Engineers Corps – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is considering an application for Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act permits authorizing dredge and fill activities to create three new harbors (North Harbor, Downtown Harbor, and 7th Street Harbor) along the San Pedro Waterfront, construct pile- supported structures to provide additional areas for land-side use, and construct a waterfront promenade and Outer Harbor cruise ship terminal. The reason for the new NOI is the scope of the previous project, titled From Bridge to Breakwater San Pedro Waterfront and Promenade, was reduced, a new permit application was submitted, and the proposed project has been modified to focus on infrastructure improvements, cruise program expansion, and to increase public access to the waterfront. The primary Federal concern is the dredging and discharging of fill material within waters of the United States and potential significant impacts resulting from such dredging and discharges to the environment. Therefore, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Corps is requiring the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prior to consideration of any permit action. The Corps may ultimately make a determination to permit or deny the above project, or permit or deny modified versions of the above project. Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Port of Los Angeles will serve as Lead Agency in preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for its consideration of development approvals within its jurisdiction. The Corps and the Port of Los Angeles have agreed to jointly prepare a Draft EIS/EIR in order to optimize efficiency and avoid duplication. The Draft EIS/EIR is intended to be sufficient in scope to address the Federal, state, and local requirements and environmental issues concerning the proposed activities and permit approvals.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), Wilmington District, Wilmington Regulatory Field Office has received a request for Department of the Army authorization, pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, from the Town of Topsail Beach to conduct an emergency beach fill project to protect ocean front development and infrastructure until such time that a federally authorized shore protection project can be implemented. At this time, the construction date for the Federal project is uncertain. A Draft General Reevaluation ReportEnvironmental Impact Statement (GRR-EIS has been prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and was released for public review and comment in June 2006 (USACE, 2006). Given the current status of the GRR-EIS and the need for Congressional authorization, funding, preparation of plans and specifications, and right-of-way acquisition, the Federal project may not be implemented until Fiscal Year 2010, or possibly later.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), DoD. Sacramento District has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that analyzes the potential effects of implementing each of five alternative scenarios for a mixed-use development in the approximately 3,828-acre Rio del Oro Specific Plan area, in the City of Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County, CA. The EIS documents the existing condition of environmental resources in and around areas considered for development, and potential impacts on those resources as a result of implementing the alternatives. The alternatives considered in detail are: (1) Proposed Project/Proposed Action (i.e., Proposed Project Alternative), the Applicants' Preferred Alternative; (2) High Density (Increased Densities Consistent with Sacramento Area Council of Governments Blueprint); (3) Impact Minimization; (4) No Federal Action (No Section 404 of the Clean Water Act Permit); and (5) No Project/No Action (No development).

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District (Corps) will hold a public hearing to receive comments on the proposed project action as described and evaluated in Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the operation and maintenance, related to vegetation and sediment management, of the San Luis Rey River Flood Control Project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District announces the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), the Draft General Conformity Determination, the public comment period, and the date and location of the Public Hearing, for the Brazos River Harbor Navigation District's (Port Freeport) proposed widening of the Freeport Harbor Ship Channel.

The Baltimore District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is withdrawing its intent to prepare a DEIS for the Baltimore Metropolitan Water Resources StudyGwynns Falls in Baltimore County, Maryland. The Notice of Intent for the DEIS was published in the Federal Register on July 9, 1996 (Volume 61, Number 132, Page 36038). Negative environmental impacts of the recommended plan are not significant and the Corps has determined that a DEIS is not appropriate.

The Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior and the State of Florida are proposing to establish the interim goals for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan through the Interim Goals Agreement as required by Section 385.38(d) of the Programmatic Regulations for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Interim goals are a mean by which restoration success of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan may be evaluated at specific points by agency managers, the State of Florida, and Congress throughout the overall planning and implementation process. The public is invited to review and comment on the final draft of this Agreement.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Huntington District announces the extension of the public comment period for the proposed Spruce No. 1 Mine Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).

