The Release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and the Announcement of a Public Hearing for the North Topsail Beach Shoreline Protection Project, in North Topsail Beach, Onslow County, NC, 71125-71126 [E7-24247]
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 240 / Friday, December 14, 2007 / Notices
announce planned meetings of the
Defense Advisory Board for Employer
Support of the Guard and Reserve. The
Designated Federal Officer, at that time,
may provide additional guidance on the
submission of written statements that
are in response to the stated agenda for
the planned meeting in question.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Contact Jim Freeman, Deputy
Committee Management Officer for the
Department of Defense, 703–601–2554,
extension 128.
Dated: December 7, 2007.
L.M. Bynum,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison
Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. E7–24224 Filed 12–13–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of
Engineers
The Release of the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement and the
Announcement of a Public Hearing for
the North Topsail Beach Shoreline
Protection Project, in North Topsail
Beach, Onslow County, NC
Department of the Army, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice.
rmajette on PROD1PC64 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (COE), Wilmington District,
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office has
received a request for Department of the
Army authorization, pursuant to Section
404 of the Clean Water Act and Section
10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, from
the Town of North Topsail Beach to
nourish approximately 11.1 miles of
beachfront to protect residential homes
and town infrastructures, to reposition
the New River Inlet channel, and to
implement an inlet management plan to
control the positioning of the new inlet
channel, and to conduct periodic
renourishment events. The new channel
will be centrally located and the
proposal will be to maintain that
position, which essentially will be
located perpendicular to the adjacent
shorelines of North Topsail Beach and
Onslow Beach. The proposed source of
the material for the nourishment will be
dredged from an offshore borrow area
and from the repositioning of the inlet.
The projected amount of material
needed to nourish the oceanfront
shoreline is approximately 3.21 million
cubic yards. The placement of beach fill
along the Town’s shoreline would result
in the initial widening of the beach by
50 to 100 feet. The widened beach
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:31 Dec 13, 2007
Jkt 214001
would be maintained through a program
of periodic beach nourishment events
with the material extracted from the
New River Inlet; and if necessary,
supplemental materials from the
offshore borrow area. All work will be
accomplished using a hydraulic dredge.
The proposed project construction will
be conducted in a five phase approach
to correspond with the Town’s
anticipated annual generation of funds.
The ocean shoreline of the Town of
North Topsail Beach encompasses
approximately 11.1 miles along the
northern end of Topsail Island. Of the
11.1 miles, approximately 7.25-miles of
the shoreline in the project area, with
the exception of two small areas, is
located within the Coastal Barrier
Resource System (CBRS), which
prohibits the expenditure of Federal
funds that would encourage
development.
The channel through New River Inlet
has been maintained by the COE for
commercial and recreational boating
interest for over 55 years. The COE is
authorized to maintain the channel in
the inlet to a depth of 6 feet mean low
water (mlw) over a width of 90 feet.
DATES: The Public Hearing will be held
at the North Topsail Beach Town Hall,
located at 2008 Loggerhead Court, off
NC Hwy 210, on January 9, 2007 at 6:30
p.m. Written comments on the Draft EIS
will be received until January 29, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and
questions regarding the Draft EIS may be
addressed to: U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Wilmington District,
Regulatory Division. ATTN: File
Number 2005–344–067, P.O. Box 1890,
Wilmington, NC 28402–1890. Copies of
the Draft EIS can be reviewed on the
Coastal Planning & Engineering
homepage at, https://
www.coastalplanning.net/projects/
temp/ntopsail.html, or contact Ms.
