Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Relocation of New River Inlet Ebb Tide Channel Between North Topsail Beach and Onslow Beach, and the Placement of the Dredged Material Along the Ocean Shoreline of North Topsail Beach in Onslow County, NC, 4791-4793 [2010-1819]
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 19 / Friday, January 29, 2010 / Notices
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of
Engineers
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Availability of the Final Environmental
Impact Statement (FEIS) for the
Relocation of New River Inlet Ebb Tide
Channel Between North Topsail Beach
and Onslow Beach, and the Placement
of the Dredged Material Along the
Ocean Shoreline of North Topsail
Beach in Onslow County, NC
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE)
Wilmington District, Wilmington
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Regulatory Field Office announces the
availability of a Regulatory Program
Final EIS for the North Topsail Beach
Shoreline Protection Project. The
applicant, The Town of North Topsail
Beach, is requesting Department of the
Army authorization, pursuant to Section
404 of the Clean Water Act and Section
10 of the Rivers and Harbor Act, to
protect residential homes and town
infrastructures by nourishing
approximately 11.1 miles of beachfront
via repositioning the New River Inlet
channel, implementing an inlet
management plan to control the
positioning of the new inlet channel,
and utilizing an offshore borrow area.
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 sources of the
material for the beach nourishment will
come from the repositioning of the inlet
and an identified offshore borrow area.
The projected amount of material
needed to initially nourish the
oceanfront shoreline is approximately
3.11 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 maintenance of the
newly relocated channel. All work will
be accomplished using a hydraulic
cutterhead 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,
following the channel thalweg.
DATES: The Public commenting period
on the FEIS will end on March 1, 2010.
Written comments must be received at
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4791
the address listed below no later than 5
p.m.
ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and
questions regarding the FEIS may be
addressed to: U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Wilmington District,
Regulatory Division, ATTN: File
Number 2005–0344, 69 Darlington
Avenue, Wilmington, NC 28403.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposed action
and the FEIS can be directed to Mr.
Mickey Sugg, Wilmington Regulatory
Field Office, telephone: (910) 251–4811,
facsimile (910) 251–4025, or e-mail at
mickey.t.sugg@saw02.usace.army.mil.
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 in order to
preserve the Town’s tax base, protect its
infrastructure, and maintain its tourist
oriented economy. 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
overall goals and objectives of the
project are the following: (1) Long-term
stabilization of 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, (4) Reduce
or mitigate for property damage
associated with shoreline erosion along
11.1 miles of oceanfront shoreline of
North Topsail Beach, (5) Improve
recreational opportunities along the
Town’s oceanfront shoreline, (6) Ensure
material utilized for shore protection is
beach compatible, (7) Maintain the
Town’s tax base by protecting existing
development and infrastructure on the
oceanfront shoreline of North Topsail
Beach, and (8) Balance the needs of the
human environment by minimizing and
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 19 / Friday, January 29, 2010 / Notices
avoiding negative effects to natural
resources.
The project is divided into three
sections; North, Central, and South. 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 material being used to nourish
approximately 9,000 linear feet of
shoreline in the North Section.
Construction timeline for Phase One
will be within the 2010–2011 dredging
window. Phase Two would take place
during the 2012–2013 dredging window
using the offshore borrow source, and
will nourish approximately 10,120
linear feet in the North Section. The
third phase will include an inlet
channel maintenance event and the use
of the offshore borrow material to place
material along approximately 11,500
linear feet within the southern part of
the Central Section. This phase is
proposed during the 2014–2015
dredging window. For Phase Four,
offshore 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 2016–2017 dredging
window. The final phase of
nourishment will encompass the entire
South Section, using the offshore
borrow site and material from an inlet
channel maintenance event, and will be
conducted in the 2018–2019 dredging
window.
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. Maintenance events
will be initiated only when established
thresholds have been triggered. These
maintenance thresholds include the
shoaling of 85% of the new channel
and/or when the thalweg migrates
outside of the constructed 500-foot wide
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:49 Jan 28, 2010
Jkt 220001
corridor. 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. During additional
investigations, it was discovered that an
estimated 91,400 cubic yards of the total
extracted material is not beach
compatible, consisting of clay and shell.
This incompatible material will be
relocated during the dredging operation
to an existing dredge disposal island
located at the intersection of the New
River and the Atlantic Intracoastal
Waterway, approximately 3.0 miles
north of the project site.
To supplement the initial beach
nourishment construction, material will
be dredged from an offshore borrow
area. The borrow area is located directly
off of the Central Section, and just
southwest of the NC Highway 210
bridge. Due to the presence of nearby
hardbottom areas, the site is irregularly
shaped, with its closest point to the
shoreline at approximately 0.4 miles
and its furthest offshore point at 1.6
miles. The site is approximately 482
acres in size and is divided into 16 cuts
to separate coarse and fine materials.
