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

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to amend the existing regulations for a restricted area at Blount Island Command, located on Marine Corps Support Facility-Blount Island, Jacksonville, Florida. Blount Island Command is responsible for managing the United States Marine Corps Prepositioning Programs. Due to the importance of this mission, the current restricted area in this section must be extended due to Department of Defense (DoD) directives that require the implementation of specified force protection measures by all DoD components. This amendment to the existing regulation is necessary to protect U.S. government personnel, equipment, and facilities from potential terrorist attack by providing stand-off corridors encompassing the waters immediately contiguous to Marine Corps Support FacilityBlount Island.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District (Regulatory Division), in coordination with the Port of Los Angeles, has completed a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/ Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIS/SEIR) for the Pacific L.A. Marine Terminal LLC Crude Oil Terminal Project. The Port of Los Angeles requires authorization pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the River and Harbor Act for a new crude oil marine terminal at Berth 408 on Pier 400 including: Construction of a new marine terminal to receive crude oil from marine vessels and transfer the oil to tank farm facilities via a new 42-inch-diameter, high-volume pipeline; construction of two tank farms, Tank Farm Site 1 located on Pier 400 and Tank Farm Site 2 located on Pier 300 at Seaside Avenue/ Terminal Way; construction of new pipelines to connect the new tank farm facilities to existing pipeline facilities, with the new tank farm facilities connected to the existing ExxonMobil Southwest Terminal on Terminal Island, the existing Ultramar/Valero Refinery on Anaheim Street near the Terminal Island Freeway, and to Plains All American pipeline systems near Henry Ford Avenue and Alameda Street via new and existing 36-inch, 24-inch, and 16-inch pipelines, and with all new pipelines installed belowground, with the exception of the water crossings at the Pier 400 causeway bridge and at the Valero utility/pipe bridge that crosses the Dominguez Channel west of the Ultramar/Valero Refinery. The new tank farm facilities would provide a total of 4.0 million barrels (bbl) of capacity, primarily receiving crude oil, partially refined crude oil, and occasional deliveries of Marine Gas Oil (MGO).

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 undertake an approximately 11,909 acre mine expansion into an approximately 15,100 acre project area surrounding its current mining operation. This expansion would occur over a 37 year period and would impact approximately 4,135 acres of waters of the United States including wetlands adjacent to The Pamlico River, South Creek and Durham Creek. The Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for this action was published in the Federal Register on Friday, October 20, 2006 (71 FR 61962). The Notice of Availability of Supplement I of the DEIS (SDEIS) was published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, November 6, 2007 (72 FR 62634).

The Army has initiated a review of the programmatic regulations for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan required by section 601(h)(3)(E) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000. As part of scoping the review for the regulations, the public is invited to provide comments on this review. Specifically, we welcome your comments on issues concerning the programmatic regulations, any items in the regulations that should be reviewed, or suggestions to improve the programmatic regulations.

Aggregate Industries is proposing a project that will require a St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers (Corps) permit for excavation within a navigable water and to discharge dredged material into waters and wetlands during an aggregate mining operation. Specifically, Aggregate Industries is proposing to dredge and excavate sand and gravel in approximately 230 acres of backwater area adjacent to the main channel of the Mississippi River. A berm would be constructed in the river upstream of the mine area to minimize current velocity in the mining area and to reduce turbidity. Sand and gravel would be excavated using a clamshell-type dredge to a maximum depth of approximately 200 feet. Dredged material would be transported via a conveyor system from the dredge to an existing sand and gravel processing plant located on Grey Cloud Island. Excess sand not used for berm construction would be returned to the mined area. A specific compensatory mitigation plan has not yet been developed for the project. Aggregate Industries intends to work with interested federal and state agencies to develop an acceptable plan that would meet federal and state compensatory mitigation requirements. The project requires Corps of Engineers approval under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The final environmental impact statement will be used as a basis for the permit decision and to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Section 2031 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-114) directs the Secretary of the Army to revise the ``Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources Implementation Studies'', dated March 10, 1983 consistent with a number of considerations enumerated in the statute. Upon completion the revision will apply to water resources projects, project reevaluations, or project modifications and project feasibility studies carried out by the Secretary except those commenced prior to the completion of the revised guidance. The Secretary intends to craft the revision in two phases, with the first phase of this revision to address revisions to the 1983 Principles and Standards (Chapter I of the existing Guidelines) and the second phase to address revisions to the Procedures (Chapters II through IV of the 1983 Guidelines). The purpose of this notice is to provide opportunity for interested individuals and organizations to submit suggestions for revising the Principles and Standards. Using that input the Secretary intends for the initial draft of the revision to be prepared in June and released for public comments by July.

