Real Property Master Plan Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, 30319-30320 [2011-12914]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 101 / Wednesday, May 25, 2011 / Notices
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Education Division conducted a formal
section 7 consultation under the ESA.
On November 18, 2008, NMFS issued a
Biological Opinion (2008 BiOp) and
concluded that the issuance of an IHA
is likely to affect, but not likely to
jeopardize the continued existence of
Steller sea lions. NMFS has also issued
an incidental take statement (ITS) for
Steller sea lions pursuant to section 7 of
the ESA. The ITS contains reasonable
and prudent measures for implementing
terms and conditions to minimize the
effects of this take. NMFS has reviewed
the 2008 BiOp and determined that
there is no new information regarding
effects to Steller sea lions; the action has
not been modified in a manner which
would cause adverse effects not
previously evaluated; there has been no
new listing of species or no new
designation of critical habitat that could
be affected by the action; and the action
will not exceed the extent or amount of
incidental take authorized in the 2008
BiOp. Therefore, the proposed IHA does
not require the reinitiation of Section 7
consultation under the ESA.
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA)
To meet NMFS’ NEPA requirements
for the issuance of an IHA to PRBO,
NMFS prepared an Environmental
Assessment (EA) in 2007 that was
specific to seabird research activities on
SEFI, WEI, ANI, and PRNS and
evaluated the impacts on the human
environment of NMFS’ authorization of
incidental Level B harassment resulting
from seabird research in Central
California. At that time, NMFS
determined that conducting the seabird
research would not have a significant
impact on the quality of the human
environment and issued a Finding of No
Significant Impact (FONSI) and,
therefore, it was not necessary to
prepare an environmental impact
statement for the issuance of an IHA to
PRBO for this activity. In 2008, NMFS
prepared a supplemental EA (SEA)
titled ‘‘Supplemental Environmental
Assessment for the Issuance of an
Incidental Harassment Authorization to
Take Marine Mammals by Harassment
Incidental to Conducting Seabird and
Pinniped Research in Central California
and Environmental Assessment for the
Continuation of Scientific Research on
Pinnipeds in California Under Scientific
Research Permit 373–1868–00,’’ to
address new available information
regarding the effects of PRBO’s seabird
and pinniped research activities that
may have cumulative impacts to the
physical and biological environment. At
that time, NMFS concluded that
issuance of an IHA for the December
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2008 through 2009 season would not
significantly affect the quality of the
human environment and issued a
FONSI for the 2008 SEA regarding
PRBO’s activities. In conjunction with
this year’s application, NMFS has again
reviewed the 2007 EA and the 2008 SEA
and determined that there are no new
direct, indirect or cumulative impacts to
the human and natural environment
associated with the IHA requiring
evaluation in a supplemental EA and
NMFS, therefore, reaffirms the 2008
FONSI. A copy of the EA, SEA, and the
NMFS FONSI for this activity is
available upon request (see ADDRESSES).
Dated: May 20, 2011.
James H. Lecky,
Director, Office of Protected Resources,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–12978 Filed 5–24–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Real Property Master Plan
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement, at Yuma Proving Ground,
Arizona
Department of the Army, DoD.
Notice of Intent.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Department of the Army
intends to prepare a Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS)
to analyze the environmental impacts
resulting from adoption and
implementation of a Real Property
Master Plan (RPMP), including test
areas and training activities at Yuma
Proving Ground.
ADDRESSES: For questions concerning
the RPMP PEIS, please contact Mr.
Sergio Obregon, U.S. Army Garrison
Yuma Proving Ground, National
Environmental Policy Act Coordinator,
IMWE–YMA–PWE, 301 C Street, Yuma,
AZ 85365–9498. Written comments may
be mailed to that address or e-mailed to
ypgnepa@conus.army.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Chuck Wullenjohn, Yuma Proving
Ground Public Affairs Office, at (928)
328–6189 Monday through Thursday
from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mountain
Standard Time.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Yuma
Proving Ground consists of
approximately 840,000 acres of DoDmanaged land in the Sonoran Desert in
southwestern Arizona and occupies
portions of Yuma and La Paz counties.
The mission at Yuma Proving Ground is
ensuring the readiness of U. S. forces
SUMMARY:
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30319
and materiel to perform in hot arid
conditions around the world. This
requires rigorous testing of ground and
aerial vehicles, weapons, munitions,
sensors, and guidance systems and
realistic training. The U.S. has been
engaged in hostile conflicts in
environments similar to those found at
Yuma Proving Ground, resulting in a
need for increased testing of existing
and developing military equipment,
vehicles, and munitions under these
environmental conditions. To meet
these needs, the U.S. Army intends to
prepare a RPMP PEIS at Yuma Proving
Ground to analyze potential impacts
from new construction, changes in
testing and training, and activities
conducted under private industry
partnerships. Renewable energy
initiatives will also be discussed in the
PEIS, but project-specific NEPA analysis
will be required prior to implementing
specific renewable energy initiatives.
