Engineers Corps October 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 Integrated Feasibility Report & Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the flood damage reduction project for the Town of Bloomsburg, in Columbia County, PA. The Final Integrated Feasibility Report investigated the potential environmental effects of an array of alternative plans based on reducing flood damages in Bloomsburg. The recommended alternative includes approximately 17,000 linear feet of levee/floodwall systems with fourteen drainage structures, and nine closure structures, six of which incorporate limited road raisings.

The above agencies announce the availability of the FPEIS that considers developing policies, guidance, and coordinated agency decision-making processes to minimize, to the maximum extent practicable, the adverse environmental effects to waters of the United States and to fish and wildlife resources affected by mountaintop mining operations, and to environmental resources that could be affected by the size and location of excess spoil-disposal sites in valley fills within the Appalachian study area in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. This FPEIS was prepared as part of a settlement agreement that resolved the Federal claims brought in Bragg v. Robertson, Civ. No. 2:98-0636 (S.D.W.Va.). This FPEIS was prepared consistent with the provision set forth in 40 CFR 1503.4(c) of the Council on Environmental Quality regulations implementing NEPA, which allow the agencies to attach an errata sheet to the statement instead of rewriting the draft statement and to circulate the errata, comments, responses, and the changes, rather than the entire document. The agencies are filing the entire statement with a new cover sheet as the FPEIS. The FPEIS is being made available by mail and can be viewed on the Internet at https://www.epa.gov/region3/ mtntop/index.htm. The FPEIS can also be viewed at local offices of the above agencies and at selected local libraries. Copies of the FPEIS may be obtained by writing to the address listed below.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) published in the Federal Register dated November 4, 2004 (69 FR 64280) a Notice of Intent (NOI) to initiate preparation of a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIS/SEIR) for additional disposal capacity needed to complete the Port of Los Angeles Channel Deepening Project for Navigation Improvement (Channel Deepening Project), Los Angeles Harbor, Los Angeles, California. Subsequent to the publishing of the NOI, several changes and additional considerations led to the publication of this Supplemental Notice of Intent (SNOI). The major changes and considerations include the designation of beneficial reuse of dredged material within the Port of Los Angeles as a project purpose, and consideration of reasonably foreseeable uses to disposal sites. This public notice also serves as the NOI to issue any Regulatory and other permits as may be required to implement the proposed project. The SEIS/SEIR will consider the potential impacts of the reasonably foreseeable use of proposed disposal sites for future port development. The assessment will entail the use of generalized assumptions in lieu of project-specific conditions that are not available at this time or within the scope of the Channel Deepening Project. It is emphasized that a Record of Decision (ROD) approving this SEIS/SEIR or approval of any landfill disposal option will not authorize any future development at landfill disposal sites. Future State and Federal environmental documents and permits may be required prior to any development of land created as a result of this project. USACE began construction in October 2002 and is currently using disposal areas previously approved as part of the Channel Deepening Project. The Channel Deepening Project will improve the efficient use of Los Angeles Harbor by deepening the Inner Harbor Channels to accommodate the most modern vessels in the commercial container fleet. The current project also includes approved disposal areas that allow for the beneficial use of dredge material for environmental enhancement and potential port development. It has been determined that for reasons related to construction of the currently approved disposal facilities, project and contract modifications, and dredging and disposal operations, additional disposal capacity of approximately 4 million cubic yards (mcy) is needed to complete the Channel Deepening Project. Details regarding the genesis of the volume of material will be provided in the SEIS/SEIR. Disposal options identified to date that will be analyzed in the SEIS/SEIR include creation of new land that could be used for future port development, several environmental enhancement options, removal and capping of contaminated sediments at the Consolidated Slip, disposal at the existing Pier 400 Submerged Material Storage Site, and ocean disposal. Other options resulting from public and agency participation and resulting from further analyses will also be considered in the preparation and documentation of the SEIS/SEIR.

The Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, announces the general availability of partially exclusive licenses under the following pending patents listed under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. Any license granted shall comply with 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR Part 404.

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: Coastal Engineering Research Board (CERB). Date of Meeting: November 2-4, 2005. Place: Hilton St. Petersburg, 333 First Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. Time: 3 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. (November 2, 2005); 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (November 3, 2005); and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (November 4, 2005).

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a Programmatic Sediment Management Plan that will address sediment management within the four lower Snake River reservoirs and that portion of McNary reservoir contained within the lower Snake River The plan will identify and evaluate ways the Corps can manage sediment within these reservoirs and examine the sediment input (sources) on a programmatic basis in the near-term, mid-term, and long-term. The reservoirs extend from the mouth of the Snake River upstream to the communities of Lewiston, Idaho, and Clarkston, Washington; and include the lower 2 miles of the Clearwater River from its confluence with the Snake River at Lewiston upstream to the U.S. Highway 12 Bridge. In the plan the Corps will also include all tributaries that could significantly contribute sediment to the lower Snake River. The Corps is preparing this plan because sediment management has been an ongoing maintenance issue since the completion of Ice Harbor Dam, the first dam and reservoir on the lower Snake River, in 1961. Rather than addressing sediment-related problems on a case-by-case basis, the Corps has determined that it would be more effective to evaluate sediment management as a whole and on a watershed basis. The intent of the plan is to identify ways to reduce the amount of sediment entering the reservoirs, identify how to manage the sediment once it enters the reservoirs, and identify possible changes to structures or operations to reduce maintenance and associated impacts while still providing for authorized project purposes, including navigation.