Gwen Dye, at (910) 251–4494, to receive
written or CD copies of the Draft EIS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposed action
and DEIS can be directed to Mr. Mickey
Sugg, Wilmington Regulatory Field
Office, telephone: (910) 251–4811.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. Project
Description. The Town of North Topsail
Beach, located along the north-northeast
11.1 miles of Topsail Island in North
Carolina, is proposing to nourish the
oceanfront shoreline and reposition
New River Inlet channel as a means to
address a severe erosion problem that is
threatening development and town
infrastructure. The entire stretch of the
Town’s shoreline has experienced a
considerable amount of erosion over the
last 20 years due primarily to the impact
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
71125
of numerous tropical storms and
hurricanes during the mid to late 1990’s
and due to impacts of the uncontrolled
movement of the main ebb channel in
New River Inlet. The Town has stated
that the shoreline erosion and residual
effects of the storms have left North
Topsail Beach in an extremely
vulnerable position with regard to its
ocean front development and
infrastructure. They have estimated that
over $250 million in property tax value
as well as roads, water and sewer lines,
and other utilities are at risk. The stated
goals and objectives of the project are
the following: (1) Stabilize the
oceanfront shoreline located
immediately south of New River Inlet,
(2) Provide short-term protection to the
31 imminently threatened residential
structures over the next zero to five
years, (3) Provide long-term protection
to Town infrastructure and
approximately 1,200 homes over the
next thirty years, (4) Reduce or mitigate
for historic shoreline erosion along 11.1
miles of oceanfront shoreline, (5)
Improve recreational opportunities, (6)
Use beach compatible material, (7)
Maintain the Town’s tax base, and (8)
Balance the needs of the human
environment with the protection of
existing natural resources.
The project is divided into three
sections; North, South, and Central. The
North Section starts from the inlet
shoulder and runs approximately 21,000
linear feet along the ocean shoreline.
The Central Section is located both
north and south of NC Hwy 210/55
Bridge and is approximately 16,500
linear feet, while the South Section,
which is outside of the CBRS
designation, includes approximately
20,320 linear feet of shoreline. The
Town is proposing to undertake the
nourishment along the 11.1 miles of
oceanfront in a five phase approach
within a dredging window between
November 16 and March 31 of any year.
The first phase will include the
relocation of the inlet channel with the
dredged inlet material being used to
nourish approximately 14,000 linear
feet of shoreline in the North Section.
Construction timeline for Phase One
will be within the 2008–2009 dredging
window. Phase Two would take place
during the 2010–2011 dredging window
using the offshore borrow source, and
will nourish approximately 5,140 linear
feet in the North Section. The third
phase will place offshore borrow
material along approximately 11,500
linear feet within the southern part of
the Central Section, and is proposed
during the 2012–2013 dredging
window. For Phase Four, offshore
E:\FR\FM\14DEN1.SGM
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rmajette on PROD1PC64 with NOTICES
71126
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 240 / Friday, December 14, 2007 / Notices
material will be used to nourish 6,880
linear feet of shoreline in the north part
of the Central Section and part of the
southern tip of the North Section. This
construction will take place in the
2014–2015 dredging window. The final
phase of nourishment will encompass
the entire South Section, using the
offshore borrow site, and will be
conducted in the 2016–2017 dredging
window.
2. Proposed Action. Within the
Town’s preferred alternative, the
relocation of the inlet channel is a main
component in the protection of the
North Section of the project area. The
inlet management plan includes the
repositioning the main ocean bar
channel to a more southerly alignment
along an approximate 150 degree
azimuth and maintaining that position
and alignment approximately every four
years. Initial construction of the new
channel and subsequent maintenance
events will result in a channel width of
500 feet at ¥18 foot NAVD depth. The
new channel will start within the inlet
gorge and will extend approximately
3,500 linear feet southeast breaching
through the ocean bar. The amount of
material to be extracted during the
realignment of the channel is
approximately 635,800 cubic yards. The
composite mean grain size of the
dredged material is approximately
0.32mm, compared to the native beach
material at 0.23mm.
For the remaining phases, all the
material used to nourish the beaches
will be dredged from an offshore borrow
area. The borrow area is located
approximately 1.5 miles offshore within
the Central Section, and just southwest
of the NC 210 bridge. The site is
approximately 482 acres in size and is
divided into two sections: (1) A 459-acre
area with finer grain size (composite
mean grain size of 0.21mm) containing
approximately 6.19 million cubic yards
and (2) a 23-acre area with coarser
material at a composite mean grain size
of 0.33mm encompassing approximately
357,000 cubic yards. The division of the
borrow site into coarser and finer
materials resulted in the use of the Point
of Intercept Concept or ‘‘perched
beached’’ for the placement of material
in areas where nearshore hard bottom
communities were present. For
nourishment in areas within close
proximity to nearshore hard bottoms,
the beach profiles were designed to use
coarser material in order to reduce the
fill toe of equilibrium.
