Engineers Corps October 19, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District has prepared a Final General Reevaluation Report (GRR) and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project (PIERP). The GRR/ SEIS evaluated the vertical and/or lateral expansion of the PIERP, design modifications to the existing project, the addition of recreational/educational opportunities to the existing project, and the potential to accept dredged material from additional channels not specified in the 1996 EIS for the existing project. A Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Draft GRR/SEIS was published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Federal Register on June 22, 2005 (70 FR 36129). The preferred alternative includes a northern lateral expansion consisting of approximately 575 acres, which would include wetland and upland habitat, and a protected open water embayment; construction of a 5-ft vertical raising of the existing upland Cells 2 and 6 at the PIERP; amending the existing project authorization and Project Cooperation Agreement to include the placement of dredged material from the southern approach channels to the Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal; incorporation of design modifications required for the completion of the existing project, and development of recreational and educational enhancement for the PIERP.

The Vicksburg District Corps of Engineers is preparing the Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP) for the existing Atchafalaya River and Bayous Chene, Boeuf, and Black, Louisiana, navigation project. The DMMP will require a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) No. 3 to the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Atchafalaya River and Bayous Chene, Boeuf, and Black, Louisiana (March 1973), navigation project. The project was authorized by the River and Harbor Act of 1968 in accordance with House Document 155, 90th Congress, 1st Session. The purpose of the DMMP is to develop a long term management strategy to accomplish the placement of dredged material associated with the navigation project in the least costly manner, that is consistent with sound engineering practice, and that meets all applicable Federal environmental laws. The Atchafalaya River and Bayous Chene, Boeuf, and Black, Louisiana, navigation project requires, at a minimum, yearly channel maintenance. Existing disposal sites are at their design capacity and new disposal areas are required. The SEIS objective is to document the potential impacts at newly designated disposal sites (adverse and beneficial) related to maintaining the navigation channel for the next twenty years. The dredged material would be used for beneficial purposes to extent practicable (barrier island and coastal wetlands restoration). A public scoping meeting will be held on November 17, 2005, at the City Auditorium, 728 Myrtle Street, Morgan City, Louisiana, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.