Army Department – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District announces the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), the Draft General Conformity Determination, the public comment period, and the date and location of the Public Hearing, for the Brazos River Harbor Navigation District's (Port Freeport) proposed widening of the Freeport Harbor Ship Channel.

The Baltimore District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is withdrawing its intent to prepare a DEIS for the Baltimore Metropolitan Water Resources StudyGwynns Falls in Baltimore County, Maryland. The Notice of Intent for the DEIS was published in the Federal Register on July 9, 1996 (Volume 61, Number 132, Page 36038). Negative environmental impacts of the recommended plan are not significant and the Corps has determined that a DEIS is not appropriate.

In accordance with 37 CFR 404.6 and 404.7, announcement is made of the availability for licensing of U.S. Patent Application No. 11/133,444 entitled ``Apparatus for Fastening and Loosening a Lid from a Container,'' filed May 20, 2005. Foreign rights are also available (PCT/US2005/017728). The United States Government, as represented by the Secretary of the Army, has rights in this invention.

The Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior and the State of Florida are proposing to establish the interim goals for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan through the Interim Goals Agreement as required by Section 385.38(d) of the Programmatic Regulations for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Interim goals are a mean by which restoration success of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan may be evaluated at specific points by agency managers, the State of Florida, and Congress throughout the overall planning and implementation process. The public is invited to review and comment on the final draft of this Agreement.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Huntington District announces the extension of the public comment period for the proposed Spruce No. 1 Mine Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Mobile District, issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) on June 16, 2006 (71 FR 34901) describing the preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to address the proposed implementation of interim water storage contracts at Lake Sidney Lanier/Buford Dam, GA, as contained in a settlement agreement associated with the Southeastern Federal Power Customers, Inc., (SeFPC) v. Secretary of the Army, et al. (1:00CV02954-TPJ) lawsuit. The Draft EIS will also address any changes in water management operations at Lake Lanier/Buford Dam, as well as the potential for other changes to operations in downstream reservoir projects in the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, Flint Rivers (ACF) basin, which would result from implementation of the interim water storage contracts. This supplement to the NOI provides additional information explaining the scoping process that will be used to gather information on the project from the public and details regarding the dates and locations of public scoping meetings.

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and Public Law 102-484 Section 2834, as amended by Public Law 104-106 Section 2867, the Department of the Army hereby gives notice of intent to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the subject Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP). The Portland District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be the lead agency in preparing the EIS. The EIS will consider Federal actions associated with the development of a DMMP for the Federal navigation channel in the city of Portland, Multnomah County, OR. The DMMP is a study conducted to develop a long-term (20-year) strategy for providing viable dredged material placement alternatives that would meet the needs of maintaining the Federal channel at Portland Harbor. The overall goal of the DMMP is to develop a long-term plan for continued maintenance of the federal navigation channel that supports commercial navigation within Portland Harbor and to conduct dredged material placement in the most economically and environmentally sound manner and to maximize the use of dredged material as a beneficial source.

In Accordance with 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), announcements is made of the forthcoming meeting. Name of Committee: Inland Waterways Users Board (Board). Date: November 17, 2006. Location: Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel, 107 6th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, (412-562-1200). Time: Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the meeting is scheduled to adjourn at 1 p.m. Agenda: The Board will hear briefings on the status of both the funding for inland navigation projects and studies, and the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, and be provided updates of various inland waterways projects.

The Department of the Army announces the availability of a Draft Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) identifying the potential environmental effects of changing land and airspace use at Fort Bliss to support evolving changes in missions and units and support Army Transformation, Integrated Global Presence and Basing Strategy, Base Realignment And Closure (BRAC), the Army Campaign Plan and other Army initiatives. The SEIS will supplement the Fort Bliss, Texas and New Mexico, Mission Master Plan Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), for which a Record of Decision was signed in 2001.

The U.S. Army announces the availability of a DEIS that evaluates implementing transformational activities at Fort Carson, a military installation located south of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Actions associated with these transformational activities include restationing of troops; construction, demolition, and renovation of facilities at the Cantonment and range areas; and increased use of training lands.

SDDC intends to modify SDDC Policy TR-12. SDDC intends to implement the modified policy 90 (ninety) days from publication in the Federal Register. Modifications include the following: 1. SDDC will no longer pay a Fuel Related Adjustment (FRA) or fuel surcharge on movements based on what is known as a ``Spot Bid'' tender. 2. SDDC will no longer pay an FRA for any type of rail shipment. 3. SDDC will pay an FRA based on an updated baseline of $2.50 rather than a baseline of $1.30.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), Wilmington District, Wilmington Regulatory Field Office has received an amendment to the request for Department of the Army authorization, pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, from the town of North Topsail Beach to nourish approximately 7.25 miles of shoreline. The modification will include an additional 3.85 miles of beachfront to protect residential homes and town infrastructures located along the south section of the Town limits. The proposed sources of material for the addition will be dredged from the same offshore borrow area as described in the original 7.25 mile plan. The placement of beach fill along the Town's southern shoreline would result in the initial widening of the beach 75 to 1590 feet seaward, depending on the final design volume and foreshore slopes that the fill assumes during construction. The 3.85 miles of shoreline are located at the southern end of North Topsail Beach. Unlike the original 7.25 miles of proposed nourishment, the additional section is outside the Coastal Barrier Resource System (CBRS) designation; therefore, it is not subject to the expenditure of Federal funding restrictions associated with the Coastal Barrier Resource Act of 1982 and the coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990. This south section, or stretch, of shoreline is currently being considered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a federal shoreline protection project. Due to delays to complete the federal plan formulation process, the North Topsail Beach Board of Alderman voted to include the 3.85 mile section in the non-federal 7.25 mile section that is currently under review pursuant to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) procedures. The decision to include the south section in the present EIS process is intended to act as interim or emergency beach fill by preserving existing development and infrastructure along the 3.85 miles of shoreline while the federal plan formulation continues. The original Notice of Intent was published on May 19, 2005 (70 FR 28924) with a commenting deadline of June 21, 2005.

