Engineers Corps August 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is proposing to amend the regulations at 33 CFR 334.1380 for the existing danger zone in the vicinity of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The proposed amendment will reflect the current operational and safety procedures at the Ulupau Crater Weapons Training Range and highlight a change in the hours that weapons firing may occur. These regulations are necessary to protect the public from potentially hazardous conditions which may exist as a result from use of the areas by the United States Marine Corps.

The Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DPEIS) will evaluate the overall impacts of various alternatives identified in a Long Island Sound Dredged Material Management Plan (LIS DMMP) for management of dredged material in the Long Island Sound (LIS) region. The overall goal of the LIS DMMP is to develop a comprehensive plan for dredged material management in Long Island Sound using a broad-based public process that protects the environment based on best scientific data and analysis, while meeting society's need for safe and economically viable navigation for water-based commerce, transportation, national security, and other public purposes. The LIS DMMP will identify potential environmentally acceptable, practicable management plans that can be utilized by the Corps of Engineers (Corps) in maintaining Federal navigation projects, as well as various non- Corps dredging proponents in their analysis of options to manage non- Corps dredging projects. Some alternative disposal methods may be implemented on the basis of the PEIS, while others may require additional analysis at the project level. As specific alternatives are put in place to implement a given management option, more detailed National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents may be prepared by the Corps and other Federal agencies, and such NEPA documents will evaluate specific impacts from implementing a particular management option.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the San Diego County Water Authority (Water Authority), as Co-Lead Agencies, have prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/ EIS) for the Carryover Storage and San Vicente Dam Raise Project (CSP). The overall purpose of the CSP is to substantially increase the reliability and flexibility of the regional water supply by providing the Water Authority with facilities to accumulate and store approximately 100,000 acre feet (AF) of water by the year 2011. During dry weather periods, increased regional demand for water may exceed local supplies resulting in potential water shortages. Water would be accumulated, when it is available, from a variety of sources and, once stored, would provide a reliable reserve against shortages when supply sources are limited. This type of operation is well suited for improving storage reliability during droughts. The EIR/EIS assesses the environmental effects of the CSP at San Vicente Reservoir (Proposed Action) and the proposed alternatives.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is amending the existing regulations for a restricted area at Naval Air Station Key West (NASKW). Naval Air Station Key West maintains ammunition magazines on Fleming Island that have explosive safety quality-distance (ESQD) requirements in place to ensure reasonable safety from serious injury should there be a magazine fire or explosion. The previous restricted area regulations did not adequately cover the ESQD requirements. This amendment to the existing regulation is necessary to protect the public from potentially hazardous conditions that may exist as a result of military use of the area.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, is issuing this notice to announce its intent to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), for the proposed deepening and widening of the deep-draft Freeport Harbor Navigation Project, connecting port facilities in Freeport to the Gulf of Mexico. The District will conduct a study to evaluate deepening and widening alternatives, and dredged material disposal options, which will include both upland confined disposal and ocean disposal at designated sites in the Gulf of Mexico. The Freeport Harbor Navigation Project study area is located on the mid to upper Texas coast in Brazoria County, TX, extending from approximately 3 miles offshore at the 60-foot depth contour in the Gulf of Mexico, through the jettied Freeport Harbor entrance channel upstream to the Stauffer Channel Turing Basin. Depths and widths of up to 60-feet and 600-feet respectively are being considered from seaward, along with varying dimensions for upstream reaches and basins. The non- federal sponsor is the Brazos River Harbor Navigation District.