Alternatives will consist of alternative
siting locations for certain activities
within Yuma Proving Ground and
different magnitudes of implementation
with regard to spatial extent of potential
impacts and frequency and duration of
specific events. The EIS will also
analyze the No Action Alternative,
under which no new construction
would occur and there would be no
changes in testing and training activities
conducted at Yuma Proving Ground.
No changes are proposed to activities
conducted at off-post areas in Arizona
and California that are used for specific
testing activities under conditions not
found at Yuma Proving Ground.
Therefore, these areas would not be
considered in the development of
alternatives for the RPMP PEIS.
All activities under consideration
would be conducted within the
boundaries of the installation. Resource
areas that may be impacted include air
quality, airspace, traffic, noise, water
resources, biological resources, cultural
resources, socioeconomics, utilities,
land use, and solid and hazardous
materials/waste. Impacts to these
resources may occur as a result of
converting existing land use to support
military testing and training or from
increasing the scope or magnitude of
testing and training activities. The
analysis will also consider the potential
for cumulative environmental effects.
The public will be invited to
participate in the scoping process to
provide input on the proposed action
and alternatives, which will be
evaluated in the PEIS. After publication
of the Notice of Intent to prepare the
PEIS, the Army will schedule at least
two public meetings to provide
information about the proposed action
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 101 / Wednesday, May 25, 2011 / Notices
and alternatives and to solicit input and
feedback from the public on issues to be
addressed in the PEIS. Meetings will be
announced in local media. The public
will also be invited to review and
comment on the Draft PEIS when it is
released. Comments from the public
will be considered before any decision
is made regarding implementing the
proposed action.
Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011–12914 Filed 5–24–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710–08–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of
Engineers
Public Scoping Meeting and
Preparation of Environmental Impact
Statement for Luce Bayou Interbasin
Transfer Project in Liberty County and
Harris County, TX
Department of the Army, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Galveston District, has
received a permit application for a
Department of the Army Permit
pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and
Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403) and
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33
U.S.C. 1344) from the Coastal Water
Authority (SWG–2009–00188) for the
proposed Coastal Water Authority’s
Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer Project
located in eastern Liberty County with
the 26.5-mile corridor extending
southwestward from the Trinity River to
a discharge point near the confluence of
Luce Bayou with Lake Houston. The
primary Federal involvement associated
with the proposed action is the
discharge or dredged or fill material into
waters of the United States, including
jurisdictional wetlands, and the
construction of structures that may
affect navigable waters. Federal
authorizations for the proposed project
would constitute a ‘‘major federal
action.’’ Based on the potential impacts,
both individually and cumulatively, the
Corps intends to prepare an
Environmental Statement (EIS) in
compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act to render a
final decision on the permit
applications.
The Corps’ decision will be to either
issue, issue with modification or deny
Department of the Army permits for the
proposed action. The EIS will assess the
potential social, economic and
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SUMMARY:
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environmental impacts of the
construction and operation of the
interbasin conveyance, associated
facilities, and appurtenances and is
intended to be sufficient in scope to
address Federal, State and local
requirements, environmental issues
concerning the proposed action, and
permit reviews.
DATES: The scoping period will
commence with the publication of this
notice. The formal scoping period will
end 60 days after the publication of this
notice. Comments regarding issues
relative to the proposed project should
be received.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods: Mail:
Jayson M. Hudson, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Regulatory Branch, P.O. Box
1229, Galveston, TX 77553–1229; Fax:
(409) 766–3931 or E-mail:
Jayson.m.hudson@usace.army.mil.
Emailed comments, including
attachments, should be provided in
.doc, .docx, .pdf or .txt formats.
Documents pertinent to the proposed
project may be examined at https://
www.swg.usace.army.mil/reg/eis.asp.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Jayson Hudson, (409) 766–3108.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Galveston District intends to prepare a
DEIS on the proposed Luce Bayou
Interbasin Transfer Project which is the
proposed transfer of water from the
Trinity River in Liberty County to Lake
Houston in Harris County, TX. The
Coastal Water Authority proposed this
project and is the applicant for the
Department of the Army permit (DA)
SWG–2009–00188.
1. Project Background: The Coastal
Water Authority is proposing to convey
up to 400 million gallons of water per
day (MGD) under gravity in accordance
with the City of Houston’s existing
water rights permit from the Trinity
River to Lake Houston, a distance of
approximately 26.5 miles. The Trinity
River water would be conveyed from the
proposed pump station through large
diameter pipelines to a sediment storage
and settling basin and then through an
earthen canal to outfall at the Lake
Houston discharge point. The canal
would have side berms and there would
be an access road, drainage ditches, and
perimeter fencing surrounding the water
conveyance canal. The proposed project
consists of the following:
a. A new water pumping station will
be constructed on the Trinity River at
Capers Ridge approximately 10 miles
north of Dayton, TX.
b. Dual, 108-inch diameter force
mains will be constructed extending
from the Capers Ridge pump station
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approximately 3.5 miles to the west and
southwest to outfall to the
sedimentation settling basin.
c. An approximate 20-acre
sedimentation settling and storage
basin.
d. An approximate 23.5 mile claylined earthen canal with 4:1 side slopes
within a 300-foot easement that would
include access roads, berms, chain link
perimeter fencing, flow control
structures, and metering stations.
e. Box culverts at canal and roadway
crossings and multiple bawl-ground
siphons constructed to facilitate wildlife
movement and maintain existing
hydrology along the canal conveyance
system.
f. An approximate 10-acre
maintenance facility located
approximately 6 miles north of Dayton,
TX.
g. Discharge structure along the
southeastern shoreline of Lake Houston.