The U.S. Army corps of Engineers (Corps) Jacksonville District intends to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to evaluate potential impacts of further rock mining within wetlands in western Miami-date county, FL. The original EIS, The Rock Mining- Freshwater Lakebelt Plan Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, issued in May 2000 focused on the potential impacts of a 50-year mining plan within the Lake Belt area. After evaluating the EIS, the Corps issued a Record of Decision and permits that allowed mining within a smaller, 10-year plan in April 2002. The Corps decision was challenged in United States District Court and the Court's Order on Motions for Summary Judgement was issued on March 22, 2006 as part of Case No. 03- 23427-CIV-HOEVELER, United States District Court Southern District of Florida. The decision instructed the Corps to engage in additional analyses of rock mining in the Lake Belt region. Accordingly, the Corps is preparing this SEIS.

The Department of the Army announces the availability of a DEIS which evaluates the potential environmental impacts associated with realignment actions directed by the BRAC Commission and Army Modular Force (AMF) transformation activities at Fort Sam Houston (FSH), Texas and Camp Bullis, Texas.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is seeking public comment on the environmental scope of an upcoming study, named the ``Upper Ohio Navigation Study, Pennsylvania.'' This study will consider and evaluate the feasibility of alternatives for maintaining commercial navigation on the Pennsylvania portion of the Ohio River, and also consider and evaluate the feasibility of ecosystem restoration opportunities. The focus of the upper Ohio River navigation feasibility study is to develop the best plan for maintaining safe, environmentally sustainable, and reliable navigation on the upper 40 miles of the Ohio River in Pennsylvania. Navigation is currently provided through three old lock and dam facilitiesEmsworth, Dashields and Montgomery locks and damsdating from the 1920s. The study will consider a 60-year period from 2010 to 2070. Navigation alternatives will consider facility operation and maintenance, rehabilitation, and new construction needs and opportunities. In order to facilitate early public involvement in the planning process, the Corps will be conducting two environmental scoping meetings open to the public in the study area. The public is invited to attend these meetings to hear an overview of the study, and assist in the identification of significant issues to be considered during the study process. (See DATES).

In accordance with 37 CFR Part 404.6, announcement is made of the availability for licensing of U.S. Patent No. US 7,109,136 B2 entitled ``Conductive (Electrical, Ionic, and Photoelectric) Polymer Membrane Articles, and Method for Producing Same'' Issued September 19, 2006. This patent has been assigned to the United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Army.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is soliciting comments for the reissuance of the existing nationwide permits (NWPs), general conditions, and definitions, with some modifications. The Corps is also proposing to issue six new NWPs and one new general condition. The reissuance process starts with today's publication of the proposed NWPs in the Federal Register for a 60-day comment period. The purpose of this Federal Register notice is to solicit comments on the proposed new and modified NWPs, as well as the NWP general conditions and definitions. Shortly after the publication of this Federal Register notice, each Corps district will publish a public notice to solicit comments on their proposed regional conditions for the new and modified NWPs. The comment period for these district public notices will be 45 days.

In accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Huntington District has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). This FEIS evaluates potential impacts to the natural, physical and human environment as a result of the proposed mining activities associated with the Mingo Logan's proposed Spruce No. 1 Mine. The USACE regulates this proposed project pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The proposed activity would involve the discharge of dredged and fill material into waters of the United States associated with the proposed construction and operation of a bituminous coal mine. The document was prepared following a public review and a 60-day comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), during which time a public hearing meeting was held on May 1, 2006. The meeting was held at the Earl Ray Tomlin Convention Center in Chapmanville, Logan County, WV.

In accordance with Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), announcement is made of the following committee meeting: Name of Committee: Department of Defense Historical Advisory Committee. Date: October 26, 2006. Time: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Place: U.S. Army Center of Military History, Collins Hall, Building 35, 103 Third Avenue, Fort McNair, DC 20319-5058. Proposed Agenda: Review and discussion of the status of historical activities in the United States Army.

The DoD Task Force on Mental Health meeting on September 20, 2006 from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. and September 21, 2006 from 8:30 a.m.-11 a.m. published in the Federal Register on August 18, 2006 (71 FR 47782) has changed venues. The previous location was Howze Auditorium, Bldg 33009, 7500 761st Tank Battalion Ave., Fort Hood, TX 76544-5008. The new location is The Plaza Hotel, 1721 East Central Texas Expressway, Killeen, TX 7641-9144.

The Department of the Army is proposing to alter a system of records to its existing inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

The Corps of Engineers, Nashville District intends to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for a regional water supply project in Cumberland County, TN. This DEIS is necessary to provide National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) coverage for a proposed regional water supply system capable of providing the county a reliable water supply for 50 years. The county is currently served by six water systems and development of individual water sources has been problematic from an environmental perspective. The county's current water supply capacity is approximately ten million gallons per day. A regional approach has been recommended to allow more efficient planning to develop future water supplies in an environmentally acceptable manner.