Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Installation of a Terminal Groin Structure at Lockwood Folly Inlet and to Conduct Supplemental Beach Nourishment Along the Eastern Oceanfront Shoreline of Holden Beach, in Brunswick County, NC, 11085-11086 [2012-4305]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 37 / Friday, February 24, 2012 / Notices
orientation. Currently, Cambria has a
population of approximately 6,400
permanent residents with a substantial
tourist and second home population.
The CCSD provides water supply,
wastewater collection and treatment,
fire protection, garbage collection, and a
limited amount of street lighting and
recreation. The CCSD currently serves a
population of about 6,400 as well as a
large number of visitors to the Central
Coast and covers approximately four
square miles. The relatively remote
location of Cambria has resulted in the
area relying solely upon local
groundwater for its water supply.
3. Proposed Project. To study, plan,
and implement a project to provide for
a reliable water supply for the
community of Cambria in San Luis
Obispo County, CA.
4. Alternatives. Potential water supply
alternatives were compiled from studies
conducted by the CCSD over a period of
more than ten years identifying and
evaluating potential sources of
additional potable water for CCSD. The
alternatives initially being considered
for the proposed project include
seawater desalination, local and
imported surface water, groundwater,
hard rock drilling, and seasonal
reservoir storage.
5. Scoping Process.
a. Potential impacts associated with
the proposed project will be fully
evaluated. Resource categories that will
be analyzed include: Physical
environment, geology, biological
resources, air quality, water quality,
recreational usage, aesthetics, cultural
resources, transportation, noise,
hazardous waste, socioeconomics and
safety.
b. The Corps intends to hold a public
scoping meeting(s) for the EIS/EIR to aid
in the determination of significant
environmental issues associated with
the proposed project. Affected federal,
state and local resource agencies, Native
American groups and concerned interest
groups/individuals are encouraged to
participate in the scoping process.
Public participation is critical in
defining the scope of analysis in the
Draft EIS/EIR, identifying significant
environmental issues in the Draft EIS/
EIR, providing useful information such
as published and unpublished data, and
knowledge of relevant issues and
recommending mitigation measures to
offset potential impacts from proposed
actions. The time and location of the
public scoping meeting will be
advertised in letters, public
announcements and news releases.
c. Individuals and agencies may offer
information or data relevant to the
environmental or socioeconomic
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18:34 Feb 23, 2012
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impacts of the proposed project by
submitting comments, suggestions, and
requests to be placed on the mailing list
for announcements to (see ADDRESSES)
or the following email address:
kathleen.s.anderson@usace.army.mil.
d. The project will require
concurrence by the California Coastal
Commission with the federal Coastal
Consistency Determination in
accordance with the Coastal Zone
Management Act, as well as certification
under Section 401 of the Clean Water
Act from the Regional Water Quality
Control Board. Depending upon the
recommended alternative, the project
may also require additional real
property rights for construction and
operation of a facility, and compliance
with the Endangered Species Act.
6. Scoping Meeting Date, Time, and
Location. The Public Scoping Meeting
will take place on March 15, 2012, 7
p.m. to 9 p.m., Veterans Hall, 1000 Main
Street, Cambria, CA 93428.
7. Availability of the Draft EIS/EIR.
The Draft EIS/EIR is scheduled to be
published and circulated in September
2012. Pursuant to CEQA, a public
hearing on the EIS/EIR will be held by
the CCSD following its publication.
Dated: February 15, 2012.
R. Mark Toy,
Colonel, U.S. Army, Commander and District
Engineer, Los Angeles District.
[FR Doc. 2012–4313 Filed 2–23–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720–58–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of
Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for the Installation of a Terminal Groin
Structure at Lockwood Folly Inlet and
to Conduct Supplemental Beach
Nourishment Along the Eastern
Oceanfront Shoreline of Holden Beach,
in Brunswick County, NC
Department of the Army, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE), 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 Harbor Act, from the Town of
Holden Beach to develop and
implement a shoreline protection plan
that includes the installation of a
terminal groin structure on the west side
SUMMARY:
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11085
of Lockwood Folly Inlet (a federally
maintained navigational channel) and
the nourishment of the oceanfront
shoreline along the eastern end of
Holden Beach.
