Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Elverta Specific Plan Project, in Sacramento County, CA, Corps Permit File Number SPK-2004-323, 27292-27293 [E9-13473]
Download as PDF
27292
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 9, 2009 / Notices
Defense Business Board, and pursuant
to the Federal Advisory Committee Act
of 1972, the Government in Sunshine
Act of 1976, and other appropriate
federal regulations, this Task Group
does not work independently of the
Board’s charter.
(b) Availability of Materials for the
Meeting
A copy of the June 25 and 26 meeting
agenda may be obtained from the
Board’s website at https://
www.defenselink.mil/dbb under ‘‘NSPS
Task Group.’’ On June 25th the Task
Group will invite experts on this topic
and who recently testified before
Congress. On June 26th the Task Group
will hear from select members of the
public where the Task Group requires
additional information or explanation
from previously submitted written
comments.
(c) Public’s Accessibility to the Meeting
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b and 41 CFR
102–3.140, and the availability of space,
this meeting is open to the public.
Seating is on a first-come basis.
(1) Special Accommodations:
Individuals requiring special
accommodations to access the public
meeting should contact Ms. Evans at
least five business days prior to the
meeting so that appropriate
arrangements may be made.
(d) Procedures for Providing Public
Comments
Pursuant to 41 CFR 102–3.105(j) and
102–3.140, and section 10(a)(3) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act of
1972, the public or interested
organizations may submit written
comments to Ms. Phyllis Ferguson,
Designated Federal Officer for the
Defense Business Board, 2521 South
Clark Street, Room 650, Arlington, VA
22202, and this individual will ensure
that the written comments are provided
to the Task Group for their
consideration.
Written comments being submitted in
response to the agenda mentioned in
this notice must be received by the
Designated Federal Officer at the
address listed above by June 18, 2009.
Written comments received after this
date may not be received in time for the
NSPS Review Task Group to consider
prior to the June 25–26, 2009 meeting.
While individuals are not required to
follow any specific format when
submitting written comments, it would
be beneficial to the Task Group’s
analysis if those individuals who are
submitting written comments consider
formatting their comments along the
following lines:
VerDate Nov<24>2008
14:45 Jun 08, 2009
Jkt 217001
1. Classification Architecture (design
of pay bands, pay schedules, and career
groups);
2. Implementation of NSPS (initial
orientation, availability of training,
communication with employees);
3. Labor Management Relations
(collective bargaining issues);
4. Pay Pool Process (pay pool funding,
transparency, fairness, equity,
uniformity and consistency across pay
pools);
5. Pay Setting (rules/flexibilities for
setting pay on reassignments,
promotions, new hires, etc.);
6. Pay Structure (pay bands, targeted
local market supplement, general salary
increases);
7. Performance Management (design
of performance management system
including performance plans,
monitoring performance, performance
criteria, rating levels, rating distribution,
performance process, communication,
reconsideration process, administrative
workload);
8. Program Outcomes (mission
alignment, results focused, highperforming workforce);
9. Staffing and Employment
(appointing authorities, alternative
promotion procedures, hiring
flexibilities).
In addition and on a voluntary basis,
the Task Force would also like those
submitting written comments to
consider providing the following
information: (1) DoD NSPS Employee,
(2) DoD NSPS Supervisor, (3) DoD NonNSPS Employee, (4) Other Federal
Government Employee, (5) Non-Federal
Government Employee or (6) Interested
Organization.
Please note: The Board operates under the
provisions of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, as amended; therefore, all
public presentations will be treated as public
documents and will be made available for
public inspection, including being posted on
the Board’s Web site.
Dated: June 3, 2009.
Patricia L. Toppings,
OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer,
Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. E9–13382 Filed 6–8–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001–06–P
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of
Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Proposed Elverta Specific Plan
Project, in Sacramento County, CA,
Corps Permit File Number SPK–2004–
323
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Sacramento District (Corps),
will prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Elverta Specific
Plan project, a proposed master planned
community in Sacramento County, CA.
The Elverta Owners Group has applied
for Department of Army permits to fill
approximately 39 acres of waters of the
United States, including wetlands, to
construct this project.