The Vicksburg District Corps of Engineers, in conjunction with the City of Shreveport, the non-Federal sponsor, are undertaking studies to investigate the feasibility of water supply improvements for the City of Shreveport and Caddo Parish.

The purpose of the study is to develop implementation plans to sustain federally-listed species within the Woolly Star Preserve Area, including the Slender-horned spineflower, San Bernardino Kangaroo Rat, and Santa Ana Woolly Star. As a requirement of the Biological Opinion (2002), for construction and operation of Seven Oaks Dam (SOD), the Corps prepared a Multi-Species Habitat Management Plan (MSHMP) to identify potential management measures and implementation strategies. Recommendations in the Draft MSHMP have been developed in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, and other stakeholders. The Draft MSHMP identifies non- structural and structural measures. Non-structural measures could include, but are not limited to, herbicide treatment for non-native invasive grass control and providing water to the mitigation area through pipelines or trucks to hydraulically spread sand for substrate enhancement. Structural measures could include, but not limited to, controlled releases from SOD and dikes (permanent and/or temporary) used to direct hydraulic spreading of sand for substrate enhancement. The SEIS/EIR will examine the details of the measures identified above and other feasible alternatives based on hydrological, geotechnical, environmental, and technical factors. Management activities would be conducted within the Woolly Star Preserve Area and other adjacent lands.

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.

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.

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.

The Jacksonville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hereby cancels its Notice of Intent to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement as published in FR, Vol. 66, No. 105, Pages 29557 and 29558, May 31, 2001.

The Sierra Vista Landowner Group proposes to implement a large-scale, mixed-use, mixed-density master planned community with residential, commercial, office, public/quasi-public, and open space land uses, and parks. The Sierra Vista Specific Plan would include approximately 1,148 acres of residential uses; 281 acres of commercial, office, and commercial-mixed uses; 162 acres of parks and paseos; 83 acres of public/quasi-public land uses; 31 acres of urban reserve; and 190 acres of roadways and landscape corridors. The Specific Plan would also include 244 acres of open space; of these, 38 acres would be graded as part of the project and the remaining 206 acres would be preservation areas. The Specific Plan would include 9,995 dwelling units (in a mix of low, medium, and high densities) and approximately 2,419,113 square feet of retail and office uses. The project would also provide four elementary schools, one middle school, and a fire station. The proposed project is expected to generate about 25,219 new residents and 5,821 jobs. It is anticipated that construction would begin in spring 2010. The duration of construction would depend on market conditions; full buildout would likely be completed within 20 years from construction commencement. The proposed project site is approximately 2,138 acres and contains 51.87 acres of waters of the United States. The project, as proposed, would result in direct impacts to approximately 37.74 acres of waters of the United States. These acreages do not include indirect impacts from the proposed action or impacts anticipated to result from offsite infrastructure that may be determined to be required as part of the project through the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), San Francisco District, the Port of Stockton, and the Contra Costa County Water Agency are preparing an Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) to evaluate the efficiency of the movement of goods along the existing deep draft navigation route extending from the San Francisco Bay to the Port of Stockton. The proposed action consists of altering the depth of the deep draft navigation route. The authority for the San Francisco Bay to Stockton Navigation Improvement Project was provided under House Document 208, House Report 89-973 cited in Section 301 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1965, Pub. L. 89-298, Sec. 204, 79 Stat. 1073. This is a notice of intent to prepare an EIS/ EIR, and to consider all reasonable alternatives, evaluate potential impacts of the proposed action, and identify appropriate mitigation measures.

