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

The Department of Defense (DoD) is publishing this notice to announce that the following Federal Advisory Committee meeting of the Inland Waterways Users Board will take place.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Sacramento District, intends to adopt the Bureau of Reclamation's (BOR) December 2015 Final Environment Impact Report (FEIR)/Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)/Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Upper Truckee River and Marsh Restoration Project and prepare its own Record of Decision (ROD) after the public review period for this Notice of Intent ends. The Corps will use its Tahoe Section 108 program authorization for participation in the restoration activities by reimbursing the California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC), the local sponsor, for final design, construction, and other applicable activities falling under the authorization. During final design and construction, the Corps will serve as the lead Federal agency for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and CTC will serve as the lead agency for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) during the final design and construction activities if designs need to be modified or the river moves from its current alignment prior to design and construction. In the December 2015 Final EIR/EIS/EIS, the analysis for this ecosystem restoration project evaluated five alternatives to restore aquatic and riparian values and functions on the Upper Truckee River's marsh area near its terminus at Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe in El Dorado County, CA with selection of a preferred alternative to be constructed. The Corps has reviewed the draft and Final EIR/EIS/EIS to ensure that all NEPA requirements have been met.

The Corps of Engineers is proposing to amend an existing permanent danger zone in the waters of the James River, Skiffes Creek and Warwick River in Newport News, Virginia. JBLE-Eustis contains a military port berthing numerous Army vessels and conducts exercises to include small craft testing and live fire training activities. The proposed amendment is necessary to protect the public from hazards associated with training and mission operations, and to protect government assets, missions, and the base population in general. The proposed amendment increases the restricted areas and creates danger zones surrounding the existing installation and firing ranges.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is issuing this final rule to adjust its civil monetary penalties under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the National Fishing Enhancement Act to account for inflation. This action is mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Inflation Adjustment Act), which requires agencies to adjust the levels of civil monetary penalties with an initial ``catch-up'' adjustment followed by annual adjustments for inflation. The Inflation Adjustment Act prescribes a formula for adjusting statutory civil penalties to reflect inflation, maintain the deterrent effect of statutory civil penalties, and promote compliance with the law. Using the adjustment criteria provided in the December 15, 2017, Office of Management and Budget Memorandum regarding the ``Implementation of Penalty Inflation Adjustments for 2018, Pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015'', the 2018 annual adjustment for inflation will increase the Class I civil penalty under Section 309 of the Clean Water Act to $21,394 per violation, and the maximum civil penalty increases to $53,484. The judicial civil penalty under Section 404(s) of the Clean Water Act increases to $53,484 per day for each violation. Under the National Fishing Enhancement Act, the Class I civil penalty increases to $23,426 per violation.

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 website at https:// www.iwr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/ InlandWaterwaysUsersBoard.aspx.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District (USACE) is preparing a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to support the Dam Safety Modification Study Report (DSMSR) for Center Hill Dam. The study would evaluate the main dam spillway gate operability, the saddle dam fuse plug operation, and spillway additions to the new Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) berm structure at the saddle dam, all for the purpose of lowering risk at Center Hill Dam, DeKalb County, Tennessee.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of a proposed water supply project, the Cedar Ridge Reservoir, proposed by the City of Abilene, TX. A Clean Water Act Section 404 permit would be required for the construction and operation of the proposed Project since it would result in permanent and temporary impacts to waters of the United States. The Project, as proposed by the applicant, is intended to provide approximately 34,400 acre-feet of new reliable water supply to address additional water supply needs. The Cedar Ridge Project would be a non-federal project constructed, owned, and operated by the City of Abilene.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Detroit District, is issuing this notice to advise Federal, state, and local government agencies and the public that the USACE is withdrawing its Notice of Intent to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the reevaluation study of flood risk management alternatives for the North Branch Ecorse Creek, Wayne County, Michigan.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), 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 Harbor Act, from the Town of Holden Beach to install a terminal groin structure on the east end of Holden Beach, extending into the Atlantic Ocean, just west of Lockwoods Folly Inlet.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District (USACE) announces the release of the Draft Integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement (DIFR-EIS) for the Recommended Plan of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW): Brazos River Floodgates (BRFG) and Colorado River Locks (CRL) Systems Feasibility Study, Brazos and Matagorda Counties, TX. The DIFR-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.

