Engineers Corps July 20, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Four Authorities authorize the study of the Colorado River and its Tributaries: (1) Flood Control Act, approval June 22, 1936: ``Section 6. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized and directed to cause preliminary examinations and surveys for flood control at the following named localities * * * Colorado River, Texas, above the county line between Coke and Runnels counties * * * Lower Colorado River, Texas.'' (2) Resolution by the Committee on Commerce, United States Senate, adopted August 4, 1936; ``Resolved by the Committee of the United States Senate, that the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors created under Section 3 of the River and Harbor Act, approved June 13, 1902, be and is hereby, requested to review the reports on Colorado River, Texas, submitted in House Document Number 361, Seventy- first Congress, second session, and previous reports, with a view to determining if improvement in the interest of commerce and flood control is advisable at the present time.'' (3) Rivers and Harbors Act, approved August 26, 1937: ``Section 4. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized and directed to cause preliminary examinations and surveys to be made at the following named localities * * * Colorado River, and its tributaries, Texas, with a view to its improvement in the interest of navigation and flood control.'' (4) Rivers and Harbors Act, approved March 2, 1945: ``Section 6. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized and directed to cause preliminary examinations and surveys to be made at the following named localities * * * Colorado River, Texas.'' An initial assessment based on the resolution guidance indicates a Federal interest in continuing with more detailed studies for these purposes. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared to evaluate and compare flood control damage reduction and recreation alternatives within and along the Colorado River and its tributaries concentrated along the Highland Lakes. The EIS will also assess the impacts to the quality of the human environment associated with each alternative. The study area for project implementation primarily includes the lower Colorado River and its adjoining tributaries below Lake O.H. Ivie to Tom Miller Dam or Lake Austin. The construction of residential and commercial structures within the Highland Lakes and along the Colorado River, have lead to extensive amounts of flood damages. Consequently, flood damage reduction measures will be developed to address the flood damages. In addition, recreation measures will be developed and evaluated as complements to proposed flood damage reduction measures. The non-Federal cost sharing sponsors for the feasibility study are the Lower Colorado River Authority and Travis County.