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, Regulatory Division (Corps), in coordination with the California Department of Fish and Game, Habitat Conservation Planning, South Coast Region (Department), has completed a Draft Program Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the San Diego Creek Watershed Special Area Management Plan (SAMP)/ Watershed Streambed Alteration Agreement (WSAA) Process. The San Diego Creek Watershed SAMP is a plan, which is comprised of the following elements: an Analytical Framework for Corps and Department decisionmaking; modified, watershed-specific permitting processes, including watershed- and resource-based permitting protocols and a mitigation framework for the Corps and the Department; a Strategic Mitigation Plan, which is based upon a riparian ecosystem restoration plan; a Mitigation Coordination Program to achieve implementation of the Strategic Mitigation Plan and foster a coordinated approach to aquatic resource management in the Watershed; and an implementation plan for the SAMP. The SAMP establishes alternative (aquatic resource- based and watershed-specific) permitting procedures for projects within the San Diego Creek Watershed that will alter the bed, bank or channel of rivers, streams, and lakes and associated riparian habitats under the Department's jurisdiction, and discharge dredged or fill material into waters of the United States subject to the Corps jurisdiction. The SAMP permitting procedures will improve the capacity of the Corps and the Department to evaluate such projects, as compared to the process each agency would normally follow in permitting such projects on a case-by-case basis.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Mobile District, intends to prepare an update and revision of the water control manuals for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin. Concurrent with that revision, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Draft EIS will address updated operating criteria and guidelines for managing the water storage and release actions of agency water managers and associated environmental impacts.

The notice published in the Federal Register on January 25, 2008 (73 FR 4544) was missing the corporation name. The partially exclusive license will be granted to Bouldin & Lawson, LLC., 70 Easy Street, McMinnville, TN 37110.

Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL) has applied to the St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers (Corps) for a permit to conduct work below the ordinary high water mark of the Mississippi River, a navigable water of the U.S., and to discharge dredged or fill material into waters of the U.S. to facilitate the construction and operation of a 300 megawatt (MW) baseload coal-fired electric generating unit, referred to as NED 3, near Cassville in Grant County, WI. Specifically, the WPL is proposing an atmospheric circulating fluidized bed boiler and steam turbine generator unit at a site adjacent to the existing Nelson Dewey Generating Station (NED) Units 1 and 2 on the Mississippi River at River Mile 607.7. In addition to the new power generating unit, the following associated facilities would be constructed and operated: A new lateral collector well to supply cooling water; additional barge unloading capacity including three additional barge moorings in the Mississippi River, a new barge unloading tower foundation, and a temporary equipment barge unloading ramp; a new storm water detention pond and pipe outfall structure; 1.7-mile-long off-site parallel industrial railroad tracks, including a sheet pile retaining wall, adjacent to the existing BNSF railroad mainline tracks; new railroad bridges over two creeks for the off-site parallel industrial railroad tracks; and two new coal pile runoff ponds to replace the existing coal pile runoff pond adjacent to the railroad tracks. The project would require the discharge of dredged or fill material into the Mississippi River and two creeks that are tributaries to the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River is a navigable water of the U.S. The discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the U.S. requires a permit issued by the Corps under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Construction work conducted below the ordinary high water mark of a navigable water of the U.S. requires a permit issued by the Corps under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act. The final environmental impact statement will be used as a basis for the permit decision and to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

In accordance with section 105(h) of the Estuary Restoration Act of 2000, (Title I, Pub. L. 106-457), announcement is made of the forthcoming meeting of the Estuary Habitat Restoration Council. The meeting is open to the public.

