Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers – 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 (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.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Fort Worth District has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) that analyzes the potential effects for the implementation of flood risk management elements, ecosystem restoration features, recreation enhancement features, interior drainage plan improvements, and other proposed projects in and around the Dallas Floodway, in the City of Dallas, Dallas County, TX. The FEIS 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) Alternative 1, the No-Action Alternative or ``Future Without Project Condition;'' (2) Alternative 2, the Proposed Action. Alternative 2 evaluates two different design variations, one that anticipates potential Trinity Parkway construction within the Floodway and one that does not.

The Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay, Texas, study area encompasses six coastal counties on the upper Texas Gulf coastOrange, Jefferson, Chambers, Harris, Galveston and Brazoria. The Draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement (DIFR- EIS) will evaluate structural and non-structural alternatives which address coastal storm risk management (CSRM) and ecosystem restoration (ER) impacts in the study area. The environmental impact study will focus on environmental and social conditions currently present and those likely to be affected by potential future impacts of storm surge and ecosystem restoration opportunities. Several major historical surge events have occurred in the study area in the past 120 years. The most notable is perhaps the 1900 Storm, which inundated most of the island city of Galveston, TX, and adjacent areas on the mainland. The storm was responsible for over eight thousand deaths and up to $30 million in property damage. Hurricane Rita in 2005 resulted in storm surge of 9.2 feet in Port Arthur, TX, and just over 8 feet in Sabine Pass. Most recently, Hurricane Ike in 2008 produced storm surges of 14 feet near Sabine Pass and 11 to 12 feet across Sabine Lake. The City of Port Arthur was spared from the impacts of storm surge thanks to its existing 14- to 17-foot hurricane flood protection system. However, the remaining southern half of Jefferson County was inundated, with estimated high water marks reaching 18 to19 feet to the south and east of High Island. The City of Galveston was protected from Hurricane Ike's high energy surge impacts by the Galveston Seawall, but much of the City of Galveston was later flooded by about 6 to 10 feet of surge coming from the bay. The City of Texas City was protected from Ike's surge impacts by its existing hurricane flood protection system. At risk within the study area are approximately 2.26 million people living within the storm-surge inundation zone, three of the nine largest oil refineries in the world, 40 percent of the nation's petrochemical industry, 25 percent of the nation's petroleum-refining capacity, and three of the ten largest U.S. seaports.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District (USACE), has released a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the update of the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin (ACT) Water Control Master Manual (Master Manual). USACE will accept comments during a public comment period that began with the Notice of Availability published by the Environmental Protection Agency on November 7, 2014 and will end 30 days after that date.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New Orleans District intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to inform a decision on a Department of the Army (DA) permit application pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, and permissions request under 33 U.S.C. 408, submitted by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana (CPRA) for the Mississippi River Reintroduction into the Maurepas Swamp (MRRMS) freshwater diversion project (proposed project). The USACE has determined the proposed project will result in significant impacts to the human environment, therefore an EIS is necessary to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and as a basis for both the permit decision and the Section 408 permissions. The DA permit and the 408 permissions are two separate processes with different authorities analyzed by different mission areas (including Regulatory and Civil Works) inside the USACE. Under Section 404 of the CWA and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, the District Engineer permits the discharge of dredged or fill material into the waters of the United States as well as work, to include the installation and maintenance of structures, in navigable waters of the U.S., if the discharge meets the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency's 404(b)(1) guidelines, and the proposal is determined to not be contrary to the overall public interest. Under 33 U.S.C. 408, the Chief of Engineers grants permission to alter, modify, or impair an existing USACE project if it is not injurious to the public interest and does not impair the usefulness of such work. The proposed project involves structural crossings of the Federal Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) Levee and could potentially impact the Mississippi River Navigation Channel, the future footprint of the Federal West Shore Lake Pontchartrain Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System levee project as well as other Federal projects. USACE Regulatory and Civil Works will coordinate on all aspects of the production of the EIS.

The purpose of this notice is to initiate the scoping process for preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Los Angeles Harbor Department (LAHD) Berths 226-236 [Everport] Container Terminal Improvements Project.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District (USACE) and the non-Federal sponsor, the Maryland Port Administration (MPA), are intending to prepare a decision document and supporting Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to execute Phase II of the Baltimore Harbor and Channels 50-Foot project to complete the construction of the project channels to their authorized widths and consider reformulation of the plan to develop new alternatives. Because of the lapse in time since the authorization of the original project report and EIS in 1981 and the completion of Phase I in 1990, the intention of the new decision document and SEIS is to consider whether widening the existing project channels to the authorized widths for Phase II is still in the federal Interest and to allow for reformulation of the plan for Phase II, as appropriate, to develop new alternatives.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate project alternatives and the public interest review factors, as well as the effects on Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge for the proposed mooring and launching facility.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) are extending the comment period for the proposed rule ``Definition of `Waters of the United States' Under the Clean Water Act'' published on April 21, 2014. The agencies are extending the comment period in response to stakeholder requests for an extension and to allow comments on new supporting materials.

