Proposed Reduction in Hours of Operation at the Mississippi River Twin Cities Locks Located in Minneapolis, MN, 38780-38781 [2012-15967]

Download as PDF 38780 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 126 / Friday, June 29, 2012 / Notices condition of resources in the Specific Plan area, concentrating on those areas proposed for development, and analyzes the potential impacts to resources as a result of implementing the alternatives. The alternatives considered in detail are: (A) Applicant’s Preferred Alternative; (B) 2006 Conceptual Land Use Plan Alternative; (C) Multiple Preserves Alternative; and (D) No Action/No USACE Permit Alternative. DATES: All written comments must be postmarked on or before August 13, 2012. ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted in writing to: Kathleen Dadey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, Regulatory Division; 1325 J Street, Room 1350, Sacramento, CA 95814–2922, or via email to Kathleen.A.Dadey@usace.army.mil. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Kathleen Dadey at 916–557–5250, or via email at Kathleen.A.Dadey@usace.army.mil. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Sacremento County Office of Economic Development and Marketing (applicant) is seeking authorization from USACE for the placement of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act to develop portions of the Mather Specific Plan area. The overall project purpose is a large scale, mixed use development to promote economic and wetland conservation opportunities within the Mather Specific Plan area. All of the build alternatives include the following land uses: airport commercial, commercial development, parks and recreation, aggregate extraction, university village/residential, regional sports park and infrastructure, including roadways. Alternative A, the Applicant’s Preferred Alternative, includes approximately 1,910 acres of development a 1,272-acre Preserve and a 13-acre riparian buffer area. The applicant proposes to fill a total of 40.25 acres of waters of the U.S., including seasonal wetlands, vernal pools and swales, channels and drainage ditches. The preserved areas would provide protection for wetlands (including vernal pools) and endangered species, including vernal pool fairy shrimp, vernal pool tadpole shrimp, and legenere. The Preserve would also protect federally listed critical habitat. Alternative B is based on a land use plan for the Mather Specific Plan area that was conceptually endorsed by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in February 2006. VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:52 Jun 28, 2012 Jkt 226001 Alternative B includes a 1,064-acre Preserve and 27 acre riparian buffer area which would provide protection for wetlands and endangered species. This alternative anticipates development of approximately 2,011 acres. Alternative B also includes four ‘‘avoidance areas’’ totaling 93 acres within the parks and recreation and university village/ residential areas. Impacts to waters of the U.S. associated with Alternative B would 39.64 acres. Alternative C proposes land uses identical to Alternative A with the addition of three smaller Preserves within the commercial development and university village/residential areas, with a total of 33.65 acres of fill into waters of the U.S. Alternative C would develop approximately 1,836 acreas and includes 1,346 acres of Preserve and 13 acres of riparian buffer area. Preserve areas would provide protection for wetlands and endangered species. Alternative D, No Action/No USACE permit, avoids the placement of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands. A reduced amount of future development could occur without Department of the Army authorization, including infill development at Mather Airport and aggregate extraction in the southwestern corner of the project site. Because this alternative does not anticipate substantial economic development and related revenue to fund active management of a Preserve, however, the level of protection and management of wetland resources, listed species and their habitat is unknown. Comments on the DEIS must be submitted to USACE by August 13, 2012. The public and affected Federal, State and local agencies, Native American Tribes, and other organizations and parties are invited to comment. An electronic copoy of the DEIS may be found on the USACE Web site at: https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/ Missions/Regulatory/Overview/ EnvironmentalImpactStatements.aspx. A hard copy of the DEIS is available for review at the USACE office during normal business hours. To schedule a time to view the hard copy, please contact Kathleen Dadey. The USACE will conduct a public meeting for the DEIS on July 25, 2012 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Main Conference Room A at 10590 Armstrong Avenue, Mather, California 95655. Interested parties can provide oral and written comments at this meeting. In addition to this Federal Register notice, USACE will issue public notices advising interested parties of the availability of the DEIS. Interested parties may register for USACE public PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 notices at: https:// www.spk.usace.army.mil/Media/ RegulatoryPublicNotices.aspx. Dated: June 20, 2012. Braden G. LeMaster, Lieutenant Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Deputy District Engineer. [FR Doc. 2012–15965 Filed 6–28–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3720–58–P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers Proposed Reduction in Hours of Operation at the Mississippi River Twin Cities Locks Located in Minneapolis, MN AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The three locks in the Twin Cities (Upper St. Anthony Falls, Lower St. Anthony Falls, and Lock and Dam 1) located in Minneapolis, MN, on the Mississippi River, currently operate at Service Level 1 (24 hours per day/7 days per week) during the navigation season. It is proposed that these three locks and dams transition to Service Level 2 for the 2013 navigation season and beyond. The navigation season on the Upper Mississippi normally begins in March, depending on river conditions. Under Service Level 2, the locks will operate from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. and will be closed to lockages between 2:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. Constrained funding has led to reduced Operations and Maintenance funding within the Corps’ Inland Marine Transportation System (IMTS). The intended effect of the proposed change reduces operational costs and aligns lock availability with existing levels of lock usage. The Twin Cities locks have less than 1000 commercial lockages per year. Based on guidance adopted by the IMTS Board of Directors, locks operating at Service Level 1 should pass more than 1,000 commercial lockages per year. Pool levels will not be affected by change of operating hours. DATES: Submit written comments by August 30, 2012, to Mr. Kevin Baumgard, Deputy Chief, Operations Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 180 Fifth Street East, Suite 700, St. Paul, MN 55101–1678, or by email at kevin.l.baumgard@usace.army.mil. Written comments will also be accepted at the public meeting. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Kidby at Corps of Engineers E:\FR\FM\29JNN1.SGM 29JNN1 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 126 / Friday, June 29, 2012 / Notices Headquarters in Washington, DC, by phone at 202–761–0250. