Engineers Corps March 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Mobile District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), intends to prepare a Draft Supplement to the Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) to address the potential impacts associated with construction of authorized improvements to the Federal Gulfport Harbor Navigation Project in Harrison County, MS. The DSEIS will be used as a basis for ensuring compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and evaluating the following two alternative plans: ``No Action'' and widening to the authorized project dimensions. Gulfport Harbor is authorized to (a) A channel 38 feet deep by 400 feet wide and about 8 miles long across Ship Island Bar; (b) a channel 36 feet deep by 300 feet wide and about 12 miles long through Mississippi Sound; and (c) a stepped anchorage basin at Gulfport Harbor 32 to 36 feet deep by 1,120 feet wide and 2,640 feet long.

The Los Angeles District intends to prepare a joint Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) to analyze the environmental effects of, and support the permit decision related to, the proposed construction of a third main track through a 15.9 mile section of the Cajon Subdivision, between Keenbrook (the southerly entrance to Cajon Pass) and Summit. The third track would be constructed on either the east or the west side of the existing tracks, depending on constraints at any given location, and would parallel the western/northern track alignment (Main Track 1), between Cajon and Summit. The purpose of the EIS/EIR is to evaluate alternative approaches to increase sustainable daily capacity of train movement along the portion of the mainline through Cajon Pass to meet demand for freight movement for the present and the future. The benefits of the additional third main track include increasing operational flexibility, increasing operational efficiency, reducing severe congestion during peak travel periods, and allowing for sufficiently frequent movements of trains and goods through the Cajon Pass. Alternatives include the addition of a third main track adjacent to the existing BNSF Main 1 through Cajon Pass with the installation of retaining walls and improvements to culverts and wildlife linkages; construction of a third main track within the existing BNSF right-of-way without environmentally sensitive design features; and the No Action/No Federal Action Alternative. The EIS/EIR will analyze the potential direct, indirect and cumulative impacts of the environmental range of alternatives, including the proposed project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Baltimore (NAB) issued a notice of intent (NOI) for the Chesapeake Bay Native Oyster Recovery Project in the Friday, November 26, 2004 issue of the Federal Register (69 FR 68887). That NOI indicated that NAB would prepare a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for native oyster (Crassostrea virginica) recovery activities within Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The Corps is announcing a major change in the scope of the project. The NAB and Norfolk (NAO) Districts will prepare a single, integrated master plan (MP) and programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) for native oyster recovery in the entire Chesapeake Bay. This MP is a long-term plan for native oyster recovery and will be written in cooperation with the local sponsors, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Virginia Marine Resources Commission. The Corps is undertaking native oyster recovery in the Chesapeake Bay to support efforts to reverse the ongoing decline in oyster resources throughout the Bay.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District intends to prepare a Draft Environmental Statement (DEIS) to assess the social, economic and environmental effects of the proposed widening and deepening of the Matagorda Ship Channel. The DEIS will assess potential impacts of a range of alternatives, including the No Action and preferred alternatives. The Federal action is consideration of a Department of Army Permit application for work under section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), section 404 of the clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344), and section 102 of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuary Act (33 U.S.C. 1412).

Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as implemented by the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and Public Law 102-484 Section 2834, as amended by Public Law 104-106 Section 2867, the Department of the Army hereby gives notice of intent to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the subject Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP). The Buffalo District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be the lead agency in preparing the EIS. The EIS will consider Federal actions associated with the development of a DMMP for the Federal harbor in the city of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, OH. The DMMP is a study conducted to develop a long- term (20-year) strategy for providing viable dredged material placement alternatives that would meet the needs of maintaining the Federal channels at Cleveland Harbor. The overall goal of the DMMP is to develop a plan to maintain channels necessary for commercial navigation within Cleveland Harbor and to conduct dredged material placement in the most economically and environmentally sound manner, and maximize the use of dredged material as a beneficial resource.

This notice of intent (NOI) is for the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration (LACPR) Project. This notice of intent addresses the coastal area of southern Louisiana from the state boundary of Louisiana and Mississippi at the Pearl River in the east to the state boundary of Louisiana and Texas at the Sabine River in the west as identified in the Coast 2050 coastal Louisiana restoration plan.