Engineers Corps April 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, intends to prepare a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) for the Brevard County (Mid-Reach) Shore Protection Feasibility Study. The study will focus on 7.6 miles of developed shoreline, also referred to as the ``Mid-Reach'', from the south end of Patrick Air Force Base to just north of Indialantic. Ongoing erosion problems are endangering the shoreline infrastructure within the study area. In cooperation with Brevard County, the study will evaluate alternative solutions that will maximize shore protection while minimizing environmental impacts.

The U.S. Army Engineer District, Alaska, intends to prepare a Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to evaluate the feasibility of erosion protection measures for the community of Newtok, Alaska. Newtok, population 284 (2000 census), is a coastal community situated on the west bank of the Newtok River, just north of the Ninglick River and approximately 9 miles northwest of Nelson island, The Ninglick River connects the Bering Sea with the Baird Inlet, located farther upstream from Newtok. The village is located 94 miles northwest of Bethel, in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of Western Alaska. The north, east, and south boundaries of the community are contiguous with the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. The Newtok community is approximately 735 feet to the south of the encroaching Ninglick River, which is eroding toward the village at an average rate of 64 feet per year. Thermal degradation of the riverbank is causing shoreline sloughing. A typical soil profile has deep-frozen silts layered with peat at the surface. Permafrost continuously underlies a 2-foot active layer (sometimes thicker when a greater layer of peat is present). The shoreline is highly vulnerable to flooding, especially during spring ice jams in the river or during severe westerly windstorms on the Bering Sea. The programmatic DEIS will determine whether Federal action is warranted and will define alternative actions for Congressional consideration. Site specific alternatives will be addressed in more detail in a second tier of the EIS process.

The Onondaga Lake Watershed Management Plan (OLWMP) project has been initiated through the Onondaga Lake Partnership (OLP) to help coordinate and implement various improvement projects in the watershed to benefit the public. The project entails developing a multi-purpose/ multi-objective evaluation of the Onondaga Lake watershed to (1) integrate existing projects/plans/studies; (2) assess program/project progress; and (3) plan future lake and watershed revitalization programs and projects into a comprehensive Onondaga Lake Watershed Management Plan. The final product will be used as a tool for the OLP to move toward the rehabilitation of the Onondaga Lake watershed. Projects shall be consistent with the 1993 Onondaga Lake Management Plan and comply with the Amended Consent Judgment (ACJ) and the Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for the environmental restoration, conservation, and management of Onondaga Lake. Within the framework of the OLWMP project, an integrated rehabilitation approach will be applied to recognize Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and National Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) activities within the lake and watershed. While CERCLA and NRDA are pursued under those authorities (Superfund) and are not subject to NEPA, per se, processes are similar. The Onondaga Lake Watershed Management Plan reports will discuss and provide an overview of all pertinent on-going watershed programs and projects in appropriate relative detail. Study efforts will include: Identification of various study/project authorities; identification of existing and anticipated lake and watershed conditions (including completed and ongoing projects); identification of lake and watershed water resources problems, needs, goals, and objectives; identification of considered alternatives; assessment of impacts of considered alternatives; evaluation (trade-off analyses) of alternatives and associated impacts (including required planning and environmental coordination and compliance, and consideration of agency and public views); and selection and pursuit of appropriate lake and watershed water resources alternatives/projects. Studies shall also provide tools, as appropriate, for continued study/ project development, management, and monitoring purposes.