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 Portland 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 navigation channel in the city of Portland, Multnomah County, OR. 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 channel at Portland Harbor. The overall goal of the DMMP is to develop a long-term plan for continued maintenance of the federal navigation channel that supports commercial navigation within Portland Harbor and to conduct dredged material placement in the most economically and environmentally sound manner and to maximize the use of dredged material as a beneficial source.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), Wilmington District, Regulatory Division has been reviewing the request for Department of the Army authorization, pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbor Act, from Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Phosphate Division (PCS) for the continuation of its phosphate mining operation near Aurora, Beaufort County, NC. PCS proposes to expand its existing open pit phosphate mining operation into a 3,412 acre tract immediately adjacent to the current mine. This expansion would impact 2,408 acres of waters of the U.S. including wetlands adjacent to the Pamlico River and South Creek.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), Wilmington District, Wilmington Regulatory Field Office has received an amendment to the request for Department of the Army authorization, pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, from the town of North Topsail Beach to nourish approximately 7.25 miles of shoreline. The modification will include an additional 3.85 miles of beachfront to protect residential homes and town infrastructures located along the south section of the Town limits. The proposed sources of material for the addition will be dredged from the same offshore borrow area as described in the original 7.25 mile plan. The placement of beach fill along the Town's southern shoreline would result in the initial widening of the beach 75 to 1590 feet seaward, depending on the final design volume and foreshore slopes that the fill assumes during construction. The 3.85 miles of shoreline are located at the southern end of North Topsail Beach. Unlike the original 7.25 miles of proposed nourishment, the additional section is outside the Coastal Barrier Resource System (CBRS) designation; therefore, it is not subject to the expenditure of Federal funding restrictions associated with the Coastal Barrier Resource Act of 1982 and the coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990. This south section, or stretch, of shoreline is currently being considered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a federal shoreline protection project. Due to delays to complete the federal plan formulation process, the North Topsail Beach Board of Alderman voted to include the 3.85 mile section in the non-federal 7.25 mile section that is currently under review pursuant to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) procedures. The decision to include the south section in the present EIS process is intended to act as interim or emergency beach fill by preserving existing development and infrastructure along the 3.85 miles of shoreline while the federal plan formulation continues. The original Notice of Intent was published on May 19, 2005 (70 FR 28924) with a commenting deadline of June 21, 2005.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is seeking public comment on the environmental scope of an upcoming study, named the ``Upper Ohio Navigation Study, Pennsylvania.'' This study will consider and evaluate the feasibility of alternatives for maintaining commercial navigation on the Pennsylvania portion of the Ohio River, and also consider and evaluate the feasibility of ecosystem restoration opportunities. The focus of the upper Ohio River navigation feasibility study is to develop the best plan for maintaining safe, environmentally sustainable, and reliable navigation on the upper 40 miles of the Ohio River in Pennsylvania. Navigation is currently provided through three old lock and dam facilitiesEmsworth, Dashields and Montgomery locks and damsdating from the 1920s. The study will consider a 60-year period from 2010 to 2070. Navigation alternatives will consider facility operation and maintenance, rehabilitation, and new construction needs and opportunities. In order to facilitate early public involvement in the planning process, the Corps will be conducting two environmental scoping meetings open to the public in the study area. The public is invited to attend these meetings to hear an overview of the study, and assist in the identification of significant issues to be considered during the study process. (See DATES).

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:

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD, Huntington District will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate potential impacts to the natural, physical, and human environment as a result of the proposed installation of hydropower generation facilities at Bluestone Dam, Hinton, Summers County, WV (Hydropower Project). The proposed hydropower project would utilize three of the six existing penstocks which were part of the original construction of the dam. The proposed project would also involve the discharge of dredged and fill material into waters of the United States (U.S.) and would involve work in the New River, a navigable water of the U.S. Therefore, the subject proposal would require a Department of the Army (DA) permit pursuant to section 404 of the Clean Water Act (Section 404) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (Section 10). This EIS will document the agency's evaluation of all reasonable alternatives as they affect stability of the dam and control the release of water from Bluestone Dam, and will document analysis of impacts to Waters of the U.S. sufficient to accommodate the NEPA process for permitting under section 10 and section 404.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District (Regulatory Branch), in coordination with the Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD), announced availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Hemet/San Jacinto Integrated Recharge and Recovery Project. The announced deadline for submittal of comments has been corrected in order to meet the statutory 45-day requirement. The new deadline is October 31, 2006.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District (Regulatory Branch), in coordination with the Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD), has completed a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Hemet/San Jacinto Integrated Recharge and Recovery Project. EMWD requires authorization pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act for 53.1 acres of fill into waters of the U.S. A public hearing will be held at the Simpson Center (305 East Devonshire Avenue, Hemet, CA 92543) on September 19, 2006 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is initiating the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The EIS is for a Department of the Army permit issued under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act to install the infrastructure necessary to support an approximately 500-acre development of water dependent and industrial facilities at the Port of Vancouver.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District (Regulatory Branch), in coordination with the Port of Los Angeles, has completed a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the Berth 97-109 Container Terminal Project. The Port of Los Angeles requires authorization pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act for wharf and terminal development (142 acres) in three phases, dredging up to 41,000 cubic yards of sediment, construction of two new concrete pile-supported wharves (for a total of 2,500 feet), new terminal buildings and two new terminal bridges.

