Engineers Corps April 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

United States Navy Restricted Area, Menominee River, Marinette Marine Corporation Shipyard, Marinette, WI
Document Number: E8-8525
Type: Proposed Rule
Date: 2008-04-21
Agency: Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Engineers Corps, Army Department
The Corps of Engineers is proposing to amend its regulations to establish a restricted area in the Menominee River, at the Marinette Marine Corporation Shipyard, Marinette, Wisconsin, to provide adequate protection for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS Freedom 1) during its construction. The regulations are necessary to provide adequate protection of the ship, its materials, equipment to be installed therein, and its crew, while it is located at the property of Marinette Marine Corporation.
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for a Proposed Special Area Management Plan for the Otay River Watershed, San Diego County, CA
Document Number: E8-8523
Type: Notice
Date: 2008-04-21
Agency: Department of Defense, Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, Engineers Corps, Army Department
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps of Engineers) is announcing its intent to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for a Special Area Management Plan (SAMP). The SAMP is being developed to address potential effects of anticipated development, infrastructure, and maintenance projects on aquatic resources in the Otay River Watershed (SAMP study area). The DEIS will assess the impacts of various land development and aquatic resource protection alternatives as set forth below and further identified during the preparation of the SAMP. It is anticipated that the DEIS will be utilized by the local agencies in lieu of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The SAMP will provide a comprehensive plan for protecting and enhancing aquatic resources while providing for the permitting of reasonable economic development and public infrastructure, consistent with the goals and objectives of local land use plans and with the regional Multiple Species Conservation Plan (MSCP) for southwestern San Diego County developed by local governments in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Game. The SAMP will provide a framework for a long-term program-level permitting process for projects in the watershed subject to the Corps of Engineers' permit authority under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Section 404 of the CWA regulates the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands. The SAMP may also be utilized by other agencies in the administration of their regulatory programs, including the California Department of Fish and Game (i.e., Section 1600 et seq. of the Fish and Game Code) and the Regional Water Quality Control Board (i.e., Section 401 of the CWA). In addition, the SAMP will include a comprehensive program involving conservation, restoration, and management of aquatic resources within the study area.
Notice of Availability for the Final Environmental Impact Report/ Environmental Impact Statement for the Carryover Storage and San Vicente Dam Raise Project (CSP), San Diego County, CA
Document Number: E8-8282
Type: Notice
Date: 2008-04-18
Agency: Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Engineers Corps, Army Department
Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (as amended), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District (Corps) Regulatory Branch, in coordination with the San Diego County Water Authority (Water Authority), has completed a Final Environmental Impact Report/ Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) for the Carryover Storage and San Vicente Dam Raise Project (CSP). Four alternatives were co-equally analyzed in the EIR/EIS, including Alternative 1 (100,000 acre-feet of carryover storage at San Vicente), Alternative 2 (100,000 acre-feet of carryover storage at Moosa Canyon), Alternative 3 (50,000 acre-feet of carryover storage at San Vicente and 50,000 acre-feet of carryover storage at Moosa Canyon) and the No Action Alternative, as required by NEPA. As the project proponent and applicant, the Water Authority selected Alternative 1 as its preferred alternative. The proposed CSP requires authorization pursuant to section 404 of the Clean Water Act for approximately 0.34 acre of fill placement in jurisdictional waters of the United States, including wetlands, to construct an expansion of the existing San Vicente Dam to store approximately 100,000 acre-feet of carryover storage water.
Availability of the Draft Feasibility Report and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Draft State Environmental Impact Report for the Boston Harbor Deep Draft Navigation Improvement Project
Document Number: E8-8202
Type: Notice
Date: 2008-04-18
Agency: Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Engineers Corps, Army Department
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District in partnership with the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) has prepared a joint Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and State Draft Environmental Impact Report (DSEIS/DEIR) examining improvements to deep-draft navigation channels in Boston Harbor, Boston, MA. Four separate improvements were developed. The first examined deepening the outer and lower harbor's existing 40-foot channel system to provide deeper access to Massport's Conley Terminal in South Boston for containership traffic. All depths are referenced to minus mean lower low water (MLLW). Navigation channel depths of between 45 to 50 feet were examined, with a depth of 48 feet recommended, with an additional two feet in the entrance channel. Under this plan the following project features would be improved: the 40-foot lane of the Broad Sound North Entrance Channel would be deepened to 50 feet and widened through the bend at Finn's Ledge. The 40-foot lane of the Main Ship Channel from the Broad Sound North Entrance Channel upstream through President Roads to the Reserved Channel would be deepened to 48 feet and its 600-foot-wide reaches widened to between 800 and 900 feet, with additional width in the bends. The 40-foot lower reach of Reserved Channel and its turning area would be deepened to 48 feet, with the turning area also widened to 1600 feet. The 40-foot President Roads Anchorage would be deepened to 48 feet. The second improvement would deepen the existing 40-foot lane of the Main Ship Channel from the Reserved Channel Turning Area upstream to just below the Third Harbor Tunnel to a depth of 45 feet, to improve access to the Massport Marine Terminal in South Boston. The third improvement would deepen a portion of the 35-foot Mystic River Channel lane to 40 feet to improve access to Massport's Medford Street Terminal. The fourth and final improvement would deepen the 38-foot Chelsea River Channel to 40 feet, with minor widening in the bridge approaches and the bend between the bridges. In conjunction with work in the Federal channels, the Massachusetts Port Authority would deepen vessel berths at the Conley Terminal and Marine Terminal. Terminals on the Chelsea River would also deepen their berths to match the new channel depth. A total of about 12.1 million cubic yards (cy) of parent material, and 1.2 million cy of rock, would be removed by dredging and placed at the Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site (MBDS). Beneficial use opportunities for the dredged material have been identified and would be considered further during final design of the project. Those beneficial use opportunities include: creation of rock reefs in Massachusetts Bay and Broad Sound, and using the non-rock material as cover at the former Industrial Waste Site, which overlaps the MBDS. This joint Federal and State document builds on the lessons learned from the final EIR/S prepared in June of 1995 for the previous navigation improvement project in Boston Harbor.