ADDRESSES: Please send written
comments to Kathleen Dadey, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento
District, 1325 J Street, Room 1480,
Sacramento, CA 95814–2922.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposed action
and EIS should be addressed to
Kathleen Dadey, (916) 557–7253, e-mail:
Kathleen.A.Dadey@usace.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Elverta Specific Plan (Plan) addresses
future land uses on approximately 1,745
acres in north-central Sacramento
County, California. The Elverta Owners
Group has applied for Department of the
Army permits under Section 404 of the
Clean Water Act to develop
approximately 775.6 acres of the Plan
area as the initial phase of the Plan. The
Elverta Owners Group, which is
comprised of 13 applicants, has
submitted one application for the
infrastructure to serve the Plan area and
individual permit applications for 22
separate development parcels (projects).
Each of the projects is complete and
independent from one another;
however, each of the projects relies
upon the common drainage, roadways,
and sewer infrastructure as described in
the infrastructure permit application.
An Environmental Impact Report
(EIR) was prepared for the Plan by the
Sacramento County Department of
Environmental Review and Assessment
(DERA) under the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The
EIR provided a site plan that identified
participant properties included in the
project at the time of publication. Since
that time the mix of included properties
E:\FR\FM\09JNN1.SGM
09JNN1
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 9, 2009 / Notices
has changed. For this reason, figures
and analyses in the EIR and in various
technical documents show differing
patterns of included project parcels
within the Plan area as compared to the
current proposal. However, because the
EIR evaluated impacts at a
programmatic level for the entire Plan
area, all parcels that are included in the
current proposal were evaluated by
DERA in the EIR.
The Elverta Specific Plan is primarily
residential in character: It includes
880.3 acres of urban residential uses and
551.8 acres of agricultural-residential
uses with a total of 6,187 residential
units; 15.0 acres of commercial uses; 4.4
acres of office/professional uses; 20.2
acres of school uses; 73.3 acres of park
uses; 18.4 acres (former landfill site) to
be designated as open space; and 191.9
acres to be used for drainageways,
detention facilities, trails, powerline
corridor and major roads. Development
proposed by the Elverta Owners Group
on the 22 parcels would be consistent
with these uses. The number of
residential units has increased from the
original 4,950 units analyzed previously
in the EIR. The Sacramento County
Housing Element 2008–2013 (adopted
December 2008) allows for a 25%
density increase for residential
development projects that meet the
following two conditions: (1) Result in
energy savings beyond those obtained
with conventional design and
construction techniques, and, (2) The
amount of increased density is
proportional to the amount of increased
energy efficiency achieved that exceeds
adopted regulations (see Chapter 3, SubStrategy VII–A, Policy HE–59c of the
Housing Element [page 3–91]). The
proposed project would meet these
criteria and therefore the maximum of
6,187 residential units is proposed.
The project would result in fill of up
to 39 acres of waters of the United
States, including seasonal wetlands,
vernal pools, intermittent channels,
swales, and ditches. Some of this fill
would be permanent and some would
be temporary. Temporary fill would be
restored with approximately 15 acres of
riparian corridors on the project site.
The riparian enhancements are expected
to enhance the hydrologic functions and
biological quality of existing channels.
Offsite mitigation is also proposed to
compensate for onsite impacts to
wetlands and waters.
The EIS will include an evaluation of
a reasonable range of alternatives.
Currently, the following alternatives are
expected to be analyzed in detail: (1)
The no action (no development)
alternative, (2) the no federal action (no
permit issued) alternative, (3) the
VerDate Nov<24>2008
14:45 Jun 08, 2009
Jkt 217001
applicant’s preferred project, (4) the
approved Specific Plan, and (5) a
different location (off-site) alternative.
The no action (no development)
alternative assumes no development
would occur on the site. The no federal
action (no permit issued) alternative
assumes limited development would
occur on the site with all waters of the
United States avoided. The off-site
alternative assumes the proposed
project would be developed at a
different but suitably sized site in the
region. The Corps will also use the EIS
to evaluate alternatives under the
Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines, and
additional alternatives may be
developed under this evaluation.
The Corps’ scoping process for the EIS
includes a public involvement program
with several opportunities to provide
oral and written comments. In addition
to public meetings and notifications in
the Federal Register, the Corps will
issue public notices when the draft and
final EISs are available. Affected
Federal, State, and local agencies,
Native American tribes, and other
interested private organizations and
parties are invited to participate.
Potentially significant issues to be
analyzed in the EIS include, but are not
limited to: Loss of waters of the United
States, including wetlands; land use and
agriculture; population, employment
and housing; environmental justice and
socio-economic impacts; drainage,
hydrology and water quality; utilities
and service systems; public services;
geology, soils and mineral resources;
paleontological resources; cultural and
historic resources; biological resources;
visual resources; parks and recreation;
hazards and hazardous materials; traffic
and transportation; air quality and
global climate change; noise; and
cumulative and growth inducing
impacts. The Corps is the lead agency
for preparation of the EIS under the
requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The
Corps will coordinate with other
agencies, such as Sacramento County.