Pursuant to the requirements of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District (Corps) is preparing an integrated Feasibility Report/Tiered Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed New York New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries Coastal Storm Risk Management Feasibility Study (NYNJHAT). The study is assessing the feasibility of coastal storm risk management alternatives to be implemented within the authorized study area with a specific emphasis on the New York New Jersey Harbor, including Raritan Bay, the tidally- affected stretches of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers, and the Hudson River to Troy, New York.

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 website at https:// www.iwr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/ InlandWaterwaysUsersBoard.aspx.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is proposing to issue an Engineer Circular (EC), which is an agency policy document that will provide the policies and procedures related to how USACE will process certain requests by others to alter a USACE civil works project pursuant to Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, as amended (more commonly referred to as Section 408). This notice announces the availability of the draft EC for comment. The comment period on the draft document starts with the publication of this notice in the Federal Register and will last for 30 days. The draft EC is available for review on the USACE Section 408 website (https:// www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Section408/) and at https:// www.regulations.gov reference docket number COE-2018-0003.

The Department of the Army is publishing this notice to announce the following Federal advisory committee meeting of the Chief of Engineers, Environmental Advisory Board (EAB). This meeting is open to the public. For additional information about the EAB, please visit the committee's website at https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/ Environmental/EnvironmentalAdvisoryBoard.aspx.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) South Atlantic Division and the Port of Stockton are preparing an Environmental Impact Statement and Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) to evaluate the efficiency of the movement of goods along the existing deep-draft navigation route extending from the Golden Gate, through San Pablo Bay and Carquinez Strait, to deep draft facilities at Avon, California. This Notice of Intent (NOI) represents a supplemental notice to the March 4, 2016, NOI released for the San Francisco Bay to Stockton Navigation Improvement Study. This supplemental NOI is being released to notify the public that the study scope has been reduced to only consider improvements within the portion of the navigation project extending from San Francisco Bay to Avon. Work is now being conducted on an EIS/EIR with a reduced scope and project footprint, which is anticipated to be issued for public review in 2018. This NOI also re- opens the public scoping period. The 2016 NOI proposed to deepen the John F. Baldwin channel from the West Richmond Channel through the Pinole Shoal Channel, Bulls Head Reach and Suisun Bay Channel to New York Slough Channel to a maximum depth of 45 feet mean lower low water (MLLW) and the Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel to a maximum depth of 40 feet MLLW. As of September, 2017, the portion of the authorized navigation project to the east of Avon is no longer under consideration for formulation of navigation improvements. The revised study area extends from Central San Francisco Bay to Avon only and includes the West Richmond Channel, Pinole Shoal Channel, and Bulls Head Reach portion of the Suisun Bay Channel (west of Avon). The current authorized depth of this study area is 45 feet mean lower low water (MLLW), but is currently maintained at 35 feet MLLW. The forthcoming EIS/EIR is a single purpose navigation improvement project to evaluate incremental deepening to a maximum depth of 38 feet MLLW within the channel reaches of the revised study area only.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army (``the agencies'') are proposing to add an applicability date to the ``Clean Water Rule: Definition of `Waters of the United States''' (the ``2015 Rule'') to two years from the date of final action on this proposal. On October 9, 2015, the Sixth Circuit stayed the 2015 Rule nationwide pending further action of the court, but the Supreme Court is currently reviewing the question of whether the court of appeals has original jurisdiction to review challenges to the 2015 Rule. On February 28, 2017, the President signed an Executive Order, ``Restoring the Rule of Law, Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the `Waters of the United States' Rule.'' With this proposed rule, the agencies intend to maintain the status quo by proposing to add an applicability date to the 2015 Rule and thus provide continuity and regulatory certainty for regulated entities, the States and Tribes, agency staff, and the public while the agencies continue to work to consider possible revisions to the 2015 Rule.