The three Mississippi River locks in Minneapolis, MN (Upper St. Anthony Falls, Lower St. Anthony Falls, and Lock and Dam 1) currently operate 19 hours per day/7 days per week during the navigation season. This level of service follows the guidance from the Corps Inland Marine Transportation System (IMTS) Board of Directors. Section 2010 of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA) directed the Secretary of the Army to close the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam located on the Mississippi River at river mile 853.9 no later than 1 year after the enactment date of WRRDA 2014. With the expected closing of the Upper St. Anthony Falls lock, it is anticipated the remaining two Minneapolis locks will have less than 500 commercial lockages per year. To meet IMTS guidance, it is proposed Lower St. Anthony Falls and Lock and Dam 1 transition to one 10-hour shift per day/7 days per week during the 2015 navigation season and beyond. The navigation season on the Upper Mississippi normally begins in March, depending on river conditions, and wraps up by the end of November. Pool levels will not be affected by change of operating hours.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to establish a restricted area around the Huntington Ingalls Incorporated/ Ingalls Shipbuilding and Dry Dock (HII) facility located in Pascagoula Mississippi, because of the sensitive nature of the on-going and potential future activities at that facility. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Gulf Coast, located in Pascagoula, Mississippi is responsible for United States Navy shipbuilding activities at the HII facility, USA located in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The proposed restricted area will be used for on-going construction when vessels are placed in the water. The proposed restricted area is essential to protect persons and property from the dangers associated with the operation and safeguard the area from accidents, sabotage and other subversive acts.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, Regulatory Branch is notifying interested parties that it has terminated the process to develop an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and has withdrawn the Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403) and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) permit application for the proposed Baryonyx Corporation, Inc. 300-turbine offshore wind farm located in the Gulf of Mexico state waters, offshore Willacy and Cameron Counties in state tracts: 1068, 1069, 1085, 1086, 1087, 1088, 1089, 1090, 1126, 1127, 1129, 1130 and 1131. The original Notice of Intent to Prepare and EIS was published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 (77 FR 15088).

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 Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 requires that the USACE publish a notice in the Federal Register to request proposals from non-federal interests for feasibility studies and modifications to authorized USACE water resources development projects or feasibility studies. This notice is the request for proposals for inclusion in the Annual Report to be issued in February 2015.

The Alaska District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) intends to prepare a DSEIS to identify and analyze the potential impacts associated with the construction of the proposed ASAP utility grade natural gas transportation pipeline. The Corps is the lead federal agency and currently the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources State Pipeline Coordinator's Office (SPCO) are participating as cooperating agencies in the DSEIS development process. The Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) will be used as a basis for the Corps permit decision and to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Corps will be evaluating a permit application for work under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and Section 103 of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. Because ASAP would require decisions and actions by other federal agencies (such as right- of-way grants and other permits), this DSEIS will also fulfill the NEPA requirements for those cooperating federal agencies.

The Department of the Army, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, announces a series of listening sessions by webinar for public input to inform the agency's implementation of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014. Each meeting will focus on implementation of a specific collection of provisions in the Act.

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 Corps of Engineers is establishing a danger zone in the waters of the York River off Cheatham Annex in York County, Virginia. The danger zone is necessary to protect the public from hazards associated with the small arms fire operations.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Seattle District has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to examine the incremental environmental risk, principally from vessel traffic, related to operation of the previously authorized and constructed North Wing of the BP Cherry Point dock. Incremental environmental risk is defined in this EIS as the change in environmental risk between operating the BP Cherry Point dock at maximum capacity with a single berth (the South Wing) and operating the dock with two berths (the North Wing and South Wing) at projected future vessel traffic levels. The Proposed Action is continuing the existing operations at the BP Cherry Point Dock with two berths, one principally for import of crude oil and the other for distribution of refined petroleum products. The Corps has been directed by Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to complete an EIS on the impacts of the permitted dock. The Draft EIS was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Corps' regulations for NEPA implementation (33 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] parts 230 and 325, Appendices B and C). The Corps, Seattle District, Regulatory Branch is the federal lead agency and the U.S. Coast Guard, as a cooperating agency. Information contained in the EIS serves as the basis for a decision regarding evaluation process of the existing permit under Section 10 of Rivers and Harbors Act for the BP Cherry Point dock. It also provides information for U.S. Coast Guard, other Federal, state, and local agencies having jurisdictional responsibility for affected resources.

The purpose of this notice is to initiate a 45-day scoping process for preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Coachella Valley Water District's (CVWD) proposed Thousand Palms Flood Control Project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Boise River General Investigation Feasibility Study. The Feasibility Study will evaluate alternatives to reduce flood risk and meet current and future water supply needs in the lower Boise River watershed. To the extent feasible, the study will also seek to provide ancillary ecosystem restoration benefits, minimize impacts to species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), including bull trout, and minimize socioeconomic effects. The Feasibility Study will focus on the lower Boise River, a tributary to the Snake River, which is located in southwestern Idaho, primarily in Ada and Canyon Counties. The non-federal sponsor for this effort is the Idaho Water Resources Board. Almost 40 percent of Idaho residents live in the Boise River watershed, with one-sixth of the State's population residing in the floodplain. Communities and development along the Boise River have experienced repeated minor flooding, and flood risk management experts emphasize that a significant flood event with major flood damage will likely occur in the future. The Boise River watershed has recently experienced the most significant growth in the State and continuing to meet current and future water needs is a major concern for residents and state/local officials.