Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Matagorda Ship Channel Improvement Project, Calhoun and Matagorda Counties, TX, 36285-36286 [2023-11730]

Agencies

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

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 106 (Friday, June 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36285-36286]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11730]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Matagorda Ship Channel Improvement Project, Calhoun 
and Matagorda Counties, TX

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a draft supplemental environmental 
impact statement for the Matagorda Ship Channel Improvement Project, 
Calhoun and Matagorda Counties, TX.

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SUMMARY: The Galveston District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) 
intends to prepare a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 
(SEIS) for the Matagorda Ship Channel Improvement Project consistent 
with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). On April 22, 
2020, the Record of Decision (ROD) was signed for the Matagorda Ship 
Channel Improvement Project (MSCIP), Calhoun and Matagorda Counties, TX 
Final Integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement 
(IFR-EIS). During the pre-construction engineering and design (PED) 
phase, the USACE identified a discrepancy between its PED calculations 
concerning the quantity of material to be dredged from the Matagorda 
Ship Channel and the quantity of such material that was evaluated in 
the IFR-EIS. Due to the discrepancy, the USACE determined a SEIS would 
be prepared, and the ROD dated April 22, 2020, was withdrawn for 
further consideration of findings in the SEIS. In accordance with the 
Council on Environmental Quality regulations, the USACE will prepare a 
SEIS to document and disclose the impacts of substantial changes to the 
proposed action and new information that are relevant to environmental 
concerns. This notice also announces the USACE intent to seek public 
input on the scope of the SEIS, information, or topics to be addressed, 
and public concerns surrounding the proposed action.

DATES: Public scoping comments should be submitted on or before July 3, 
2023, electronically or mailed as written letters. One public scoping 
meeting will be held on June 7, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at 
the Bauer Exhibit Hall in Calhoun County, 186 Henry Barber Way, Port 
Lavaca, TX 77979.

ADDRESSES: Submit all electronic public comments via email to Dr. Raven 
Blakeway: [email protected]. Written comments may be mailed to 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, ATTN: Dr. Raven 
Blakeway, P.O. Box 1229, Galveston, TX 77553-1229.
    Pertinent information about the study can be found at: https://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Business-With-Us/Planning-Environmental-Branch/Documents-for-Public-Review/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions or comments regarding the 
proposed Draft SEIS can be addressed by contacting Dr. Raven Blakeway 
by phone at 409-790-9058, emailing at [email protected], or 
mailed to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, ATTN: Dr. 
Raven Blakeway, P.O. Box 1229, Galveston, TX 77553-1229.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    1. Authority. The Matagorda Ship Channel Improvement Project 
(MSCIP) study described in the Final Integrated Feasibility Report and 
Environmental Impact Statement (IFR-EIS) was authorized under section 
216 of the Flood Control Act of 1970 (Pub. L. 91-611) and original 
construction was authorized under section 101 of the Rivers and Harbors 
Act of 1958 (Pub. L. 85-500). Section 216 authorizes the USACE to 
review a completed navigation, flood risk reduction, water supply, or 
related project due to significantly changed physical or economic 
conditions, and to report to Congress with recommendations regarding 
modification of the project's structures or operation, and for 
improving the quality of the environment in the overall public 
interest. Modifications to the original project were proposed in the 
IFR-EIS and the project was authorized for construction in the Water 
Resources Development Act of 2020 (Pub. L. 116-260). The lead agency 
for this action is the USACE and the non-federal sponsor is the Calhoun 
Port Authority (CPA).
    2. Background. The purpose of the proposed action is to reduce 
transportation costs and increase operational efficiencies of maritime 
commerce movement while providing for safe, reliable navigation of the 
Matagorda Ship Channel (MSC). The current channel dimensions are 
incapable of accommodating the forecasted commodity and fleet growth 
without significant and system-wide inefficiencies. By expanding 
channel dimensions, cargo vessels could reduce or eliminate light 
loading measures, and larger cargo vessels unable to transit the 
existing channel configuration could begin using the Port of Port 
Lavaca (herein the Port) and adjacent facilities.

[[Page 36286]]