Other environmental review and
consultation requirements for the
proposed action include the need for the
applicant to obtain water quality
certification under Section 401 of the
Clean Water Act from the California
Central Valley Regional Water Quality
Control Board. In addition, the federally
listed vernal pool fairy shrimp
(Branchinecta lynchi) is known to occur
in the Plan area. Surveys conducted on
the majority of the properties within the
Plan area according to the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service’s protocol requirements
during the wet seasons of 2000 and 2001
found B. lynchi at three locations. Dry
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
27293
season sampling conducted in 2005 (on
12 parcels) and 2007 (on 23 parcels) also
found evidence of the federally listed
Branchinecta. The Corps will formally
consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service in accordance with Section 7 of
the federal Endangered Species Act. The
Corps will also consult with the State
Historic Preservation Officer under
Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act concerning properties
listed, or potentially eligible for listing,
on the National Register of Historic
Places.
A public scoping meeting for the EIS
will be held on June 24, 2009, from 4
p.m. to 7 p.m. The meeting will be held
at the Rio Linda Elverta Community
Center, 810 Oak Lane, Rio Linda, CA
95673. Interested parties can provide
oral and written comments at the
meeting. Interested parties may also
submit written comments on this notice.
Scoping comments should be submitted
before June 29, 2009 but may be
submitted at any time prior to
publication of the Draft EIS.
Interested parties may register for the
Corps’ public notice e-mail notification
lists at: https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/
organizations/cespk-co/regulatory/
pnlist.html.
Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. E9–13473 Filed 6–8–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720–58–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Army Science Board Plenary Meeting
Department of the Army, DoD.
Notice of open meeting.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal
Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5
U.S.C., Appendix, as amended), the
Sunshine in the Government Act of
1976 (U.S.C. 552b, as amended) and 41
Code of the Federal Regulations (CFR
102–3.140 through 160), the Department
of the Army announces the following
committee meeting:
Name of Committee: Army Science
Board (ASB).
Date(s) of Meeting: July 13–23, 2009.
Time(s) of Meeting:
0800–1700, July 13, 2009.
0800–1700, July 14, 2009.
0800–1700, July 15, 2009.
0800–1700, July 16, 2009.
0800–1700, July 17, 2009.
0800–1700, July 20, 2009.
0800–1700, July 21, 2009.
0800–1700, July 22, 2009.
0800–1400, July 23, 2009.
E:\FR\FM\09JNN1.SGM
09JNN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 9, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27292-27293]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-13473]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
Proposed Elverta Specific Plan Project, in Sacramento County, CA, Corps
Permit File Number SPK-2004-323
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District (Corps),
will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Elverta
Specific Plan project, a proposed master planned community in
Sacramento County, CA. The Elverta Owners Group has applied for
Department of Army permits to fill approximately 39 acres of waters of
the United States, including wetlands, to construct this project.
ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to Kathleen Dadey, U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, 1325 J Street, Room 1480,
Sacramento, CA 95814-2922.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action
and EIS should be addressed to Kathleen Dadey, (916) 557-7253, e-mail:
Kathleen.A.Dadey@usace.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Elverta Specific Plan (Plan) addresses
future land uses on approximately 1,745 acres in north-central
Sacramento County, California. The Elverta Owners Group has applied for
Department of the Army permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
to develop approximately 775.6 acres of the Plan area as the initial
phase of the Plan. The Elverta Owners Group, which is comprised of 13
applicants, has submitted one application for the infrastructure to
serve the Plan area and individual permit applications for 22 separate
development parcels (projects). Each of the projects is complete and
independent from one another; however, each of the projects relies upon
the common drainage, roadways, and sewer infrastructure as described in
the infrastructure permit application.
An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared for the Plan by
the Sacramento County Department of Environmental Review and Assessment
(DERA) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The EIR
provided a site plan that identified participant properties included in
the project at the time of publication. Since that time the mix of
included properties
[[Page 27293]]
has changed. For this reason, figures and analyses in the EIR and in
various technical documents show differing patterns of included project
parcels within the Plan area as compared to the current proposal.
However, because the EIR evaluated impacts at a programmatic level for
the entire Plan area, all parcels that are included in the current
proposal were evaluated by DERA in the EIR.