3. Alternatives. Several alternatives
have been identified and evaluated
through the scoping process, and further
detailed description of all alternatives is
disclosed in Section 3.0 of the Draft EIS.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:31 Dec 13, 2007
Jkt 214001
The applicant’s preferred alternative is
to relocate the main ocean bar channel
to a southerly alignment, implement an
inlet management plan, nourish
approximately 11.1 miles of ocean
shoreline, and to construct the work in
a five phase approach.
4. Scoping Process. A public scoping
meeting was held on June 5, 2005 and
a Project Delivery Team (PDT) was
developed to provide input in the
preparation of the EIS. The PDT
comprised of local, state, and federal
government officials, local residents and
nonprofit organizations.
The COE has initiated consultation
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
under the Endangered Species Act and
the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act,
and with the National Marine Fisheries
Service under the Magnuson-Stevens
Act and Endangered Species Act.
Additionally, the EIS assesses the
potential water quality impacts
pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean
Water Act, and is coordinated with the
North Carolina Division of Coastal
Management (DCM) to insure the
projects consistency with the Coastal
Zone Management Act. The COE is
coordinating closely with DCM in the
development of the EIS to ensure the
process complies with State
Environmental Policy Act (SEPA)
requirements, as well as the NEPA
requirements. The Draft EIS has been
designed to consolidate both NEPA and
SEPA processes to eliminate
duplications.
Dated: December 6, 2007.
John E. Pulliam, Jr.,
Colonel, U.S. Army, District Commander.
[FR Doc. E7–24247 Filed 12–13–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710–GN–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Notice of Availability and Notice of
Public Hearings for Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Activities To Implement 2005 Base
Realignment and Closure Actions at
National Naval Medical Center,
Bethesda, MD
Department of the Navy, DoD.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section
(102)(2)(C) of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA), the regulations implemented by
the Council on Environmental Quality
(40 CFR parts 1500–1508), and the
Department of the Navy (DON) NEPA
regulation (32 CFR part 775), DON
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
announces the availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
for potential environmental impacts
associated with implementing actions
directed by the Defense Base Closure
and Realignment (BRAC) Act of 1990,
Public Law 101–510, as amended in
2005 (BRAC Law), at the National Naval
Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda,
MD.
Under the BRAC law, the Walter Reed
Army Medical Center (WRAMC) will
realign all tertiary and complex health
care services to the NNMC campus in
Bethesda. The transfer and integration
of these services with existing functions
at NNMC will result by law in creation
of a new premier military health care
center to be named the Walter Reed
National Military Medical Center
(WRNMMC) at Bethesda, MD.
The BRAC law calls for completion of
the realignment, establishment of the
WRNMMC, and closure of WRAMC to
be accomplished by 15 September 2011.
The realignment of tertiary and
complex medical care will bring
additional patients and visitors
requiring additional staff and facilities
to be provided at NNMC. The DEIS
provides information on the proposed
new construction and facility
alterations, current estimates of the
additional staff that will be needed, and
an assessment of the potential
environmental impacts associated with
implementation of these realignment
actions at NNMC in Bethesda, MD.
DATES: The public comment period for
the DEIS will end 45 days after
publication of an NOA in the Federal
Register by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency. All
comments on the DEIS must be
postmarked, faxed, or e-mailed by
midnight January 28, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Officer
in Charge—BRAC, National Naval
Medical Center, 8901 Wisconsin
Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20889, fax: 301–
295–5020 or e-mail:
NNMCEIS@med.navy.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Officer in Charge—BRAC, National
Naval Medical Center, 8901 Wisconsin
Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20889,
Telephone: 301–295–2722 during
normal business hours Monday through
Friday, fax: 301–295–5020, or e-mail:
NNMCEIS@med.navy.mil.