DATES: A public scoping meeting for the
Draft EIS will be held at Holden Beach
Town Hall, located at 110 Rothschild
Street in Holden Beach, on March 8,
2012 at 6 p.m. Written comments will
be received until March 26, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and
questions regarding scoping of the Draft
EIS may be submitted to: U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District,
Regulatory Division. ATTN: File
Number 2011–01914, 69 Darlington
Avenue, Wilmington, NC 28403.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposed action
and Draft EIS can be directed to Mr.
Mickey Sugg, Project Manager,
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office,
telephone: (910) 251–4811. Additional
description of the Town’s proposal can
be found at the following link, https://
www.saw.usace.army.mil/WETLANDS/
Projects/, under Holden
Beach Terminal Groin and Nourishment
Project.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. Project
Description. Over the past decades, the
eastern end of Holden Beach has
experienced consistent and relatively
severe erosional conditions along the
oceanfront shoreline and primary dune
system. As a result of chronic erosion,
the Town has implemented, typically in
coordination with the U.S. Corps of
Engineers federal channel maintenance
dredging, periodic beach nourishment
activities within this eastern stretch and
near the inlet. These measures have
been short-term in nature; and it is the
Town’s desire to implement a long-term
beach and dune stabilization strategy.
As stated by the Town, this strategy
would help protect public and private
infrastructure from future storms. Their
proposal includes constructing a
terminal groin near the Lockwood Folly
Inlet (western side) and conducting
supplemental sand placement along the
eastern end of the island. Final locations
and placement of sand will be
determined during the project design
process. For the groin structure, final
location and design has yet to be
determined. No groin structure is
proposed on the opposite, or eastern,
side of Lockwood Folly Inlet.
2. Issues. There are several potential
environmental and public interest
issues that will be addressed in the EIS.
Additional issues may be identified
during the scoping process. Issues
initially identified as potentially
significant include:
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11086
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 37 / Friday, February 24, 2012 / Notices
a. Potential impacts to marine
biological resources (benthic organisms,
passageway for fish and other marine
life) and Essential Fish Habitat.
b. Potential impacts to threatened and
endangered marine mammals, birds,
fish, and plants.
c. Potential impacts associated with
using inlets as a sand source.
d. Potential impacts to adjacent
shoreline changes on the east side
Lockwood Folly Inlet, or along the
Town of Oak Island.
e. Potential impacts to Navigation,
commercial and recreational.
f. Potential impacts to the long-term
management of the inlet and oceanfront
shorelines.
g. Potential effects on regional sand
sources and how it relates to sand
management practices and North
Carolina’s Beach Inlet Management
Practices.
h. Potential effects of shoreline
protection.
i. Potential impacts on public health
and safety.
k. Potential impacts to recreational
and commercial fishing.
l. The compatibility of the material for
nourishment.
m. Potential impacts to cultural
resources.
n. Cumulative impacts of past,
present, and foreseeable future dredging
and nourishment activities.
3. Alternatives. Several alternatives
and sand sources are being considered
for the development of the protection
plan. These alternatives will be further
formulated and developed during the
scoping process and an appropriate
range of alternatives, including the no
federal action alternative, will be
considered in the EIS.
4. Scoping Process. A public scoping
meeting (see DATES) will be held to
receive public comment and assess
public concerns regarding the
appropriate scope and preparation of
the Draft EIS. Participation in the public
meeting by federal, state, and local
agencies and other interested
organizations and persons is
encouraged.
The USACE will consult with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service under the
Endangered Species Act and the Fish
and Wildlife Coordination Act; with the
National Marine Fisheries Service under
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act and
the Endangered Species Act; and with
the North Carolina State Historic
Preservation Office under the National
Historic Preservation Act. Additionally,
the USACE will coordinate the Draft EIS
with the North Carolina Division of
Water Quality (NCDWQ) to assess the
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18:34 Feb 23, 2012
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potential water quality impacts
pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean
Water Act, and with the North Carolina
Division of Coastal Management
(NCDCM) to determine the projects
consistency with the Coastal Zone
Management Act. The USACE will
closely work with NCDCM and NCDWQ
in the development of the EIS to ensure
the process complies with all State
Environmental Policy Act (SEPA)
requirements. It is the intention of both
the USACE and the State of North
Carolina to consolidate the NEPA and
SEPA processes thereby eliminating
duplication.
