Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a document in the Federal Register of January 13, 2021, a final rule concerning the reissuance and modification of nationwide permits. This document contains a correction to the rule.

The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works (ASA(CW)) is issuing this notice for a comment period for stakeholders and other interested parties to provide input and recommendations to the ASA(CW) on any provisions in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020. The Office of the ASA(CW) will consider all comments received before any implementation guidance is issued.

Nationwide Permits (NWPs) authorize certain activities under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. The NWPs help protect the aquatic environment and the public interest by providing incentives to reduce impacts on jurisdictional waters and wetlands while effectively authorizing activities that have no more than minimal individual and cumulative adverse environmental effects. In this final rule, the Corps is reissuing and modifying 12 existing NWPs and issuing four new NWPs. For these 16 NWPs, the Corps is also reissuing and modifying the NWP general conditions and definitions. The Corps is not reissuing or modifying the remaining 40 existing NWPs or finalizing proposed new NWP E at this time. Those 40 remaining NWPs continue to be in effect under the January 6, 2017, final rule and the existing general conditions and definitions in the 2017 final rule continue to apply to those permits.

This final rule removes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' part titled Water Resources Policies and Authorities: Federal Participation in Covered Flood Control Channels. Each removed section of this part is outdated in reference to engineering criteria and requirements, and covers internal agency operations that have no public compliance component or adverse public impact. Current policy and procedures on this subject can be found in internal documents. Therefore, this part can be removed from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

This final rule removes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' part titled Design Criteria for Dam and Lake Projects. This part is out-of- date and otherwise covers internal agency operations that have no public compliance component or adverse public impact. Therefore, this part can be removed from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is issuing this notice to advise Federal, State and local governmental agencies and the public that USACE is terminating the San Francisco Bay to Stockton, California Navigation Study and withdrawing its Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for said study.

The Department of the Army is publishing this notice to request nominations to serve as representatives on the Inland Waterways Users Board, sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Section 302 of Public Law 99-662 established the Inland Waterways Users Board. The Board is an independent Federal advisory committee. The Secretary of the Army appoints its 11 (eleven) representative organizations. This notice is to solicit nominations for five (5) appointments for terms that will begin by May 28, 2021. For additional information about the Board, please visit the committee's website at http:// www.iwr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Inland-Waterways-U sers- Board/.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is extending the scoping period through November 26, 2020. The scoping period was originally scheduled to end on October 26, 2020.

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) requests comments on the alternatives considered to date by the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries, Texas Resiliency Study (BBTRS) to help inform the Study Team's recommendation to the Chief of Engineers on reducing the flood risk along Buffalo Bayou and its tributaries in Harris and Fort Bend counties, Texas. An Interim Report has been prepared to document alternatives considered to date. The Interim Report, which does not include recommendations or decisions, is being published to solicit input from the public. Seeking this public input prior to identifying a preferred alternative will help ensure the analysis of a complex problemand ultimately decisionsare effective, responsive, sustainable and understood by the region's communities.

Nationwide Permits (NWPs) authorize certain activities under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to reissue its existing NWPs and associated general conditions and definitions, with some modifications. We are also proposing to issue five new NWPs. Two of those proposed new NWPs would authorize certain categories of mariculture activities (i.e., seaweed and finfish mariculture) that are not authorized by NWP 48. We are proposing to divide the current NWP that authorizes utility line activities (NWP 12) into three separate NWPs that address the differences in how different linear projects are constructed, the substances they convey, and the different standards and best management practices that help ensure those NWPs authorize only those activities that have no more than minimal adverse environmental effects. Specifically, we are proposing to modify the current utility line NWP 12 to authorize only oil and natural gas pipeline activities. Two proposed new NWPs would authorize activities associated with the construction, maintenance, repair, and removal of electric utility lines/telecommunication lines and utility lines that convey water, sewage, and other substances. The fifth proposed new NWP would authorize discharges of dredged or fill material into jurisdictional waters for the construction, expansion, and maintenance of water reuse and reclamation facilities. We are proposing these modifications to simplify and clarify the NWPs, reduce burdens on the regulated public, and continue to comply with the statutory requirement that these NWPs authorize only activities with no more than minimal individual and cumulative adverse environmental effects. The Corps is requesting comment on all aspects of these proposed nationwide permits.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District, is notifying interested parties that it has withdrawn the notice of intent (NOI) to develop an EIS for the proposed Upper Susquehanna River Basin, New York, Comprehensive Flood Damage Reduction Feasibility Study.

The Department of Defense (DoD) published a notice on July 6, 2020 that announced the third meeting of the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee was to take place on July 16, 2020. In addition, Meeting 4 would also be rescheduled. DoD is publishing this notice to announce the revised schedule for Meeting 4 of the Federal advisory committee meetings of the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee (TRLOC).

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District (USACE), as the lead agency under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for construction of the Delta Conveyance Project. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is the project proponent and will be referred to hereafter as the Applicant. The EIS will analyze the Applicant's proposed action to construct new conveyance facilities in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) which includes intake facilities on the Sacramento River, tunnel reaches and tunnel shafts, a southern forebay and pumping plant, and south Delta Conveyance facilities that would connect to the existing State Water Project (SWP) infrastructure.