This DEIS
evaluates the potential environmental
effects of construction and operation of
new facilities at the National Naval
Medical Center (NNMC), Bethesda,
Maryland. Alternative One would add
approximately 1,144,000 square feet
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
E:\FR\FM\14DEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 240 (Friday, December 14, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71125-71126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24247]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
The Release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and the
Announcement of a Public Hearing for the North Topsail Beach Shoreline
Protection Project, in North Topsail Beach, Onslow County, NC
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), Wilmington District,
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office has received a request for
Department of the Army authorization, pursuant to Section 404 of the
Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, from the
Town of North Topsail Beach to nourish approximately 11.1 miles of
beachfront to protect residential homes and town infrastructures, to
reposition the New River Inlet channel, and to implement an inlet
management plan to control the positioning of the new inlet channel,
and to conduct periodic renourishment events. The new channel will be
centrally located and the proposal will be to maintain that position,
which essentially will be located perpendicular to the adjacent
shorelines of North Topsail Beach and Onslow Beach. The proposed source
of the material for the nourishment will be dredged from an offshore
borrow area and from the repositioning of the inlet. The projected
amount of material needed to nourish the oceanfront shoreline is
approximately 3.21 million cubic yards. The placement of beach fill
along the Town's shoreline would result in the initial widening of the
beach by 50 to 100 feet. The widened beach would be maintained through
a program of periodic beach nourishment events with the material
extracted from the New River Inlet; and if necessary, supplemental
materials from the offshore borrow area. All work will be accomplished
using a hydraulic dredge. The proposed project construction will be
conducted in a five phase approach to correspond with the Town's
anticipated annual generation of funds.
The ocean shoreline of the Town of North Topsail Beach encompasses
approximately 11.1 miles along the northern end of Topsail Island. Of
the 11.1 miles, approximately 7.25-miles of the shoreline in the
project area, with the exception of two small areas, is located within
the Coastal Barrier Resource System (CBRS), which prohibits the
expenditure of Federal funds that would encourage development.
The channel through New River Inlet has been maintained by the COE
for commercial and recreational boating interest for over 55 years. The
COE is authorized to maintain the channel in the inlet to a depth of 6
feet mean low water (mlw) over a width of 90 feet.
DATES: The Public Hearing will be held at the North Topsail Beach Town
Hall, located at 2008 Loggerhead Court, off NC Hwy 210, on January 9,
2007 at 6:30 p.m. Written comments on the Draft EIS will be received
until January 29, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and questions regarding the Draft EIS may
be addressed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District,
Regulatory Division. ATTN: File Number 2005-344-067, P.O. Box 1890,
Wilmington, NC 28402-1890. Copies of the Draft EIS can be reviewed on
the Coastal Planning & Engineering homepage at, https://
www.coastalplanning.net/projects/temp/ntopsail.html, or contact Ms.
Gwen Dye, at (910) 251-4494, to receive written or CD copies of the
Draft EIS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action
and DEIS can be directed to Mr. Mickey Sugg, Wilmington Regulatory
Field Office, telephone: (910) 251-4811.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. Project Description. The Town of North
Topsail Beach, located along the north-northeast 11.1 miles of Topsail
Island in North Carolina, is proposing to nourish the oceanfront
shoreline and reposition New River Inlet channel as a means to address
a severe erosion problem that is threatening development and town
infrastructure. The entire stretch of the Town's shoreline has
experienced a considerable amount of erosion over the last 20 years due
primarily to the impact of numerous tropical storms and hurricanes
during the mid to late 1990's and due to impacts of the uncontrolled
movement of the main ebb channel in New River Inlet. The Town has
stated that the shoreline erosion and residual effects of the storms
have left North Topsail Beach in an extremely vulnerable position with
regard to its ocean front development and infrastructure. They have
estimated that over $250 million in property tax value as well as
roads, water and sewer lines, and other utilities are at risk. The
stated goals and objectives of the project are the following: (1)
Stabilize the oceanfront shoreline located immediately south of New
River Inlet, (2) Provide short-term protection to the 31 imminently
threatened residential structures over the next zero to five years, (3)
Provide long-term protection to Town infrastructure and approximately
1,200 homes over the next thirty years, (4) Reduce or mitigate for
historic shoreline erosion along 11.1 miles of oceanfront shoreline,
(5) Improve recreational opportunities, (6) Use beach compatible
material, (7) Maintain the Town's tax base, and (8) Balance the needs
of the human environment with the protection of existing natural
resources.