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.
The FEIS examines potential impacts
to Essential Fish Habitat (EFH),
Threatened and Endangered Species,
and includes a comprehensive
mitigation and monitoring plan and the
implementation of specific design
measures to minimize potential impacts
and to evaluate unforeseen effects of the
projects. Several components in the
plan include incorporating the Point of
Intercept design to reduce the
equilibrium beach profile for areas
where hardbottom habitats are in close
proximity of the shoreline,
incorporation of a monitoring plan to
verify the Point of Intercept design to
ensure its effectiveness, compliance to
North Carolina Sediment Criteria Rule
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for sand compatibility, winter
construction period to occur during
lower biological activities and to avoid
nesting turtle season, use of hydraulic
cutterhead dredge and selected pipeline
corridors (which will be GPS) to avoid
impacts to hardbottom features,
monitoring protocol during the
placement of dredge material onto the
beach to comply with sand
compatibility requirements,
implementation of a bird and sea turtle
monitoring plan, funding of a research
initiative for infaunal communities
conducted by Carteret County
Community College, implementation of
an aerial habitat mapping effort for New
River Inlet to survey any short- and
long-term effects, and the execution of
a hardbottom monitoring plan which
consists of a geophysical survey using
sidescan sonar, underwater
investigations that includes habitat
characterization and documentation,
and sediment monitoring.
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.
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 has
coordinated 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 Final EIS has been
designed to consolidate both NEPA and
SEPA processes to eliminate
duplications.
Copies of the Final EIS will also be
available on our regulatory homepage at
https://www.saw.usace.army.mil/
WETLANDS/. Locate North Topsail
Beach Shoreline Protection Project
under heading ‘‘News from the
Regulatory Program’’, and click on
ftp.coastalplanning.net. Type the
E:\FR\FM\29JAN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 19 / Friday, January 29, 2010 / Notices
username: ntb and password: ftp4me to
pull up the document.
Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010–1819 Filed 1–28–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720–58–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of
Engineers
Availability of a Draft Environmental
Impact Statement To Consider
Issuance of a Department of the Army
Permit Pursuant to Section 404 of the
Clean Water Act for the Angelina &
Neches River Authority’s Proposal to
Construct Lake Columbia, a Proposed
10,133-Surface-Acre Water Supply
Reservoir in Cherokee and Smith
Counties, TX
Department of the Army, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Fort Worth District has prepared a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
This DEIS evaluates potential impacts to
the natural, physical and human
environment as a result of the Angelina
& Neches River Authority’s proposal to
construct Lake Columbia. The USACE
regulates this proposed project pursuant
to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
The proposed activity would involve
the discharge of dredged and fill
material into waters of the United States
associated with the proposed
construction of Lake Columbia.
DATES: Submit comments by March 30,
2010. An informal public information
meeting (open house format) regarding
this DEIS will be held on March 1, 2010,
and a formal public hearing regarding
this DEIS will be held on March 2, 2010
(see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION).
ADDRESSES: Send written comments and
suggestions concerning this proposal to
Mr. Brent Jasper, Regulatory Project
Manager, Regulatory Branch, CESWF–
PER–R, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Fort Worth District, P.O. Box 17300,
Fort Worth, TX 76102–0300 or via
e-mail: Brent.J.Jasper@usace.army.mil.
Requests to be placed on the mailing list
should also be sent to this address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Brent Jasper, Regulatory Project
Manager at (817) 886–1733 or via
e-mail: Brent.J.Jasper@usace.army.mil.
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:49 Jan 28, 2010
Jkt 220001
Discharges
of fill material into waters of the United
States are regulated under Section 404
of the Clean Water Act, with the
permitting responsibility administered
by the USACE. The proposed project
must also address environmental
impacts relative to the Clean Air Act,
Clean Water Act, Endangered Species
Act and the Fish and Wildlife
Coordination Act (FWCA). In
accordance with the NEPA, the DEIS
evaluates practicable alternatives for the
USACE’s decision making process. As
required by NEPA, the USACE also
analyzes the ‘‘no action’’ alternative as a
baseline for gauging potential impacts.