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public meeting: August 7, 2012, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Headquarters, 2117 West River Road Minneapolis, MN. The legal authority for the regulation governing the use, administration, and navigation of the Twin Cities locks is Section 4 of the River and Harbor Act of August 18, 1894 (28 Stat. 362), as amended, which is codified at 33 U.S.C. Section 1. This statute requires the Secretary of the Army to ‘‘prescribe such regulations for the use, administration, and navigation of the navigable waters of the United States’’ as the Secretary determines may be required by public necessity. Reference 33 CFR 207.300, Mississippi River below mouth of Ohio River, including South and Southwest Passes; use, administration, and navigation. Brenda S. Bowen, Army Federal Liaison Officer. [FR Doc. 2012–15967 Filed 6–28–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3720–58–P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Navy Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Naval Base Coronado Coastal Campus and To Announce Public Scoping Meetings AGENCY: ACTION: Department of the Navy, DoD. Notice. mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations, the Department of the Navy (DoN) announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential environmental effects of developing an academic campus on Naval Base Coronado (NBC) to support the current and future operational readiness of personnel with the Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC). The proposed campus would include a mix of instructional and administrative facilities that would provide for indoor classroom and tactical training instruction, and equipment use, maintenance, and storage. Specific proposed actions within the Coastal Campus proposal are: (1) Evaluation of current land use and available facilities; (2) augmentation by design and construction of new facilities to support logistics, equipment use and maintenance training, classroom and VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:52 Jun 28, 2012 Jkt 226001 tactical skills instruction, storage, and administration; and, (3) design and build of related site improvements that may include upgraded utilities, fencing, roads, and parking. An EIS is considered the appropriate document for comprehensively analyzing the potential environmental impacts of implementing this proposed action. Dates and Addresses: DoN is initiating a 30-day public scoping process to identify community interests and specific issues to be addressed in the EIS. This public scoping process starts with the publication of this Notice of Intent (NOI). Two public scoping meetings will be held to receive oral and/or written comments on issues to be addressed in the EIS: 1. Tuesday, July 17, 2012, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Marina Vista Community Center, 1075 Eighth Street, Imperial Beach, California, 91932. 2. Wednesday, July 18, 2012, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Winn Room, Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Avenue, Coronado, California, 92118. Additional information concerning meeting times and locations is available on the EIS Web site at www.nbccoastalcampuseis.com. Public scoping meeting dates, times, and locations are also being announced in the local news media, including a local Spanish language newspaper. Public scoping meetings will include open house sessions, with information stations staffed by the DoN representatives. Comments, both written and oral, will be collected at each of the two public scoping meetings, and written comments may also be made electronically on the project Web site. Spanish translation will be available at the public meetings and the project Web site accommodates Spanish language users. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Naval Base Coronado Coastal Campus EIS Project Manager, Attn: Ms. Teresa Bresler, 2730 McKean Street, Bldg 291, San Diego, California 92136. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NSWC is the maritime component of United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Based at NAB Coronado, California, NSWC’s mission is to organize, train, man, equip, educate, sustain, maintain combat readiness, and deploy Naval Special Warfare (NSW) forces to carry out special operations missions worldwide. NSW forces operate independently or in conjunction with other special operations forces (SOF), joint forces, allied units, and coalition forces. NSWC currently conducts administrative and extensive logistics PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 38781 support, equipment use and maintenance training and classroom and tactical skills instruction on the Silver Strand Training Complex-North (SSTC– N) and Silver Strand Training Complex South (SSTC–S), Naval Amphibious Base (NAB) Coronado, Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI), and Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach (NOLFIB), and Camp Michael Monsoor. Although all of the facilities currently used by NSWC are located on components of NBC, they are overutilized as well as widely dispersed and not conveniently co-located. To support Congressionally-mandated growth of NSWC and to meet its current and anticipated mission requirements, the DoN is proposing a Coastal Campus at NBC. The proposed Coastal Campus would support future operational readiness by augmenting available NSWC facilities and reducing fragmentation and space deficiencies, while providing an integrated campus that accommodates primacy and privacy, characteristics of learning required for the development of these skill sets. The proposed Coastal Campus would augment the current facilities used by NSWC. Specific proposed actions within the Coastal Campus proposal are as follows. (1) Evaluation of current land use and available facilities. (2) Augmentation by design and construction of new facilities to support logistics, equipment use and maintenance training, classroom and tactical skills instruction, storage, and administration. (3) Design and build of related site improvements that may including utilities, fencing, roads, and parking. Due to the functional linkages and the geographic proximity of the components, the proposed Coastal Campus could be sited at SSTC–S, SSTC–N including NAB Coronado, NASNI, or NOLFIB, or a combination of these locations, all within the footprint of NBC. Purpose and Need for the Action: The Global War on Terror has resulted in Congressionally-mandated personnel growth and increased training and operational readiness requirements for NSWC. However, current NSWC operational support, classroom and tactical skills instruction and administrative facilities, primarily located at NAB Coronado, are inadequate to meet existing and future mission requirements. Moreover, expansion potential at this location is limited. To accommodate NSWC’s projected growth requires additional logistics and operational support E:\FR\FM\29JNN1.SGM 29JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 126 (Friday, June 29, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38780-38781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15967]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Proposed Reduction in Hours of Operation at the Mississippi River 
Twin Cities Locks Located in Minneapolis, MN

