Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Islands Ecosystem Restoration Project at James Island, 67025-67026 [2022-24164]

Agencies

• Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
• Department of the Defense

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 214 (Monday, November 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67025-67026]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24164]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Islands Ecosystem Restoration 
Project at James Island

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Baltimore District of the 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), in partnership with the Maryland 
Department of Transportation's Maryland Port Administration, the non-
federal sponsor, plans to prepare a supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (sEIS) for the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem 
Restoration Project at James Island (Mid-Bay Island Project). The Mid-
Chesapeake Islands Restoration Project recommends remote island 
restoration at James Island and Barren Island, both on the Eastern 
Shore of Maryland and in Dorchester County, MD, through the beneficial 
use of dredged material. The project addresses two needs: (1) the 
restoration of remote island habitat to benefit wildlife including a 
diverse assemblage of birds, fish, herpetofauna, and invertebrates; and 
(2) the beneficial use of dredged material from the maintenance of the 
approach channels to Baltimore Harbor. Remote islands, a critical 
ecosystem component in the Chesapeake Bay, are offshore landforms that 
provide isolation, lack of human disturbance, and few predators. These 
conditions uniquely support isolated nesting and foraging habitat for a 
diverse assemblage of wildlife. Extensive island habitat loss has 
occurred within the Mid-Chesapeake Bay, and James Island has nearly 
vanished. Sea level rise and related erosion, as well as land 
subsidence and wave action are the primary drivers of island loss. The 
project provides an opportunity to utilize 30 to 70 million cubic yards 
of clean dredged material over a 20-year period to restore 2,072 acres 
of remote island habitat at James Island including uplands and 
wetlands. The project would convert over 2,000 acres of shallow water 
habitat in the waters surrounding James Island to external dikes and 
island habitat. There are expected to be long-term changes to the 
aesthetics of the project area as an effect of the restoration of James 
Island in the landscape. The sEIS will update documentation for NEPA 
focused on the James Island component of the project. USACE is 
requesting to be provided any supporting information, analyses, and 
alternative identification relevant to the action being evaluated by 
this sEIS.

DATES: Comments and suggestions must be submitted by December 7, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments and suggestions concerning the scope 
of issues to be evaluated within the sEIS to Angie Sowers, Integrated 
Water Resources Management Specialist, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Baltimore District, Planning Division--Civil Project Development 
Branch, (CENAP-PLP), 2 Hopkins Plaza, Baltimore, MD 21201, or via email 
to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the overall Mid-Bay 
Island Project should be directed to Trevor Cyran, Project Manager at 
[email protected] or at (410) 962-4999. Additional 
information is available on the project's web page: https://www.nab.usace.army.mil/Mid-Bay.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

    USACE-Baltimore received the authority to conduct the Mid-
Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study under the 
resolution of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on 5 
June 1997. The feasibility study recommended remote island restoration 
at James Island and Barren Island, both on the Eastern Shore of 
Maryland and in Dorchester County, through the beneficial use of 
dredged material. The study built upon the Federal and State's Dredged 
Material Management Plan (DMMP) planning efforts to identify beneficial 
use sites to meet dredged material capacity needs and habitat 
restoration goals. The feasibility study determined the technical, 
economic, and environmental feasibility of protecting, restoring, and 
creating aquatic, intertidal wetland, and upland habitat for fish and 
wildlife within the Mid-Bay Island Project study area using clean 
dredged material from the Upper Chesapeake Bay Approach Channels.
    Section 7002 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act 
(WRDA) of 2014 authorized the Mid-Bay Island Project, as described in 
the Chief's Report, (https://planning.erdc.dren.mil/toolbox/library/ChiefReports/mid_chesapeake.pdf), dated August 2009, and the Mid-
Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem Restoration Integrated Feasibility 
Report and Environmental Impact Statement (IFR/EIS), dated June 2009. 
The Federal Register notice (73 FR 56565, September 29, 2008) for the 
EIS being supplemented is available at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2008-09-29/pdf/E8-22764.pdf. The record of decision (ROD) was 
signed in July 2019 initiating the next phase of the study, 
Preconstruction Engineering and Design (PED). In March 2022, USACE 
published a supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA) with a signed 
finding of no significant impact (FONSI) to update NEPA compliance for 
the Barren Island component of the Mid-Bay Island Project. 
Acknowledging the scale of the James Island component of the project 
and the large-scale marine construction required to implement the 
project, a sEIS will be prepared.
    The Mid-Bay Island Project recommended plan consists of restoring

[[Page 67026]]