As part of the public involvement
process, notice is hereby given by the
USACE Fort Worth District of an
informal public information meeting
(open house format) to be held at the
Norman Activity Center, 526 East
Commerce Street, Jacksonville, TX, from
5 to 7:30 p.m. on March 1, 2010. This
meeting will afford interested parties
the opportunity to engage in a dialog
with the USACE regarding the EIS
process and the analyses performed to
date. The USACE Fort Worth District
will also be holding a formal public
hearing to be held at the Norman
Activity Center, 526 East Commerce
Street, Jacksonville, TX, from 5 to 7:30
p.m. on March 2, 2010. The public
hearing will allow participants the
opportunity to comment on the DEIS
prepared for the proposed Lake
Columbia. Written comments should be
sent to Mr. Brent Jasper (see ADDRESSES).
The comments are due no later than 60
days from the date of publication of this
notice. Copies of the DEIS may be
obtained by contacting USACE Fort
Worth District Regulatory Branch at
(817) 886–1731 or printed from the Fort
Worth District USACE internet home
page at https://www.swf.usace.army.mil.
Copies of the DEIS are also available
for inspection at the locations identified
below:
(1) Jacksonville Public Library, 502
South Jackson St., Jacksonville, TX
76766.
(2) Kurth Memorial Library, 706
South Raguet St., Lufkin, TX 75904.
(3) Nacogdoches Public Library, 1112
North Street, Nacogdoches, TX 75961.
(4) Rusk County Library, 106 East
Main St., Henderson, TX 75652.
(5) Tyler Public Library, 201 South
College Avenue, Tyler, TX 75702.
(6) Henderson City Hall, 400 West
Main Street, Henderson, TX 75652.
(7) Jacksonville City Hall, 301 East
Commerce Street, Jacksonville, TX
75766.
(8) Lufkin City Hall, 300 East
Shepherd Avenue, Lufkin, TX 75901.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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(9) Nacogdoches City Hall, 202 East
Pilar Street, Nacogdoches, TX 75961.
(10) Rusk City Hall, 205 South Main
St., Rusk, TX 75785.
(11) Tyler City Hall, 212 North Bonner
Avenue, Tyler, TX 75702.
After the public comment period
ends, the USACE will consider all
comments received, revise the DEIS as
appropriate, and issue a Final
Environmental Impact Statement.
Stephen L Brooks,
Chief, Regulatory Branch.
[FR Doc. 2010–1820 Filed 1–28–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720–58–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Availability for Non-Exclusive,
Exclusive, or Partially Exclusive
Licensing of U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Concerning Blast Wave
Sensor
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Department of the Army, DoD.
Notice.
SUMMARY: Announcement is made of the
availability for licensing of the
invention set forth in U.S. Provisional
Patent Application Serial No. 61/
292,095 entitled ‘‘Blast Wave Sensor,’’
filed January 4, 2010. The United States
Government, as represented by the
Secretary of the Army, has rights to this
invention.
ADDRESSES: Commander, U.S. Army
Medical Research and Materiel
Command, ATTN: Command Judge
Advocate, MCMR–JA, 504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD 21702–
5012.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
patent issues, Ms. Elizabeth Arwine,
Patent Attorney, (301) 619–7808. For
licensing issues, Dr. Paul Mele, Office of
Research and Technology Assessment,
(301) 619–6664, both at telefax (301)
619–5034.
The
invention relates to blast wave sensors
and their use to detect blast induced
pressure changes, and, in particular, a
blast wave over pressure threshold. The
invention may be used to measure blast
wave exposure.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010–1818 Filed 1–28–10; 8:45 am]
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 19 (Friday, January 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4791-4793]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-1819]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
for the Relocation of New River Inlet Ebb Tide Channel Between North
Topsail Beach and Onslow Beach, and the Placement of the Dredged
Material Along the Ocean Shoreline of North Topsail Beach in Onslow
County, NC
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE)
Wilmington District, Wilmington Regulatory Field Office announces the
availability of a Regulatory Program Final EIS for the North Topsail
Beach Shoreline Protection Project. The applicant, The Town of North
Topsail Beach, is requesting Department of the Army authorization,
pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the
Rivers and Harbor Act, to protect residential homes and town
infrastructures by nourishing approximately 11.1 miles of beachfront
via repositioning the New River Inlet channel, implementing an inlet
management plan to control the positioning of the new inlet channel,
and utilizing an offshore borrow area. 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
sources of the material for the beach nourishment will come from the
repositioning of the inlet and an identified offshore borrow area. The
projected amount of material needed to initially nourish the oceanfront
shoreline is approximately 3.11 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 maintenance of the newly relocated
channel. All work will be accomplished using a hydraulic cutterhead
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, following the
channel thalweg.