The Elverta Specific Plan is primarily residential in character: It
includes 880.3 acres of urban residential uses and 551.8 acres of
agricultural-residential uses with a total of 6,187 residential units;
15.0 acres of commercial uses; 4.4 acres of office/professional uses;
20.2 acres of school uses; 73.3 acres of park uses; 18.4 acres (former
landfill site) to be designated as open space; and 191.9 acres to be
used for drainageways, detention facilities, trails, powerline corridor
and major roads. Development proposed by the Elverta Owners Group on
the 22 parcels would be consistent with these uses. The number of
residential units has increased from the original 4,950 units analyzed
previously in the EIR. The Sacramento County Housing Element 2008-2013
(adopted December 2008) allows for a 25% density increase for
residential development projects that meet the following two
conditions: (1) Result in energy savings beyond those obtained with
conventional design and construction techniques, and, (2) The amount of
increased density is proportional to the amount of increased energy
efficiency achieved that exceeds adopted regulations (see Chapter 3,
Sub-Strategy VII-A, Policy HE-59c of the Housing Element [page 3-91]).
The proposed project would meet these criteria and therefore the
maximum of 6,187 residential units is proposed.
The project would result in fill of up to 39 acres of waters of the
United States, including seasonal wetlands, vernal pools, intermittent
channels, swales, and ditches. Some of this fill would be permanent and
some would be temporary. Temporary fill would be restored with
approximately 15 acres of riparian corridors on the project site. The
riparian enhancements are expected to enhance the hydrologic functions
and biological quality of existing channels. Offsite mitigation is also
proposed to compensate for onsite impacts to wetlands and waters.
The EIS will include an evaluation of a reasonable range of
alternatives. Currently, the following alternatives are expected to be
analyzed in detail: (1) The no action (no development) alternative, (2)
the no federal action (no permit issued) alternative, (3) the
applicant's preferred project, (4) the approved Specific Plan, and (5)
a different location (off-site) alternative. The no action (no
development) alternative assumes no development would occur on the
site. The no federal action (no permit issued) alternative assumes
limited development would occur on the site with all waters of the
United States avoided. The off-site alternative assumes the proposed
project would be developed at a different but suitably sized site in
the region. The Corps will also use the EIS to evaluate alternatives
under the Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines, and additional alternatives may
be developed under this evaluation.
The Corps' scoping process for the EIS includes a public
involvement program with several opportunities to provide oral and
written comments. In addition to public meetings and notifications in
the Federal Register, the Corps will issue public notices when the
draft and final EISs are available. Affected Federal, State, and local
agencies, Native American tribes, and other interested private
organizations and parties are invited to participate.
Potentially significant issues to be analyzed in the EIS include,
but are not limited to: Loss of waters of the United States, including
wetlands; land use and agriculture; population, employment and housing;
environmental justice and socio-economic impacts; drainage, hydrology
and water quality; utilities and service systems; public services;
geology, soils and mineral resources; paleontological resources;
cultural and historic resources; biological resources; visual
resources; parks and recreation; hazards and hazardous materials;
traffic and transportation; air quality and global climate change;
noise; and cumulative and growth inducing impacts. The Corps is the
lead agency for preparation of the EIS under the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Corps will coordinate
with other agencies, such as Sacramento County.
Other environmental review and consultation requirements for the
proposed action include the need for the applicant to obtain water
quality certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act from the
California Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. In
addition, the federally listed vernal pool fairy shrimp (Branchinecta
lynchi) is known to occur in the Plan area. Surveys conducted on the
majority of the properties within the Plan area according to the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service's protocol requirements during the wet
seasons of 2000 and 2001 found B. lynchi at three locations. Dry season
sampling conducted in 2005 (on 12 parcels) and 2007 (on 23 parcels)
also found evidence of the federally listed Branchinecta. The Corps
will formally consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in
accordance with Section 7 of the federal Endangered Species Act. The
Corps will also consult with the State Historic Preservation Officer
under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act concerning
properties listed, or potentially eligible for listing, on the National
Register of Historic Places.
A public scoping meeting for the EIS will be held on June 24, 2009,
from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Rio Linda Elverta
Community Center, 810 Oak Lane, Rio Linda, CA 95673. Interested parties
can provide oral and written comments at the meeting. Interested
parties may also submit written comments on this notice. Scoping
comments should be submitted before June 29, 2009 but may be submitted
at any time prior to publication of the Draft EIS.
Interested parties may register for the Corps' public notice e-mail
notification lists at: https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/organizations/cespk-co/regulatory/pnlist.html.
Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-13473 Filed 6-8-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P