6. Availability of the Draft PEIS. The
Draft EIS is expected to be published
and circulated by early 2013. A public
hearing will be held after the
publication of the Draft EIS.
Dated: February 14, 2012.
S. Kenneth Jolly,
Chief, Regulatory Division.
[FR Doc. 2012–4305 Filed 2–23–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720–58–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of
Engineers
Revised Notice of Intent To Prepare a
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
for the Brunswick County Beaches,
NC, Coastal Storm Damage Reduction
Project
Department of the Army, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE), Wilmington District
(Corps) is currently conducting a
General Reevaluation Report (GRR) for
the Brunswick County Beaches, NC,
Coastal Storm Damage Reduction
(CSDR) Project. The Corps intends to
prepare a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS) to evaluate the
impacts of the proposed CSDR
alternatives to reduce coastal storm
damages from beach erosion in the
towns of Holden Beach, Oak Island, and
Caswell Beach, North Carolina. An array
of structural, non-structural, and no
action alternatives are being evaluated.
Current analyses suggest that the dune
and berm beach fill alternative
maximizes net CSDR benefits for the
project area beaches and provides
additional environmental and recreation
benefits. An offshore borrow area has
been identified within the Southwestern
portion of Frying Pan Shoals (FPS)
(located off the coast of Cape Fear,
North Carolina) to provide beach
SUMMARY:
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compatible sediment for the 50-year life
of the project.
The DEIS is being prepared in
accordance with the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and will
address the relationship of the proposed
action to all other applicable Federal
and State Laws and Executive Orders.
DATES: The earliest the DEIS will be
available for public review would be
August 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions about the proposed action
and DEIS can be answered by Mr. Doug
Piatkowski, Environmental Resources
Section; U.S. Army Engineer District,
Wilmington; 69 Darlington Avenue,
Wilmington, North Carolina 28403;
telephone: (910) 251–4908; email:
douglas.piatkowski@usace.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Previous Notice of Intent (NOI)
publication. This notice is a revision of
an August 26, 2003, NOI (68 FR 51257)
to prepare a DEIS and is prepared in
response to changes in the proposed
action, availability of new information
relative to the proposal and associated
impacts, and the significant amount of
time which has passed since the last
NOI.
2. Authority. Federal improvements
for CSDR along a segment of the ocean
shoreline in Brunswick County, North
Carolina, were authorized by the Flood
Control Act of 1966 (Pub. L. 89–789).
The most applicable text is copied
below.
The project for hurricane-flood control
protection from Cape Fear to the North
Carolina—South Carolina State line, North
Carolina, is hereby authorized substantially
in accordance with the recommendations of
the Chief of Engineers in House Document
Numbered 511, Eighty-ninth Congress.
3. Project Purpose. The project
purpose is reduction of damages from
beach erosion for the towns of Caswell
Beach, Oak Island (the former towns of
Long Beach and Yaupon Beach have
been incorporated as the Town of Oak
Island), and Holden Beach, North
Carolina. If implemented, the project
would also enhance the beach area
available for recreation use and provide
habitat for a variety of plants and
animals.
Significant environmental resources
to be addressed in the DEIS include, but
are not limited to: (1) Endangered and
threatened species; (2) Marine and
estuarine resources; (3) Upland beach
and dune resources; (4) Fish and
wildlife and their habitats; (5) Essential
Fish Habitat (EFH) and Cape Fear Sandy
Shoals; (6) Water and air quality; (7)
Socioeconomic resources; (8) Cultural
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11085-11086]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4305]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for the Installation of a Terminal Groin Structure at Lockwood Folly
Inlet and to Conduct Supplemental Beach Nourishment Along the Eastern
Oceanfront Shoreline of Holden Beach, in Brunswick County, NC
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), 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 Harbor Act, from the
Town of Holden Beach to develop and implement a shoreline protection
plan that includes the installation of a terminal groin structure on
the west side of Lockwood Folly Inlet (a federally maintained
navigational channel) and the nourishment of the oceanfront shoreline
along the eastern end of Holden Beach.