DATES: The Public commenting period on the FEIS will end on March 1,
2010. Written comments must be received at the address listed below no
later than 5 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and questions regarding the FEIS may be
addressed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District,
Regulatory Division, ATTN: File Number 2005-0344, 69 Darlington Avenue,
Wilmington, NC 28403.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action
and the FEIS can be directed to Mr. Mickey Sugg, Wilmington Regulatory
Field Office, telephone: (910) 251-4811, facsimile (910) 251-4025, or
e-mail at mickey.t.sugg@saw02.usace.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 in order to preserve the Town's tax base, protect its
infrastructure, and maintain its tourist oriented economy. 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 overall goals and
objectives of the project are the following: (1) Long-term
stabilization of 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, (4) Reduce or mitigate for property damage associated with
shoreline erosion along 11.1 miles of oceanfront shoreline of North
Topsail Beach, (5) Improve recreational opportunities along the Town's
oceanfront shoreline, (6) Ensure material utilized for shore protection
is beach compatible, (7) Maintain the Town's tax base by protecting
existing development and infrastructure on the oceanfront shoreline of
North Topsail Beach, and (8) Balance the needs of the human environment
by minimizing and
[[Page 4792]]
avoiding negative effects to natural resources.
The project is divided into three sections; North, Central, and
South. 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
material being used to nourish approximately 9,000 linear feet of
shoreline in the North Section. Construction timeline for Phase One
will be within the 2010-2011 dredging window. Phase Two would take
place during the 2012-2013 dredging window using the offshore borrow
source, and will nourish approximately 10,120 linear feet in the North
Section. The third phase will include an inlet channel maintenance
event and the use of the offshore borrow material to place material
along approximately 11,500 linear feet within the southern part of the
Central Section. This phase is proposed during the 2014-2015 dredging
window. For Phase Four, offshore 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 2016-2017 dredging window. The final phase of
nourishment will encompass the entire South Section, using the offshore
borrow site and material from an inlet channel maintenance event, and
will be conducted in the 2018-2019 dredging window.
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. Maintenance events will
be initiated only when established thresholds have been triggered.
These maintenance thresholds include the shoaling of 85% of the new
channel and/or when the thalweg migrates outside of the constructed
500-foot wide corridor. 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.
During additional investigations, it was discovered that an estimated
91,400 cubic yards of the total extracted material is not beach
compatible, consisting of clay and shell. This incompatible material
will be relocated during the dredging operation to an existing dredge
disposal island located at the intersection of the New River and the
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, approximately 3.0 miles north of the
project site.
To supplement the initial beach nourishment construction, material
will be dredged from an offshore borrow area. The borrow area is
located directly off of the Central Section, and just southwest of the
NC Highway 210 bridge. Due to the presence of nearby hardbottom areas,
the site is irregularly shaped, with its closest point to the shoreline
at approximately 0.4 miles and its furthest offshore point at 1.6
miles. The site is approximately 482 acres in size and is divided into
16 cuts to separate coarse and fine materials. 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.
The FEIS examines potential impacts to Essential Fish Habitat
(EFH), Threatened and Endangered Species, and includes a comprehensive
mitigation and monitoring plan and the implementation of specific
design measures to minimize potential impacts and to evaluate
unforeseen effects of the projects. Several components in the plan
include incorporating the Point of Intercept design to reduce the
equilibrium beach profile for areas where hardbottom habitats are in
close proximity of the shoreline, incorporation of a monitoring plan to
verify the Point of Intercept design to ensure its effectiveness,
compliance to North Carolina Sediment Criteria Rule for sand
compatibility, winter construction period to occur during lower
biological activities and to avoid nesting turtle season, use of
hydraulic cutterhead dredge and selected pipeline corridors (which will
be GPS) to avoid impacts to hardbottom features, monitoring protocol
during the placement of dredge material onto the beach to comply with
sand compatibility requirements, implementation of a bird and sea
turtle monitoring plan, funding of a research initiative for infaunal
communities conducted by Carteret County Community College,
implementation of an aerial habitat mapping effort for New River Inlet
to survey any short- and long-term effects, and the execution of a
hardbottom monitoring plan which consists of a geophysical survey using
sidescan sonar, underwater investigations that includes habitat
characterization and documentation, and sediment monitoring.
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.
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 has coordinated 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 Final EIS has been designed to consolidate both
NEPA and SEPA processes to eliminate duplications.
Copies of the Final EIS will also be available on our regulatory
homepage at https://www.saw.usace.army.mil/WETLANDS/. Locate North
Topsail Beach Shoreline Protection Project under heading ``News from
the Regulatory Program'', and click on ftp.coastalplanning.net. Type
the
[[Page 4793]]
username: ntb and password: ftp4me to pull up the document.
Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-1819 Filed 1-28-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