    The MSC is 26 miles long, beginning at the entrance channel 
offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and terminating at the Port at Point 
Comfort. The channel is located 125 miles southwest of Galveston, Texas 
and 80 miles northeast of Corpus Christi, Texas. The northern reach of 
the channel is in Calhoun County, while the southern reach and entrance 
channel are in Matagorda County. The MSC is maintained between 38 and 
40 feet (ft) mean lower low water (MLLW) and averages 200 to 300 ft 
wide. The channel has a 1,000-ft by 1,000-ft primary turning based 
located near Point Comfort and the Port. Mean natural water depth in 
Matagorda Bay is approximately 13 ft, while depth in adjacent bays 
ranges from seven to eight feet.
    The USACE prepared the MSCIP IFR-EIS to document the feasibility of 
increasing economic efficiencies in the MSC and included identification 
of a Recommended Plan that proposed deepening the entrance channel to 
49 ft MLLW and widening it from 300 ft to 550 ft; deepening the main 
channel to 47 ft MLLW and widening it from 200 ft to 300 ft; and 
increasing the turning basin to 1,200 ft by 1,200 ft. The Final IFR-EIS 
was completed in September 2019 and the Chief of Engineers (Chief's) 
Report was signed November 15, 2019 and transmitted to the U.S. 
Congress to request authorization of the MSCIP's Recommended Plan. The 
Record of Decision was signed by the Assistant Secretary of the Army 
(ASA) of Civil Works (CW) on April 22, 2020. Congress authorized 
construction of the MSCIP, in accordance with the plans and subject to 
conditions as described in the Chief's Report, in section 401 of the 
Water Resource Development Act of 2020 (Pub. L. 116-260), signed into 
law by President Trump on December 28, 2020.
    The Final IFR-EIS described conceptual designs of the Recommended 
Plan and disclosed the potential impacts to the human and natural 
environment from its implementation. The Final IFR-EIS and ROD 
demonstrated how the Recommended Plan complies with environmental laws, 
executive orders, and regulations. Since the transmittal of the Chief's 
Report and construction authorization, the MSCIP has moved from the 
feasibility phase to the Preconstruction Engineering and Design (PED) 
phase, which involves completing detailed engineering, design, and 
technical studies needed to begin construction as recommended in the 
Chief's Report. In response to additional technical studies and the 
collection of site-specific data, several modifications to the 
Recommended Plan need to be considered, and particularly how the new 
information changes the effects analysis completed in the Final IFR-
EIS. As such, the ASA(CW) rescinded the ROD for the MSCIP in a 
Memorandum for Record (MFR) dated December 5, 2022.
    Following the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations 
(40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508), 40 CFR 1502.9(d), the USACE 
determined that a Draft SEIS would be prepared because the agency (i) 
made substantial changes to the proposed action that are relevant to 
environmental concerns and (ii) there are significant new circumstances 
or information relevant to environmental concerns and bearing on the 
proposed action or its impacts.
    Expected impacts include short- and long-term impacts to existing 
aquatic habitats, fish and wildlife including federally protected 
species and their habitat, water quality, noise, and recreation 
features. Impacts to aquatic habitats are anticipated to require 
compensatory mitigation. Additional details related to sediment testing 
will be described in the SEIS.
    3. Alternatives. The Final IFR-EIS evaluated a range of 
alternatives that would modify the existing MSC, as well as a No Action 
Plan that would maintain the channel at the current dimensions. The 
Draft SEIS will focus on comparing the Recommended Plan, as described 
in the Chief's Report and Final IFR-EIS and proposed design changes 
being considered. The Draft SEIS will evaluate potential benefits and 
impacts of the design changes in the Recommended Plan including direct, 
indirect, and cumulative effects to the human and natural environments 
that balance the interests of navigation safety and commerce and 
environmental impacts. The USACE also requests identification of 
potential alternatives, information, and analyses relevant to the 
proposed action.
    4. Public Participation. Scoping completed prior to and after 
publication of this NOI will be used to develop the Draft SEIS. The 
scoping comment period begins with publication of this notice and ends 
on July 3, 2023. All comments received during the scoping period are 
being used to identify additional significant resources and impacts 
that should be considered in the Draft SEIS. Additional comments 
received outside the scoping period will be considered prior to the 
Draft SEIS public review period, to the extent possible. For comments 
that cannot be addressed prior to the public review period, the 
comments will be included with the public review period comments and 
addressed at that time.
    One public scoping meeting is scheduled for June 7, 2023. A Public 
Notice was published for the scoping meeting on the Galveston District 
website and in the Legal Notices section of the Bay City Tribune. 
Public news releases announcing the scoping period timeframe; public 
meeting date, time, and location; and where to send comments were 
published in the appropriate local newspapers, on the Galveston 
District and CPA websites, and were distributed to the local 
stakeholders and known interested parties.
    5. Coordination. The USACE will serve as the lead federal agency in 
the preparation of the Draft SEIS. Other federal and state agencies 
have been invited to participate throughout the study process as 
Coordinating or Participating Agencies. Further coordination with 
environmental agencies will be conducted under the NEPA, the Fish and 
Wildlife Coordination Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water 
Act, the Clean Air Act, the National Historic and Preservation Act, the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and the 
Coastal Zone Management Act.
    6. Availability of Draft SEIS. The USACE currently estimates that 
the Draft SEIS will be available for public review and comment in or 
around late 2023 or early 2024. At that time, the USACE will provide a 
45-day public review period for individuals and agencies to review and 
comment. The USACE will notify all interested agencies, organizations, 
and individuals of the availability of the draft document at that time.

Wesley E. Coleman, Jr.,
Programs Director, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Southwestern Division.
[FR Doc. 2023-11730 Filed 6-1-23; 8:45 am]
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