Army Department June 30, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, is initiating this study under the authority provided by the resolutions adopted by the Committees on Public Works of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, dated April 19, 1967 and October 19, 1967, respectively, an expansion of the authority created under section 3 of the River and Harbor Act approved June 13, 1902. The Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Program will optimize the use of dredged material resulting from the maintenance of federally maintained navigational channels to (1) restore formerly existing coastal wetlands; (2) reduce, halt or reverse the loss of existing coastal wetlands; (3) create coastal wetlands where none existed previously; or (4) provide protection to any of the above wetland situations or other coastal landscape features within the study placement area. The LCA Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Program costs are those costs incurred above and beyond the ordinary costs incurred with USACE Operations and Maintenance dredging and disposal operations in accordance with their established base plan for maintenance dredging activities. The base plan is determined by applying the Federal Standard which requires maintenance dredging and disposal activities to be conducted in the most cost effective, environmentally acceptable manner. The study area is Louisiana's coastal area from Mississippi to Texas. Louisiana parishes included in the study area include Ascension, Assumption, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, and Vermilion. The following seven navigation channels represent an initial list of areas with the most significant opportunities (1) Calcasieu River and Pass; (2) Houma Navigation Canal; (3) Atchafalaya River and Bayous Chene, Boeuf, and Black; (4) Bayou Lafourche; (5) Mississippi River and Tributaries Project, Head of Passes and Southwest Pass; (6) Barataria Bay Waterway; and (7) Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (although this channel is not currently funded for O&M dredging).

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: Chief of Engineers Environmental Advisory Board (EAB). Date of Meeting: July 19, 2006. Place: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180- 6199. Time: 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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: Board of Visitors, United States Military Academy. Date: Monday, July 17, 2006. Place of Meeting: Superintendent's Conference Room, Taylor Hall, 2nd Floor, Bldg. 600, West Point, NY. Start Time of Meeting: Approximately 9 a.m.

In accordance with requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District, has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed construction of a dredged material containment facility (DMCF) by the Maryland Port Administration (MPA). This DEIS was prepared as part of the submission of MPA's application for a Department of the Army permit to construct the facility in the Patapsco River, Baltimore City, MD. This application will be evaluated pursuant to Section 10 or the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The preferred alternative is for the construction of a stone, sand, and cofferdam structure that would impact approximately 131 acres of waters of the United States, including jurisdictional wetlands. The structure would be initially constructed to 10 feet above the mean lowe low water (MLLW) elevation, with a future temporary elevation to 42 feet above MLLW, and an ultimate elevation of 36 feet above MLLW. The project would also include mechanical dredging of approximately 1.7 million cubic yards of overburden material within the footprint of the proposed disposal site, and the placement of this material at the Hart Miller Island disposal site, Baltimore County, MD. On-site and off-site borrow material would be used for the construction of the containment facility. This proposal was advertised in the Federal Register on May 19, 2006 (71 FR 29128). The need to prepare a Supplement is due to the applicant's proposal to change the source of borrow material for the proposed construction of the preferred alternative. The applicant wishes to use suitable material dredged from the channel at the Seagirt Marine Terminal for the construction of a portion of the containment structure. Approximately 0.5 to 0.8 million cubic yards of sand and gravel obtained from dredging to a maximum of 54 feet below mean low water at Seagirt Marine Terminal would be used at the proposed Masonville DMCF. Detailed description of the proposed modifications and effects to the human environment are discussed in the supplement to the DEIS for the Masonville DMCF.