The project is divided into three sections; North, South, and
Central. The North Section starts from the inlet shoulder and runs
approximately 21,000 linear feet along the ocean shoreline. The Central
Section is located both north and south of NC Hwy 210/55 Bridge and is
approximately 16,500 linear feet, while the South Section, which is
outside of the CBRS designation, includes approximately 20,320 linear
feet of shoreline. The Town is proposing to undertake the nourishment
along the 11.1 miles of oceanfront in a five phase approach within a
dredging window between November 16 and March 31 of any year. The first
phase will include the relocation of the inlet channel with the dredged
inlet material being used to nourish approximately 14,000 linear feet
of shoreline in the North Section. Construction timeline for Phase One
will be within the 2008-2009 dredging window. Phase Two would take
place during the 2010-2011 dredging window using the offshore borrow
source, and will nourish approximately 5,140 linear feet in the North
Section. The third phase will place offshore borrow material along
approximately 11,500 linear feet within the southern part of the
Central Section, and is proposed during the 2012-2013 dredging window.
For Phase Four, offshore
[[Page 71126]]
material will be used to nourish 6,880 linear feet of shoreline in the
north part of the Central Section and part of the southern tip of the
North Section. This construction will take place in the 2014-2015
dredging window. The final phase of nourishment will encompass the
entire South Section, using the offshore borrow site, and will be
conducted in the 2016-2017 dredging window.
2. Proposed Action. Within the Town's preferred alternative, the
relocation of the inlet channel is a main component in the protection
of the North Section of the project area. The inlet management plan
includes the repositioning the main ocean bar channel to a more
southerly alignment along an approximate 150 degree azimuth and
maintaining that position and alignment approximately every four years.
Initial construction of the new channel and subsequent maintenance
events will result in a channel width of 500 feet at -18 foot NAVD
depth. The new channel will start within the inlet gorge and will
extend approximately 3,500 linear feet southeast breaching through the
ocean bar. The amount of material to be extracted during the
realignment of the channel is approximately 635,800 cubic yards. The
composite mean grain size of the dredged material is approximately
0.32mm, compared to the native beach material at 0.23mm.
For the remaining phases, all the material used to nourish the
beaches will be dredged from an offshore borrow area. The borrow area
is located approximately 1.5 miles offshore within the Central Section,
and just southwest of the NC 210 bridge. The site is approximately 482
acres in size and is divided into two sections: (1) A 459-acre area
with finer grain size (composite mean grain size of 0.21mm) containing
approximately 6.19 million cubic yards and (2) a 23-acre area with
coarser material at a composite mean grain size of 0.33mm encompassing
approximately 357,000 cubic yards. The division of the borrow site into
coarser and finer materials resulted in the use of the Point of
Intercept Concept or ``perched beached'' for the placement of material
in areas where nearshore hard bottom communities were present. For
nourishment in areas within close proximity to nearshore hard bottoms,
the beach profiles were designed to use coarser material in order to
reduce the fill toe of equilibrium.
3. Alternatives. Several alternatives have been identified and
evaluated through the scoping process, and further detailed description
of all alternatives is disclosed in Section 3.0 of the Draft EIS. The
applicant's preferred alternative is to relocate the main ocean bar
channel to a southerly alignment, implement an inlet management plan,
nourish approximately 11.1 miles of ocean shoreline, and to construct
the work in a five phase approach.
4. Scoping Process. A public scoping meeting was held on June 5,
2005 and a Project Delivery Team (PDT) was developed to provide input
in the preparation of the EIS. The PDT comprised of local, state, and
federal government officials, local residents and nonprofit
organizations.
The COE has initiated consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service under the Endangered Species Act and the Fish and Wildlife
Coordination Act, and with the National Marine Fisheries Service under
the Magnuson-Stevens Act and Endangered Species Act. Additionally, the
EIS assesses the potential water quality impacts pursuant to Section
401 of the Clean Water Act, and is coordinated with the North Carolina
Division of Coastal Management (DCM) to insure the projects consistency
with the Coastal Zone Management Act. The COE is coordinating closely
with DCM in the development of the EIS to ensure the process complies
with State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) requirements, as well as the
NEPA requirements. The Draft EIS has been designed to consolidate both
NEPA and SEPA processes to eliminate duplications.
Dated: December 6, 2007.
John E. Pulliam, Jr.,
Colonel, U.S. Army, District Commander.
[FR Doc. E7-24247 Filed 12-13-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-GN-P
