Notice of Availability-Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Update of the Water Control Manuals and Water Supply Storage Assessment for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin, 91154-91155 [2016-30295]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
• Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 242 (Friday, December 16, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 91154-91155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30295]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Notice of Availability--Final Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Update of the Water Control Manuals and Water Supply Storage 
Assessment for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin

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

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Mobile District (USACE), has released the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (FEIS) for the update of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint 
(ACF) Water Control Master Manual (Master Manual) Alabama, Florida, and 
Georgia including a water supply storage assessment addressing 
reallocation of storage in Lake Sidney Lanier (Lake Lanier).
    A Notice of Availability was published by the Environmental 
Protection Agency on December 16, 2016. The review period will end 30 
days after that date.

DATES: The review period of the FEIS ends on January 14, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Lewis Sumner at telephone (251) 
694-3857.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Master Manual includes appendices 
prepared for individual projects in the ACF Basin and is the guide used 
by USACE to operate a system of five federal reservoir projects in the 
basin--Buford Dam and Lake Lanier, West Point Dam and Lake, Walter F. 
George Lock and Dam and Lake, George W. Andrews Lock and Dam and Lake, 
and Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam and Lake Seminole.
    The purpose and need for the federal action is to determine how 
federal projects in the ACF Basin should be operated for their 
authorized purposes, in light of current conditions and applicable law, 
and to implement those operations through updated water control plans 
and manuals. The proposed action will result in an updated Master 
Manual and individual project water control manuals (WCMs) that comply 
with existing USACE regulations and reflect operations under existing 
congressional authorizations, taking into account changes in basin 
hydrology and demands from years of growth and development, new/
rehabilitated structural features, legal developments, and 
environmental issues. The action includes updates to account for a June 
28, 2011, decision of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
    On May 16, 2000, the Governor of the State of Georgia submitted a 
formal request to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) to 
adjust the operation of Lake Lanier, and to enter into agreements with 
the state or water supply providers to accommodate increases in water 
supply withdrawals from Lake Lanier and downstream at Atlanta over the 
next 30 years, culminating in total gross withdrawals of 705 million 
gallons per day (mgd)--297 mgd from Lake Lanier and 408 mgd 
downstream--by the year 2030. The Assistant Secretary of the Army 
(Civil Works) in 2002 denied Georgia's request. The 2011 decision of 
the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered USACE to reconsider whether 
it has the legal authority to operate the Buford project to accommodate 
Georgia's request. USACE provided a legal opinion concluding that it 
has sufficient authority under applicable law to accommodate that 
request, but noted that any decision to take action on Georgia's 
request would require a separate analysis. On January 11, 2013, the 
Governor of the state of Georgia provided updated demographic and water 
demand data to confirm the continued need for 705 mgd to meet Georgia's 
water needs from Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River to 
approximately the year 2040 rather than 2030 as specified in the 2000 
request. On December 4, 2015, after the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) had been published, the Georgia Environmental 
Protection Division (GAEPD), on behalf of the State of Georgia, 
provided additional updated demographic and water demand data (referred 
to as Georgia's 2015 request) that reduced the state's needs from a 
total of 705 mgd to a range of 597-621 mgd--242 mgd from Lake Lanier 
(instead of 297 mgd) and 355-379 mgd downstream (instead of 408 mgd)--
through the year 2050 rather than 2040 as specified in the 2013 
request.
    USACE's objectives for the Master Manual are to develop a water 
control plan that meets the existing water resource needs of the basin, 
fulfills its responsibilities in operating for the authorized project 
purposes, and complies with all pertinent laws. The FEIS presents the 
results of USACE's analysis of the environmental effects of the 
Proposed Action Alternative (PAA) that the USACE believes accomplishes 
these objectives.
    USACE evaluated an array of potential water management alternatives 
and optional water supply amounts during the Master Manual update 
process, resulting in the selection of the PAA. Additional information 
on the components of the PAA can be found at https://www.sam.usace.army.mil/Missions/PlanningEnvironmental/ACFMasterWaterControlManualUpdate/ACFDocumentLibrary.aspx.
    One alternative available to USACE is to continue with current 
operations. This approach is termed the No Action Alternative (NAA). 
The PAA would update the water control plans and manuals for the ACF 
Basin as directed by Secretary of the Army Pete Geren on January 30, 
2008. Additionally, the PAA would provide for releases from Buford Dam 
to satisfy Georgia's 2015 request of 379 mgd from the Chattahoochee 
River for Metro Atlanta and would reallocate storage in Lake Lanier of 
252,950 acre-feet to satisfy Georgia's 2015 request and support average 
annual water supply withdrawals of up to 222 mgd.
    The FEIS responds to, and incorporates agency and public comments 
received on the DEIS, which was available for public review from 
October 2, 2015, through January 15, 2016. Five open house style public 
meetings were held on October 26th through November 9th, 2015, and more 
than 300 persons attended these workshops, either representing various 
agencies and organizations or as interested individual citizens. Two 
hundred seventy (270) comments on the DEIS were submitted by agencies 
(Federal, state, and local), private organizations, and individuals. 
The USACE responses to substantive agency and public comments are 
provided in appendix C of the FEIS.
    USACE incorporated pertinent revisions and updates to the EIS and 
the WCM based on input received during the public review process. The 
key revisions and updates to the documents