The Rock Island and Chicago Districts, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), will host a public meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana to discuss the draft report titled The Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin StudyBrandon Road Draft Integrated Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact StatementWill County, Illinois and receive input regarding this study.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a document in the Federal Register on May 24, 2011, amending its regulations to establish a restricted area in the Menominee River at the Marinette Marine Corporation Shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin. The Corps published correcting amendments in the Federal Register on April 4, 2012, which corrected latitude and longitude coordinates and also revised administrative and enforcement responsibilities. The Corps is further amending these regulations to expand the existing restricted area to provide additional area of protection during the construction and launching of Littoral Combat Ships. The expansion would result in temporary encroachment within the Menominee River Federal Navigation Channel. The regulations are necessary to provide adequate protection of U.S. Navy (USN) combat vessels, their materials, equipment to be installed therein, and crew, while located at the Marinette Marine Corporation Shipyard.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Tulsa District has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) to analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of the construction of the proposed Lower Bois d'Arc Creek Reservoir (LBCR) and related actions proposed by the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) in Fannin County, Texas. The Proposed Action is a regional water supply project intended to provide up to 175,000 acre-feet/year (AFY), with an estimated firm yield of 120,665 AFY, of new water for NTMWD's member cities and direct customers in all or portions of nine counties in northern TexasCollin, Dallas, Denton, Fannin, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, and Rockwall. Construction of the reservoir and related facilities would result in permanent impacts to approximately 5,874 acres of wetlands, 651,140 linear feet of streams, and 78 acres of open waters. This action requires authorization from the USACE under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The Section 404 permit applicant is the NTMWD.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Jacksonville District, Cocoa Permits Section field office, has received a request for Department of the Army (DA) authorization, pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbor Act of 1899, from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) for activities associated with the proposed drawdown, vegetation removal, and demucking of East Lake Tohopekaliga (ELT) to improve habitat conditions for fish and wildlife. The drawdown would require a deviation to the Water Control Plan for ELT and a DA permit for proposed fill in waters of the United States.

Due to circumstances beyond the control of the Designated Federal Officer and the Department of Defense, the Inland Waterways Users Board was unable to provide public notification changing the meeting location of its meeting of November 3, 2017, which was previously announced in the Federal Register on September 29, 2017 (82 FR 45583). Accordingly, the Advisory Committee Management Officer for the Department of Defense, waives the 15-calendar day notification requirement. The notice of an open meeting scheduled for November 3, 2017 published in the Federal Register on September 29, 2017 (82 FR 45583) has a new meeting location. It will now be held at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District Office Building, main Multi-purpose Conference Room, 4155 East Clay Street, Vicksburg, MS 39183.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), San Francisco District, announces the availability for review and comment of the draft integrated General Reevaluation Report and Environmental Assessment (GRR/EA) and the draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the proposed Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project, Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, CA., USACE Procedures for Implementing [the National Environmental Policy Act] NEPA, notice of the availability of this draft GRR/EA and draft FONSI for review and comment is being provided to agencies, organizations, and the interested public.

The notice of an open meeting scheduled for November 3, 2017 published in the Federal Register on September 29, 2017 (82 FR 45583) has a new meeting location. It will now be held at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District Office Building, main Multi-purpose Conference Room, 4155 East Clay Street, Vicksburg, MS 39183.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is issuing this final rule to adjust its civil monetary penalties under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the National Fishing Enhancement Act to account for inflation. This action is mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Inflation Adjustment Act), which requires agencies to adjust the levels of civil monetary penalties with an initial ``catch-up'' adjustment followed by annual adjustments for inflation. The Inflation Adjustment Act prescribes a formula for adjusting statutory civil penalties to reflect inflation, maintain the deterrent effect of statutory civil penalties, and promote compliance with the law. Using the adjustment criteria provided in the Inflation Adjustment Act for the initial ``catch-up'' adjustment and the December 16, 2016, Office of Management and Budget Memorandum regarding the ``Implementation of the 2017 annual adjustment pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015'', the 2016 catch-up adjustment and 2017 annual adjustment for inflation will increase the Class I civil penalty under Section 309 of the Clean Water Act to $20,966 per violation, and the maximum civil penalty increases to $52,414. The judicial civil penalty under Section 404(s) of the Clean Water Act increases to $52,414 per day for each violation. Under the National Fishing Enhancement Act, the Class I civil penalty increases to $22,957 per violation.

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.