2. Scoping and Public Involvement
Process: A Public Notice was published
on April 19, 2010 to initiate the public
scoping process for the proposed
project. At that time, based on
information provided by the Applicant,
a preliminary review indicated that an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
was not required. However, based on
continuing permit assessment and
information brought forth during the
initial coordination process, areas of
potential significant impact on the
human environment have been
identified. Therefore, the EIS process is
being implemented so that the permit
application can be fully evaluated and
a permit decision can be made. All
comments received to date, including
those provided for review during the
initial scoping process, will be
considered by the Galveston District
during EIS preparation. The purpose of
the EIS scoping meeting is to gather
information on the subjects to be
studied in detail by the EIS.
3. Purpose and Need. The basic
purpose of the proposed action is to
provide drinking water for the City of
Houston and surrounding area. The
overall purpose is to provide drinking
water utilizing water rights currently
held by the City of Houston in the
Trinity River. The Corps recognizes that
there is a public and private need for
drinking water.
4. Alternatives. An evaluation of
alternatives to the Applicant’s preferred
alternative initially being considered
includes a No Action alternative,
alternatives that would avoid, minimize
and compensate for impacts to the
aquatic environment within the project
right-of-way, alternatives that would
avoid, minimize and compensate for
E:\FR\FM\25MYN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 25, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30319-30320]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12914]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army
Real Property Master Plan Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement, at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona
AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of the Army intends to prepare a Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to analyze the environmental
impacts resulting from adoption and implementation of a Real Property
Master Plan (RPMP), including test areas and training activities at
Yuma Proving Ground.
ADDRESSES: For questions concerning the RPMP PEIS, please contact Mr.
Sergio Obregon, U.S. Army Garrison Yuma Proving Ground, National
Environmental Policy Act Coordinator, IMWE-YMA-PWE, 301 C Street, Yuma,
AZ 85365-9498. Written comments may be mailed to that address or e-
mailed to ypgnepa@conus.army.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Chuck Wullenjohn, Yuma Proving
Ground Public Affairs Office, at (928) 328-6189 Monday through Thursday
from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mountain Standard Time.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Yuma Proving Ground consists of
approximately 840,000 acres of DoD-managed land in the Sonoran Desert
in southwestern Arizona and occupies portions of Yuma and La Paz
counties. The mission at Yuma Proving Ground is ensuring the readiness
of U. S. forces and materiel to perform in hot arid conditions around
the world. This requires rigorous testing of ground and aerial
vehicles, weapons, munitions, sensors, and guidance systems and
realistic training. The U.S. has been engaged in hostile conflicts in
environments similar to those found at Yuma Proving Ground, resulting
in a need for increased testing of existing and developing military
equipment, vehicles, and munitions under these environmental
conditions. To meet these needs, the U.S. Army intends to prepare a
RPMP PEIS at Yuma Proving Ground to analyze potential impacts from new
construction, changes in testing and training, and activities conducted
under private industry partnerships. Renewable energy initiatives will
also be discussed in the PEIS, but project-specific NEPA analysis will
be required prior to implementing specific renewable energy
initiatives.
Alternatives will consist of alternative siting locations for
certain activities within Yuma Proving Ground and different magnitudes
of implementation with regard to spatial extent of potential impacts
and frequency and duration of specific events. The EIS will also
analyze the No Action Alternative, under which no new construction
would occur and there would be no changes in testing and training
activities conducted at Yuma Proving Ground.
No changes are proposed to activities conducted at off-post areas
in Arizona and California that are used for specific testing activities
under conditions not found at Yuma Proving Ground. Therefore, these
areas would not be considered in the development of alternatives for
the RPMP PEIS.
All activities under consideration would be conducted within the
boundaries of the installation. Resource areas that may be impacted
include air quality, airspace, traffic, noise, water resources,
biological resources, cultural resources, socioeconomics, utilities,
land use, and solid and hazardous materials/waste. Impacts to these
resources may occur as a result of converting existing land use to
support military testing and training or from increasing the scope or
magnitude of testing and training activities. The analysis will also
consider the potential for cumulative environmental effects.
The public will be invited to participate in the scoping process to
provide input on the proposed action and alternatives, which will be
evaluated in the PEIS. After publication of the Notice of Intent to
prepare the PEIS, the Army will schedule at least two public meetings
to provide information about the proposed action
[[Page 30320]]
and alternatives and to solicit input and feedback from the public on
issues to be addressed in the PEIS. Meetings will be announced in local
media. The public will also be invited to review and comment on the
Draft PEIS when it is released. Comments from the public will be
considered before any decision is made regarding implementing the
proposed action.
Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-12914 Filed 5-24-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-08-P