[[Page 91155]]

included in the FEIS for the WCM update include:
     Sections 1 through 12 were revised to make minor technical 
and administrative corrections and updates based on agency and public 
comments, independent external peer review comments, and relevant 
additional information obtained since the DEIS was published.
     Section 4 was also updated to more fully describe and 
clarify (1) the two-phased plan formulation process (water management 
alternatives/water supply options) to determine the alternatives 
evaluated in detail in section 6 (see the introduction to section 4); 
(2) how modeling was used in both phases of the plan formulation 
process to assess and narrow the array of alternatives considered in 
detail in section 6 and to provide a technical foundation for 
environmental impact assessment of the alternatives considered in 
detail in section 6; (3) the screening process for water management 
measures; and (4) consideration of an alternative offered by the ACF 
Stakeholders (ACFS) organization in comments on the DEIS.
     Section 5 was also updated to incorporate additional 
information provided by the State of Georgia in 2015 regarding (1) 
future water supply needs for communities withdrawing or expected to 
withdraw from Lake Lanier; (2) future water supply needs for 
communities withdrawing from the Chattahoochee River downstream of 
Buford Dam; and (3) expected return rates associated with lake and 
river withdrawals. The water supply needs considered in the FEIS were 
generally revised downward and extend over a longer planning horizon 
(from 2040 to 2050) than included in the previous 2013 request from 
Georgia, which was used in the formulation of alternatives presented in 
the DEIS. Further, the FEIS eliminated Glades Reservoir as a reasonably 
foreseeable source of future water supply when the GAEPD rescinded the 
need certification for the reservoir in early 2016. This additional 
information resulted in several new alternatives (including a new PAA), 
all of which are within the range of the alternatives evaluated in the 
DEIS.
     Section 6 was further updated to address additional 
alternatives (including the new PAA) that were developed in accordance 
with the additional water supply information from Georgia as presented 
in the updated section 5 of the FEIS. The updated analysis that 
includes the new alternatives was based on additional Hydrologic 
Engineering Center Reservoir Simulation and Water Quality models (HEC-
ResSim) (HEC-5Q) that incorporated the revised water supply 
information. All pertinent subsections within section 6 have been 
updated accordingly.
     Appendix A (Master WCM and Individual Project WCMs) was 
updated to include pertinent technical corrections and administrative 
updates based on agency and public comments, independent external peer 
review comments, and relevant additional information obtained since the 
DEIS was published.
     Appendix B (Water Supply Storage Assessment Report) was 
updated to include the analysis of the new alternatives that 
incorporate additional population projections and water supply demand 
projections provided by Georgia in December 2015.
     Appendix C (Pertinent Correspondence) was updated to 
incorporate agency and public comments on the DEIS (with USACE 
responses) as well as relevant new correspondence.
     Appendix E (HEC-ResSim Modeling Report) was updated to 
reflect analysis of the additional alternatives based on changes 
presented in section 5 of the FEIS and to incorporate technical and 
administrative corrections and updates based on comments from agencies, 
the public, and independent external peer review.
     Appendix J (USFWS Coordination) was updated to incorporate 
documentation of Endangered Species Act Section 7 consultation that 
occurred following agency and public review of the DEIS as well as the 
final Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act Report for the Master Manual 
update.
     Appendix K (HEC-5Q Water Quality Modeling Report) was 
updated to reflect analysis of the additional alternatives based on 
changes presented in section 5 of the FEIS and to incorporate technical 
and administrative corrections and updates based on comments from 
agencies, the public, and independent external peer review.
     Appendix L (Coastal Zone Management Statement of 
Consistency) was updated to include administrative changes to the 
Florida Coastal Management Program reference, and to address Florida's 
comments on the Statement of Consistency in the DEIS.
     Appendix M (Recreation Benefit Analysis) was updated to 
reflect analysis of the additional alternatives based on changes 
presented in section 5 of the FEIS.
     Appendix N (USACE Institute for Water Resources ACF 
Climate Change Support Analysis) was updated to reflect the additional 
information available following coordination of the DEIS and in 
response to comments on the DEIS from agencies, the public, and 
independent external peer review.
     Appendix O (Unimpaired Flow Dataset) was added to describe 
the development of the unimpaired flow dataset.

Document Availability

    The FEIS and appendices are available for review in the following 
formats:
     Online as PDF documents at www.sam.usace.army.mil/Missions/PlanningEnvironmental/ACF-Master-Water-Control-Manual-Update/ACF-Document-Library.aspx
     As a CD when requested in writing to: Commander, U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Attn: PD-EI (ACF-FEIS), P.O. Box 
2288, Mobile, AL 36628.

Next Steps

    No sooner than 30 days after filing the final EIS with USEPA and 
publication of the EPA Notice of Availability for the FEIS in the 
Federal Register, USACE will prepare a Record of Decision (ROD) which 
documents the final decision on the proposed action. USACE will 
announce availability of the ROD in a newsletter, distribution to the 
project mailing list, press releases to local newspapers, radio and 
television news, and on the project Web site.

    Dated: December 6, 2016.
James A. Delapp,
Colonel, District Commander, Mobile District, U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers.
[FR Doc. 2016-30295 Filed 12-15-16; 8:45 am]
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