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The three locks in the Twin Cities (Upper St. Anthony Falls, 
Lower St. Anthony Falls, and Lock and Dam 1) located in Minneapolis, 
MN, on the Mississippi River, currently operate at Service Level 1 (24 
hours per day/7 days per week) during the navigation season. It is 
proposed that these three locks and dams transition to Service Level 2 
for the 2013 navigation season and beyond. The navigation season on the 
Upper Mississippi normally begins in March, depending on river 
conditions. Under Service Level 2, the locks will operate from 7:00 
a.m. to 2:00 a.m. and will be closed to lockages between 2:00 a.m. and 
7:00 a.m.
    Constrained funding has led to reduced Operations and Maintenance 
funding within the Corps' Inland Marine Transportation System (IMTS). 
The intended effect of the proposed change reduces operational costs 
and aligns lock availability with existing levels of lock usage. The 
Twin Cities locks have less than 1000 commercial lockages per year. 
Based on guidance adopted by the IMTS Board of Directors, locks 
operating at Service Level 1 should pass more than 1,000 commercial 
lockages per year. Pool levels will not be affected by change of 
operating hours.

DATES: Submit written comments by August 30, 2012, to Mr. Kevin 
Baumgard, Deputy Chief, Operations Division, U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, 180 Fifth Street East, Suite 700, St. Paul, MN 55101-1678, 
or by email at kevin.l.baumgard@usace.army.mil. Written comments will 
also be accepted at the public meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Kidby at Corps of 
Engineers

[[Page 38781]]

Headquarters in Washington, DC, by phone at 202-761-0250.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public meeting: August 7, 2012, from 7:00 
p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board 
Headquarters, 2117 West River Road Minneapolis, MN.
    The legal authority for the regulation governing the use, 
administration, and navigation of the Twin Cities locks is Section 4 of 
the River and Harbor Act of August 18, 1894 (28 Stat. 362), as amended, 
which is codified at 33 U.S.C. Section 1. This statute requires the 
Secretary of the Army to ``prescribe such regulations for the use, 
administration, and navigation of the navigable waters of the United 
States'' as the Secretary determines may be required by public 
necessity. Reference 33 CFR 207.300, Mississippi River below mouth of 
Ohio River, including South and Southwest Passes; use, administration, 
and navigation.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-15967 Filed 6-28-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
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