The notice of availability of Supplement I of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for 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 published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, November 6, 2007 (72 FR 62634), required comments be submitted by December 21, 2007. The comment period has been extended until December 31, 2007.

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 North Topsail Beach to nourish approximately 11.1 miles of beachfront to protect residential homes and town infrastructures, to reposition the New River Inlet channel, and to implement an inlet management plan to control the positioning of the new inlet channel, and to conduct periodic renourishment events. The new channel will be centrally located and the proposal will be to maintain that position, which essentially will be located perpendicular to the adjacent shorelines of North Topsail Beach and Onslow Beach. The proposed source of the material for the nourishment will be dredged from an offshore borrow area and from the repositioning of the inlet. The projected amount of material needed to nourish the oceanfront shoreline is approximately 3.21 million cubic yards. The placement of beach fill along the Town's shoreline would result in the initial widening of the beach by 50 to 100 feet. The widened beach would be maintained through a program of periodic beach nourishment events with the material extracted from the New River Inlet; and if necessary, supplemental materials from the offshore borrow area. All work will be accomplished using a hydraulic dredge. The proposed project construction will be conducted in a five phase approach to correspond with the Town's anticipated annual generation of funds. The ocean shoreline of the Town of North Topsail Beach encompasses approximately 11.1 miles along the northern end of Topsail Island. Of the 11.1 miles, approximately 7.25-miles of the shoreline in the project area, with the exception of two small areas, is located within the Coastal Barrier Resource System (CBRS), which prohibits the expenditure of Federal funds that would encourage development. The channel through New River Inlet has been maintained by the COE for commercial and recreational boating interest for over 55 years. The COE is authorized to maintain the channel in the inlet to a depth of 6 feet mean low water (mlw) over a width of 90 feet.

The Jacksonville District, U.S. Army Corps (Corps) of Engineers intends to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for expansion, including widening and deepening of existing channels and turning basins in Lake Worth Inlet (Palm Beach Harbor). The project is a cooperative effort between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (lead Federal agency) and Port of Palm Beach District (non- Federal sponsor and cooperating agency).

The Corps of Engineers (Corps), Nashville District, will prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) relating to proposed dam powerhouse rehabilitations and possible operational changes at the Wolf Creek, Center Hill, and Dale Hollow Dams in Kentucky and Tennessee. The Corps is studying the possible impacts of modifying existing equipment. Due to improvements in technology, rehabilitating the equipment could make it possible to produce more power from the same amount of water discharged. Changes in equipment and operational procedures could also cause higher tailwater heights and velocities, but as there is a limited amount of water they could be for shorter duration. In addition, alterations to flow regimes are being considered to provide minimum flows when hydropower releases are shut off. If improvements are successful, other dams may eventually be considered for similar changes. This study was begun in 2003 and a Notice of Intent was published in the Federal Register on September 25, 2003; however, due to funding constraints work ceased before a Draft EIS could be completed. The proposed rehabilitation of the powerhouse and generating units is not related to the dam seepage repairs that are ongoing at Center Hill and Wolf Creek Dams.

The Corps of Engineers is issuing a final rule establishing a restricted area within Kuluk Bay, Adak, Alaska. The purpose of this restricted area is to ensure the security and safety of the Sea Based Radar, its crew, and other vessels transiting the area. The restricted area is within an established moorage restriction area for the U.S. Navy. The restricted area will be marked on navigation charts to ensure security and safety for the public.

The Corps of Engineers is amending its regulations to modify an existing danger zone, in waters of the United States in the vicinity of Bloodsworth Island, Maryland. The amendment reflects the current operational and safety procedures at the Bloodsworth Island Range and highlights a change in the enforcement authority from the Commander, Naval Base Norfolk, Virginia to the Commander, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. The regulations are necessary to safeguard United States Navy vessels and United States Government facilities/ installations from sabotage and other subversive acts, accidents, or incidents of a similar nature. These regulations are also necessary to protect the public from potentially hazardous conditions which may exist as a result from use of the areas by the United States Navy.