Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Congressional response to the devastation in the wake of Hurricane Sandy included a mandate to collaborate with federal, state, tribal and local government agencies to regionally address the vulnerability of coastal populations at risk within the boundaries of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) North Atlantic Division. The goals of the North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study (NACCS), authorized under the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, Public Law 113-2, were to: (1) Provide a risk management framework, consistent with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/USACE Infrastructure Systems Rebuilding Principles; and (2) support resilient coastal communities and robust, sustainable coastal landscape systems, considering future sea level and climate change scenarios, to manage risk to vulnerable populations, property, ecosystems, and infrastructure. In addition, the NACCS evaluated institutional and other barriers to providing comprehensive coastal storm risk management, along with other activities warranting additional analysis. NACCS draft analyses were made available to stakeholders for review and validation in March 2014. Throughout the study process several additional opportunities for stakeholder input were made available, including a webinar collaboration series, agency and public engagements, and a feedback link on the NACCS Web page. Full NEPA and other environmental compliance would be required as part of future detailed evaluations and/or feasibility studies before any actions could be implemented. The final report was submitted to Congress and all associated documents and tools are now accessible on the NACCS Web page at: https://www.nad.usace.army.mil/compstudy.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), New Orleans District intends to prepare a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), integrated with a General Reevaluation Report, for the Mississippi River, Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico Mississippi River- Gulf Outlet, Louisiana New Industrial Canal Lock and Connecting Channels Project, hereinafter referred to as ``the Project''. This project is sometimes referred to as the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) Lock Replacement Project. This will be the second supplemental EIS prepared for this project.

The Department of the Army is publishing this notice to announce the following Federal advisory committee 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 Web site at https:// www.iwr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/ InlandWaterwaysUsersBoard.aspx.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District is seeking comment from the public on a proposal to reduce the lock operating hours on the Okeechobee Waterway. The new proposed operating hours at each of the five locks are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week. The proposed change would take effect no earlier than April 1, 2015 and would impact the following locks:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District (Corps) is examining the environmental consequences associated with Freeport- McMoRan Safford Inc.'s (FMSI) application for a Department of the Army permit under section 404 of the Clean Water Act for the proposed development of the mineral resources associated with the Lone Star ore body for the purpose of producing copper (the Lone Star Project). The proposed development would include the construction of mining facilities, including an open pit mine and attendant development rock stockpiles and heap leach facilities, which will allow continued mining at the Safford Mine Facility using conventional open-pit mining, heap leaching techniques, and solution extraction/electrowinning (SX/EW) processing, and utilizing as much of the existing Safford Mine Facility infrastructure and processing facilities as practicable. The construction of the proposed facilities would discharge fill materials into approximately 90.27 acres of waters of the United States (U.S.). The primary federal environmental concerns are the proposed discharges of fill material into waters of the U.S. and the potential for significant adverse environmental effects resulting from such activities. Therefore, to address these concerns in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Corps is requiring preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prior to consideration of any permit action. The action must comply with the section 404(b)(1) Guidelines (40 CFR part 230) and not be contrary to the public interest to be granted a Corps permit. The Corps may ultimately make a determination to permit or deny the above project, or permit or deny modified versions of the above project.

Reference the Notice of Intent published in the Federal Register on Thursday, November 20, 2014, volume 79, number 224, pages 69099-100 (79 FR 69099). This notice extends the public comment period and identifies an additional location for a GLMRIS public scoping meeting. For convenience, the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of the November 20, 2014 notice has been reprinted with new text announcing the extension of the public comment period and the additional location where USACE will host a scoping meeting.