabilitations on the EDM lock and approach walls 
undertaken in the 1980s addressed short-term issues, but there remains 
a concern about their long-term effectiveness. Prior to these major 
rehabilitation efforts, lock wall surfaces were in advanced stages of 
deterioration and there were concerns about the stability of various 
wall sections. Degraded concrete surfaces were removed, and a 12-inch 
overlay of new concrete was provided in an attempt to retard 
deterioration rates by preventing water from reaching the interior 
concrete. However, despite these efforts, water is apparently still 
reaching the interior concrete and causing it to become saturated and 
susceptible to additional deterioration.
    f. Following years of different attempts at estimating concrete 
structural reliability, including the possible development of 
analytical models and expert opinion, it was decided that a condition 
assessment of these three projects and expert opinion were the 
appropriate tools to complete this essential task. In September of 2000 
a five-person panel of experts was assembled to estimate the current 
and future reliability of the structures on the upper Ohio River. This 
panel of experts established probabilities of failures, the potential 
consequences for various failure modes and estimated the impacts to the 
expected service life of several repair or replacement options for 
concrete wall sections.
    g. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Great Lakes and Ohio River 
Division, is nearing completion of a system-wide study of Ohio river 
navigation projects. The study was initiated in 1995 and is referred to 
as the Ohio River Mainstem System Study (ORMSS). ORMSS is being 
conducted by a team of specialists from the Corps' Louisville, 
Huntington, Nashville, and Pittsburgh districts. The product of this 
study is a ``System Investment Plan,'' which will be the strategic 
``roadmap for reinvestment'' establishing priorities for expenditure of 
federal funds on the navigation system and recommending site-specific 
feasibility studies.
    h. The ORMSS ``System Investment Plan'' identifies the need for new 
main locks at the EDM facilities. The Upper Ohio River navigation 
feasibility study of EDM is the site-specific feasibility study that 
could lead to project authorization in a future Water Resources 
Development Act.
    i. The ORMSS Report combines plan formulation with a programmatic 
environmental impact statement in a main report and a series of 
appendices. The ORMSS Environmental Appendix includes environmental 
documentation and a system-wide Cumulative Effects Assessment (CEA). 
The CEA evaluates past environmental impacts, current conditions, and 
reasonably foreseeable future actions by the Government and others that 
may impact ``Valued Environmental Components'' or resources within and 
adjacent to the Ohio River.
    j. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
of 1969, the anticipated environmental scope and complexity of the 
Upper Ohio River navigation feasibility study in Pennsylvania will 
warrant that the NEPA document be a tiered environmental impact 
statement (EIS) referencing the ORMSS Programmatic EIS while 
anticipating future site-specific, supplemental NEPA documents for each 
recommended project component.
    3. Public Participation. a. The Corps will conduct public meetings 
to gain input from interested agencies, organizations, and the general 
public concerning the scope and content of the EIS, alternatives that 
should be analyzed, and related issues and impacts to be addressed in 
the EIS (see DATES).
    b. The Corps invites full public participation to promote open 
communication and better decision-making. All persons and organizations 
that have an interest in the Upper Ohio Navigation Study, Pennsylvania, 
are urged to participate in this NEPA evaluation process.
    c. Public comments are welcomed anytime throughout the study 
process. Formal opportunities for public and agency participation 
include: (1) Public meetings; (2) correspondence, telephone or e-mail 
at any time throughout the NEPA process; (3) review and comment on the 
draft EIS; and (4) review of the final EIS. Schedules and locations for 
formal review periods will be announced through the study's mailing 
list and in local news media. Anyone who wishes to be included on the 
mailing list for public distribution of meeting announcements and 
documents should contact Mr. Conrad Weiser.
    4. Schedule: The draft EIS is anticipated to be released for public 
review and comment in May 2012. The final report and final EIS are 
scheduled to be completed in October 2012.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 06-8358 Filed 9-28-06; 8:45 am]
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