The Department of the Army is publishing this notice to announce the following Federal advisory committee meeting of the Board on Coastal Engineering Research. This meeting is open to the public.

The Department of Defense (DoD) published a notice on April 17, 2020 that announced the third meeting of the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee, which was to take place on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., had been cancelled due to concerns with COVID-19/State of Missouri ``Stay-at-Home'' order. The notice stated the meeting would be re-scheduled at a later date, along with meeting four. DoD is publishing this notice to announce the revised schedule for Meeting 3 of the Federal advisory committee meetings of the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee (TRLOC).

The Department of the Army is publishing this notice to announce the Federal advisory committee online virtual meeting of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Inland Waterways Users Board (Board). This meeting is open to the public. For additional information about the Board, please visit the committee's website at http:// www.iwr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/ InlandWaterwaysUsersBoard.aspx.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District, Planning Division is notifying interested parties that it has withdrawn the Notice of Intent (NOI) to develop an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed Nassau County Back Bay (NCBB) Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) Feasibility Study. The original NOI to prepare an EIS was published in the Federal Register on Friday, April 21, 2017. An Environmental Assessment (EA) will be prepared instead of an EIS.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, Planning Division is notifying interested parties that it is withdrawing the Notice of Intent (NOI) to develop an EIS for the NYNJHAT Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) Feasibility Study. The NOI to Prepare an EIS was published in the Federal Register on January 13, 2020.

Section 7001 of Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) 2014, as amended, requires that the Secretary of the Army annually submit to the Congress a report (Annual Report) that identifies feasibility reports, proposed feasibility studies submitted by non-Federal interests, proposed modifications to authorized water resources development projects or feasibility studies, and proposed modifications to environmental infrastructure program authorities that meet certain criteria. The Annual Report is to be based, in part, upon requests for proposals submitted by non-Federal interests.

On February 6, 2020, the Department of Defense (DoD) published an updated notice that announced the third meeting of the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee, which was to take place on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. DoD is publishing this notice to announce that this federal advisory committee meeting has been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns (the State of Missouri is under ``Stay at Home'' orders) and will be re- scheduled at a later date, along with meeting four.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Galveston District, has received a permit application for a U.S. Department of the Army (DA) permit pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act from Dow Chemical Company (Dow) (SWG-2016-01027) for the Harris Reservoir Expansion Project (proposed Project). The proposed Project site is located between the Brazos River and Oyster Creek approximately 8 miles northwest of the City of Angleton in Brazoria County, Texas. The primary federal involvement associated with the proposed action (proposed Project) is the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States (U.S.), and the construction of structures and/or work that may affect navigable waters. Federal authorizations for the Project would constitute a major federal action. Based on the potential impacts, both individually and cumulatively, the Corps intends to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to render a final decision on the permit applications. The Corps' decision will be to issue, issue with modification, or deny DA permits for the proposed action. The EIS will assess the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts of the construction and operation of the proposed project, and is intended to be sufficient in scope to address federal, state, and local requirements; environmental and socioeconomic issues concerning the proposed action; and permit reviews.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Sacramento District, and the Central Valley Flood Protection Board is preparing a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR) for the Sacramento Weir widening component of the American River Watershed Common Features (ARCF) Levee Improvement Project authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 2016. This Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR supplements the ARCF General Reevaluation Report (GRR) Final EIS/EIR. The Proposed Action includes constructing a 1,500-foot-long passive weir, with associated levee, roadway, rail bridge, and fish passage improvements adjacent to the existing Sacramento Weir at the junction of the Sacramento River and Sacramento Bypass. Conceptual components of the Proposed Action were analyzed in the ARCF GRR Final EIS/EIR but some elements of the Proposed Action (passive weir design and fish passage structure) were not analyzed in the ARCF GRR Final EIS/EIR because final designs are still in progress. USACE has now developed two alternative project designs in sufficient detail to analyze their environmental effects: A passive weir structure with a crest elevation at 26 feet on the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88) (the Proposed Action), and a passive weir structure with a crest elevation at 26 feet NAVD88, with stop logs to raise the crest elevation to 29.8 feet NAVD88 (the Higher Weir Elevation Alternative). Both design alternatives would reduce the flood risk in and around the cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento by conveying additional Sacramento River flow during flood events into the Sacramento and Yolo Bypasses.

As a result of a policy determination by the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is withdrawing the proposed rule titled ``Use of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Reservoir Projects for Domestic, Municipal & Industrial Water Supply,'' which was published on December 16, 2016.

The Department of Defense (DoD) published a notice that announced the second meeting of the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee, which was to take place on Thursday, January 23, 2020 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., had been cancelled and would be re-scheduled at a later date, along with meetings three and four. DoD is publishing this notice to announce the revised schedule for Meetings 2, 3, and 4 of the Federal advisory committee meetings of the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee (TRLOC). The meetings are open to the public. Public comments are requested.

The Department of the Army is publishing this notice to announce the following Federal advisory committee meeting of the Board on Coastal Engineering Research. This meeting is open to the public.