Engineers Corps March 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), New Orleans District intends to prepare a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) to evaluate potential impacts of the construction of a replacement lock in the Industrial Canal located in New Orleans, LA. The original EIS, Main Report and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Mississippi RiverGulf Outlet, New Lock and Connecting Channels, Louisiana (Evaluation Report and EIS) issued in March 1998 focused on the potential impacts of construction of a new lock, including impacts to the local community and supporting infrastructure. After evaluating the March 1998 EIS, the Corps issued a Record of Decision (ROD) on December 18, 1998 selecting the location and construction method of the replacement lock and several additional project components to improve the surrounding project area. The Corps decision was challenged in United States District Court and the Court's Order on Motions for Summary Judgment was issued on October 3, 2006 as part of Case No. 2:03-cv-00370-EEF-KWR, United States District Court Eastern District of Louisiana. The Courts' decision enjoined the Corps from continuing with the project until additional compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is completed. Accordingly, the Corps is preparing a SEIS.

The duties of the Task Force are to prepare and approve a plan for the use of the funds made available under Title VII to promote conservation practices in the Missouri River watershed, control and remove the sediment from the Missouri River, protect recreation on the Missouri River from sedimentation, and protect Indian and non-Indian historical and cultural sites along the Missouri River from erosion.

The Placer Vineyards Specific Plan Property Group proposes to construct a mixed-use master planned community with residential, employment, commercial, open space, recreational and public/quasi- public land uses. The Plan provides for 14,132 homes in a variety of housing types, styles, and densities. At full Plan build-out, projected to occur over a 20- to 30-year time period, Placer Vineyards will have a population of approximately 33,000 people, 42 acres of employment centers, 140 acres of retail commercial centers and approximately 930 acres of new parks and open space. This project, as proposed, would result in impacts to approximately 102.7 acres of waters of the United States, including 8.5 acres of temporary impacts to water and wetlands.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Mississippi Valley Division, New Orleans District (CEMVN) is implementing Alternative Arrangements under the provisions of the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (40 CFR 1506.11) in order to expeditiously complete environmental analysis of major portions of a new 100-year level of Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction effort authorized and funded by the Administration and the Congress. The proposed actions are located primarily in southern Louisiana and relate to the Federal effort to rebuild the Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction system following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The USACE consultation with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), as required under 40 CFR 1506.11 and the USACE Environmental Quality Procedures for Implementing the NEPA (33 CFR 230), concluded on February 23, 2007 with the CEQ approving the Alternative Arrangements. The Alternative Arrangements request was also coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Department of Homeland Security-Federal Emergency Management Agency, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the Louisiana State Historic Preservation Officer. During the consultation, the USACE and CEQ hosted four public meetings in New Orleans metropolitan area to assess the request and gather input on the proposed Alternative Arrangements. The input received during the course of the discussions and meetings provided strong support for Alternative Arrangements that allow for expedited decisions on actions to lower the risk of floods and that restore public confidence in the hurricane storm reduction system so that the physical and economic recovery of the area can proceed as citizens return and rebuild. It was also made clear that the Alternative Arrangements should provide the USACE a way to proceed that complements other ongoing and proposed hurricane protection and coastal restoration efforts. These Alternative Arrangements apply to certain proposed actions included in the 100-year Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction measures authorized under Public Law 109-234, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery, 2006 (4th Supplemental). The Alternative Arrangements will allow decisions on smaller groups of proposed actions to move forward sooner than under the traditional NEPA process. An in-depth analysis and consideration of potential environmental impacts will be completed and negative environmental impacts will be addressed. Detailed information on the Alternative Arrangements can be downloaded from the USACE New Orleans District Web site at: https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/ pd/EnvirProcessesNEPA/Index.htm.

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 an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the subject Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP). The Buffalo District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) 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 at Lorain in Lorain 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 navigation channels at Lorain Harbor. The overall goal of the DMMP is to develop an economical and environmentally sustainable plan for maintaining channels necessary for commercial navigation at Lorain Harbor. The plan considers a range of management strategies including reduced dredging and the use of dredged material as a beneficial resource.