DATES: A public scoping meeting for the Draft EIS will be held at
Holden Beach Town Hall, located at 110 Rothschild Street in Holden
Beach, on March 8, 2012 at 6 p.m. Written comments will be received
until March 26, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and questions regarding scoping of the
Draft EIS may be submitted to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington
District, Regulatory Division. ATTN: File Number 2011-01914, 69
Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC 28403.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action
and Draft EIS can be directed to Mr. Mickey Sugg, Project Manager,
Wilmington Regulatory Field Office, telephone: (910) 251-4811.
Additional description of the Town's proposal can be found at the
following link, https://www.saw.usace.army.mil/WETLANDS/Projects/, under Holden Beach Terminal Groin and Nourishment Project.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. Project Description. Over the past
decades, the eastern end of Holden Beach has experienced consistent and
relatively severe erosional conditions along the oceanfront shoreline
and primary dune system. As a result of chronic erosion, the Town has
implemented, typically in coordination with the U.S. Corps of Engineers
federal channel maintenance dredging, periodic beach nourishment
activities within this eastern stretch and near the inlet. These
measures have been short-term in nature; and it is the Town's desire to
implement a long-term beach and dune stabilization strategy. As stated
by the Town, this strategy would help protect public and private
infrastructure from future storms. Their proposal includes constructing
a terminal groin near the Lockwood Folly Inlet (western side) and
conducting supplemental sand placement along the eastern end of the
island. Final locations and placement of sand will be determined during
the project design process. For the groin structure, final location and
design has yet to be determined. No groin structure is proposed on the
opposite, or eastern, side of Lockwood Folly Inlet.
2. Issues. There are several potential environmental and public
interest issues that will be addressed in the EIS. Additional issues
may be identified during the scoping process. Issues initially
identified as potentially significant include:
[[Page 11086]]
a. Potential impacts to marine biological resources (benthic
organisms, passageway for fish and other marine life) and Essential
Fish Habitat.
b. Potential impacts to threatened and endangered marine mammals,
birds, fish, and plants.
c. Potential impacts associated with using inlets as a sand source.
d. Potential impacts to adjacent shoreline changes on the east side
Lockwood Folly Inlet, or along the Town of Oak Island.
e. Potential impacts to Navigation, commercial and recreational.
f. Potential impacts to the long-term management of the inlet and
oceanfront shorelines.
g. Potential effects on regional sand sources and how it relates to
sand management practices and North Carolina's Beach Inlet Management
Practices.
h. Potential effects of shoreline protection.
i. Potential impacts on public health and safety.
k. Potential impacts to recreational and commercial fishing.
l. The compatibility of the material for nourishment.
m. Potential impacts to cultural resources.
n. Cumulative impacts of past, present, and foreseeable future
dredging and nourishment activities.
3. Alternatives. Several alternatives and sand sources are being
considered for the development of the protection plan. These
alternatives will be further formulated and developed during the
scoping process and an appropriate range of alternatives, including the
no federal action alternative, will be considered in the EIS.
4. Scoping Process. A public scoping meeting (see DATES) will be
held to receive public comment and assess public concerns regarding the
appropriate scope and preparation of the Draft EIS. Participation in
the public meeting by federal, state, and local agencies and other
interested organizations and persons is encouraged.
The USACE will consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
under the Endangered Species Act and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination
Act; with the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Endangered
Species Act; and with the North Carolina State Historic Preservation
Office under the National Historic Preservation Act. Additionally, the
USACE will coordinate the Draft EIS with the North Carolina Division of
Water Quality (NCDWQ) to assess the potential water quality impacts
pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, and with the North
Carolina Division of Coastal Management (NCDCM) to determine the
projects consistency with the Coastal Zone Management Act. The USACE
will closely work with NCDCM and NCDWQ in the development of the EIS to
ensure the process complies with all State Environmental Policy Act
(SEPA) requirements. It is the intention of both the USACE and the
State of North Carolina to consolidate the NEPA and SEPA processes
thereby eliminating duplication.
6. Availability of the Draft PEIS. The Draft EIS is expected to be
published and circulated by early 2013. A public hearing will be held
after the publication of the Draft EIS.
Dated: February 14, 2012.
S. Kenneth Jolly,
Chief, Regulatory Division.
[FR Doc. 2012-4305 Filed 2-23-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