2,072 acres of remote island habitat at James Island with a habitat 
proportion of 45% upland to 55% wetland, and an upland dike height of 
20 ft MLLW.
    The Mid-Bay Island Project provides for the restoration of remote 
island habitat to benefit wildlife including a diverse assemblage of 
birds, fish, herpetofauna, and invertebrates; and the beneficial use of 
dredged material. Remote islands, a critical ecosystem component in the 
Chesapeake Bay, are offshore landforms that provide isolation, lack of 
human disturbance, and few predators. These conditions uniquely support 
isolated nesting and foraging habitat for a diverse assemblage of 
wildlife. Extensive island habitat loss has occurred within the Mid-
Chesapeake Bay. James Island, historically at least 1300 acres, has 
dwindled in the past 20 years from three remnants totaling less than 
100 acres to multiple remnants summing to approximately 3 acres. Sea 
level rise and related erosion, as well as land subsidence and wave 
action are the primary drivers of island loss. Simultaneously, the 
project provides an opportunity for the beneficial use of dredged 
material. More than 130 miles of dredged shipping channels serve the 
Port of Baltimore, and channel maintenance and improvement projects 
require that approximately 4 to 5 million cubic yards of sediment be 
dredged from the Federal and State channels each year, 3.2 mcy of which 
comes from the upper Chesapeake Bay approach channels and the southern 
approach channels to the C&D Canal. The project will provide 
approximately 90 to 95 mcy, or approximately 28 to 30 years of dredged 
material placement capacity to meet the annual need for maintenance 
dredging activity.
    The purpose of the current effort is to update NEPA documentation 
for the James Island component of the Mid-Bay Island Project during the 
project's design phase. The NEPA coordination/review schedule for the 
project will be coordinated with the appropriate Federal and state 
resource agencies

2. Study Area

    The project is located in estuarine waters adjacent to James Island 
in Dorchester County, MD. James Island is situated along the eastern 
shore of the Chesapeake Bay, outside the mouth of the Little Choptank 
River, and slightly northeast of Taylors Island.

3. USACE Decision Making

    As required by the Council on Environmental Quality's Principles, 
Requirements and Guidelines for Water and Land Related Resources 
Implementation Studies (2013), alternatives to the proposed Federal 
action that meet the purpose and need will be considered in the sEIS. 
These alternatives will include no action, the recommended plan as 
authorized by Section 7002 of WRDA 2014, and minor adjustments to 
account for changing conditions since the feasibility report was 
completed in 2009. The measures to be evaluated will consider 
applicable public stakeholder and agency input received since the 
beginning of PED and through future outreach efforts.

4. Scoping/Public Participation

    Prior scoping meetings were held as part of the feasibility study. 
Public outreach events were held in May and June 2021. An additional 
community outreach session is planned for Saturday, November 19, 2022 
from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Hoopers Island Fire Department [2756 
Hoopers Island Road, Fishing Creek, MD 21634]. Any additional scoping 
input can be provided at that meeting or provided to the contacts 
identified here within, for 30 days following the meeting until 
December 19, 2022. Public meetings will be conducted during the public 
review period of the draft sEIS.

5. Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    USACE is the lead federal agency and the Maryland Department of 
Transportation's Maryland Port Administration is the nonfederal sponsor 
for the project. The preparation of the sEIS meets the requirements of 
the NEPA and its Implementing Regulations of the President's Council on 
Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1500-1508). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (FWS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the 
Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) have been invited to 
serve as cooperating agencies.

6. Alternatives To Be Considered

    This sEIS evaluation will consider two alternatives: (1) No action, 
and (2) implementation of the feasibility study's recommended plan.

7. Study Schedule

    The Draft sEIS is currently scheduled for distribution to the 
public in summer 2023, with a 45 day public review and comment period 
following release of the draft document.

8. Anticipated Impacts, Permits, and Authorization

    The sEIS will analyze the full range of impacts, both beneficial 
and negative, of the alternatives. Potentially significant issues to be 
analyzed include impacts to waters of the United States, aquatic 
resources (including submerged aquatic vegetation), and endangered and 
threatened species and their habitats. Other impacts that will be 
analyzed include hydrology and water quality, air quality, navigation, 
cultural resources, aesthetics, environmental justice, and recreation. 
Anticipated permits and authorizations include water quality 
certification, Coastal Zone Consistency Determination, and a tidal 
wetlands license. In addition, many other federal, state, and local 
authorizations will be required for the Project. Applicable federal 
laws include the Endangered Species Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act, Marine Mammals Protection Act, Rivers 
and Harbors Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Clean Water Act, 
and the Coastal Zone Management Act. USACE is also conducting 
government-to-government Tribal consultations.

Reinhard W. Koenig,
Programs Director, North Atlantic Division.
[FR Doc. 2022-24164 Filed 11-4-22; 8:45 am]
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