Compensatory Mitigation for Losses of Aquatic Resources
Document Number: E8-6918
Type: Rule
Date: 2008-04-10
Agency: Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Engineers Corps, Army Department
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are issuing regulations governing compensatory mitigation for activities authorized by permits issued by the Department of the Army. The regulations establish performance standards and criteria for the use of permittee-responsible compensatory mitigation, mitigation banks, and in-lieu programs to improve the quality and success of compensatory mitigation projects for activities authorized by Department of the Army permits. This rule improves the planning, implementation and management of compensatory mitigation projects by emphasizing a watershed approach in selecting compensatory mitigation project locations, requiring measurable, enforceable ecological performance standards and regular monitoring for all types of compensation and specifying the components of a complete compensatory mitigation plan, including assurances of long-term protection of compensation sites, financial assurances, and identification of the parties responsible for specific project tasks. This rule applies equivalent standards to permittee-responsible compensatory mitigation, mitigation banks and in-lieu fee mitigation to the maximum extent practicable. Since a mitigation bank must have an approved mitigation plan and other assurances in place before any of its credits can be used to offset permitted impacts, this rule establishes a preference for the use of mitigation bank credits, which reduces some of the risks and uncertainties associated with compensatory mitigation. This rule also significantly revises the requirements for in-lieu fee programs to address concerns regarding their past performance and equivalency with the standards for mitigation banks and permittee-responsible compensatory mitigation.
Chief of Engineers Environmental Advisory Board
Document Number: E8-7318
Type: Notice
Date: 2008-04-08
Agency: Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Engineers Corps, Army Department
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: Chief of Engineers Environmental Advisory Board (EAB). Topic: The EAB will discuss national considerations related to ecosystem restoration through integrated water resources management with emphasis on communications and the implementation of the Environmental Operating Principles. Date of Meeting: April 30, 2008. Place: Red Lion Hotel, 1415 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA. Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Forty-five minutes will be set side for public comment. Members of the public who wish to speak are asked to register prior to the start of the meeting. Registration will begin at 8:30. Statements are limited to 3 minutes.
Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed University of California Merced and University Community Project, Corps Permit Application Number 199900203
Document Number: E8-7315
Type: Notice
Date: 2008-04-08
Agency: Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Engineers Corps, Army Department
The University of California, Merced (University) and University Community Land Company (UCLC) LLC have submitted an application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) under the Clean Water Act Section 404 and River and Harbor Act Section 10 for a proposal to construct an approximately 810-acre campus and an associated University Community in Merced County. The Proposed Action is located in eastern Merced County, east of Lake Road and Yosemite Lake, approximately 2 miles northeast of the City of Merced, California. The Proposed Action consists of three major components: the 810- acre Campus; the 870-acre Community North; and the 1,245-acre Community South. The University controls the land that comprises the campus. University Community Land Company, LLC (UCLC), a not-for-profit corporation, owns the land that comprises Community North. LWH Farms, LLC owns the land that comprises Community South. The University is currently preparing an amendment to its Long Range Development Plan to guide the development of the proposed campus. The proposed campus and Community North would consist of the following five districts: Academic Core; Gateway District; Student Neighborhoods; University Community Town Center; and University Community Neighborhoods. Community South would be developed in accordance with the previously adopted University Community Plan, which designates the Community South area for Multiple Use Urban Development and agricultural uses. The Campus and the northern portion of the University Community would affect 76.6 acres of the waters of the United States, including vernal pools and other wetlands. The primary federal involvement is the fill materials within waters of the United States, work and structures in affecting navigable waters of the United States, and potential impacts on the human environment from such activities.
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