The Mobile District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), intends to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to address the potential impacts associated with actions to comprehensively address hurricane and storm damage reduction, prevention of saltwater intrusion, preservation of fish and wildlife, prevention of erosion, and other related water resource purposes in coastal Mississippi. These actions are related to the consequences of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico in 2005. The Corps will forward recommendations to Congress authorized by the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2006 (Pub. L. 109-148) dated December 30, 2005. The EIS will be used as a basis for ensuring compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District announces its decision to maintenance dredge the following Federal navigation channels in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts: the Main Ship Channel upstream of Spectacle Island to the Inner Confluence, the upper Reserved Channel, the approach to the Navy Dry Dock, a portion of the Mystic River, and a portion of the Chelsea River (previously permitted). Maintenance dredging of the navigation channels landward of Spectacle Island is needed to remove shoals and restore the Federal navigation channels to their authorized depths. Dredged material suitable for unconfined open water disposal will be disposed at the Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site; material not suitable for unconfined open water disposal will be disposed in confined aquatic disposal (CAD) cell(s) located within the navigation channels. Major navigation channel improvements (deepening) were made in 1999 through 2001 in the Reserved Channel, the Mystic River, Inner Confluence, and the Chelsea River. A Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared in June 1995 for this previous navigation improvement project (Boston Harbor Navigation Improvement ProjectBHNIP) identified selected use of CAD cells in the Mystic River, Inner Confluence, and Chelsea River for disposal. A Supplemental Draft and Final EIS was prepared for this maintenance dredging project and built on the lessons learned from the previous improvement project. A new CAD cell for the proposed maintenance project will be constructed in the Mystic River (previously permitted) and in the Main Ship Channel just below the Inner Confluence.

The Cleveland County Sanitary District (CCSD) is applying for a Department of the Army permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 134) to impact approximately 24 miles of river and stream habitat and approximately 1 acre of wetlands with the construction of a dam and water supply reservoir on the First Broad River. The proposed dam site is one mile north of the Town of Lawndale in Cleveland County, NC. The CCSD is proposing this action for the purpose of increasing the water supply for its service area and the region. Based on current rates of growth, CCSD has projected that water needs for its customers will double by the year 2050. Projected regional water demand indicate that existing water supplies are inadequate for future needs. The proposed reservoir would also lessen the occurrence of water shortages during drought conditions. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will be prepared to evaluate and compare alternatives for increasing water supply and to assess associated impacts.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, is initiating this study under the authority provided by the resolutions adopted by the Committees on Public Works of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, dated April 19, 1967 and October 19, 1967, respectively, an expansion of the authority created under section 3 of the River and Harbor Act approved June 13, 1902. The Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Program will optimize the use of dredged material resulting from the maintenance of federally maintained navigational channels to (1) restore formerly existing coastal wetlands; (2) reduce, halt or reverse the loss of existing coastal wetlands; (3) create coastal wetlands where none existed previously; or (4) provide protection to any of the above wetland situations or other coastal landscape features within the study placement area. The LCA Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Program costs are those costs incurred above and beyond the ordinary costs incurred with USACE Operations and Maintenance dredging and disposal operations in accordance with their established base plan for maintenance dredging activities. The base plan is determined by applying the Federal Standard which requires maintenance dredging and disposal activities to be conducted in the most cost effective, environmentally acceptable manner. The study area is Louisiana's coastal area from Mississippi to Texas. Louisiana parishes included in the study area include Ascension, Assumption, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, and Vermilion. The following seven navigation channels represent an initial list of areas with the most significant opportunities (1) Calcasieu River and Pass; (2) Houma Navigation Canal; (3) Atchafalaya River and Bayous Chene, Boeuf, and Black; (4) Bayou Lafourche; (5) Mississippi River and Tributaries Project, Head of Passes and Southwest Pass; (6) Barataria Bay Waterway; and (7) Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (although this channel is not currently funded for O&M dredging).

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). Date of Meeting: July 19, 2006. Place: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180- 6199. Time: 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Mobile District, intends to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to address the proposed implementation of interim water storage contracts at Lake Sidney Lanier/Buford Dam, GA, as contained in a settlement agreement associated with the Southeastern Federal Power Customers, Inc. (SeFPC) v. Secretary of the Army, et al. (1:00CV02954-TPJ) lawsuit. The Draft EIS will also address any changes in water management operations at the reservoir project, as well as the potential for other changes to operations in downstream reservoir projects, which would result from implementation of the settlement agreement.