[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 57 (Friday, March 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17037-17038]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7038]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA)--Louisiana, Mississippi River Hydrodynamic
and Delta Management Study
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) intends to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Louisiana Coastal Area
(LCA)--Louisiana, Mississippi River Hydrodynamic and Delta Management
restoration study. This study will identify and evaluate a combination
of large-scale management and restoration features to address the long-
term sustainability of the lower Mississippi River Deltaic Plain.
Hydrodynamic models and other forecast methods will be used to
determine existing water and sediment resources in the Mississippi
River available to restore and sustain delta growth in the Mississippi
River Delta and assess benefits and impacts of large-scale strategies
that balance the interests of ecosystem restoration, flood risk
reduction, and navigation. This EIS will be tiered off of the November
2004, programmatic EIS for the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA), Louisiana,
Ecosystem Restoration Study (LCA Study). The record of decision for the
programmatic EIS was signed on November 18, 2005. This notice announces
the USACE's intent to host six (6) public scoping meetings.
DATES: Comments on the scope of the EIS will be accepted until close of
business on May 4, 2012. Please refer to the ``Scoping'' section below
for instructions on how to submit public comments, the dates of the
upcoming public scoping meetings and other meeting information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the draft EIS and
scoping comments should be addressed to Dr. William P. Klein, Jr.,
CEMVN-PDN-CEP, P.O. Box 60267, New Orleans, LA 70160-0267; telephone:
(504) 862-2540; fax: (504) 862-1583; or by email:
william.p.klein.jr@usace.army.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Authority. The Mississippi River Hydrodynamic and Delta
Management Study, identified as a large-scale, long-term restoration
feature recommended for study in the 2004 LCA Study, is authorized to
be studied under Section 7003 of the Water Resource Development Act
(WRDA) 2007 (Pub. L. 110-114), as well as resolutions of the U.S. House
of Representatives and Senate Committees on Public Works, dated April
19, 1967 and October 19, 1967, respectively.
2. Proposed Action. The Mississippi River Hydrodynamic and Delta
Management Study is the first large-scale, long-term restoration
assessment investigated under the LCA Program. Ecosystem restoration
features that increase the deposition of Mississippi
[[Page 17038]]
River sediment in shallow coastal areas and restore delta growth and
wetland sustainability will be identified and evaluated. A series of
hydrodynamic models will be used to evaluate Mississippi River sediment
and water resources including: Hydraulics and the relationship of flow
conditions to sediment transport, salinity intrusion, the flux of key
nutrients, deposition and erosion, and the net results of these
processes in river channel and distributary morphology over more than
300 miles of the river (Old River to the Gulf of Mexico). These models
will be used for this study and future LCA Program studies and
projects. Large-scale river diversions and outfall management measures
that optimize the river sediment and freshwater resources to provide
long-term restoration and sustainability of the Delta Plain, including
the sediment-starved barrier shorelines, will be considered. Possible
navigation alternative scenarios could include consideration of new
navigation channels to the east or west of the current Mississippi
River alignment. Navigation channel analysis would be limited to
preliminary screening as any navigation channel re-alignment scenarios
would require, at a minimum, re-scoping the present study.
The Mississippi River Hydrodynamic and Delta Management Study will
evaluate potential benefits and impacts to both the natural and human
environments. This study will provide methods for quantifying effects
and developing large-scale management strategies and projects that
balance the interests of ecosystem restoration, flood control, and
navigation purposes for Louisiana and the Nation.
3. Public Involvement. Public involvement, an essential part of the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, is integral to
assessing the environmental consequences of the proposed action and
improving the quality of the environmental decision making. The public
includes affected and interested Federal, state, and local agencies,
Indian tribes, concerned citizens, stakeholders, and other interested
parties. Public participation in the EIS process will be strongly
encouraged, both formally and informally, to enhance the probability of
a more technically accurate, economically feasible, and socially
acceptable EIS. Public involvement will include, but is not limited to:
Information dissemination; identification of problems, needs and
opportunities; idea generation; public education; problem solving;
providing feedback on proposals; evaluation of alternatives; public and
scoping notices and meetings; public, stakeholder and advisory groups
consultation and meetings; and making the EIS and supporting
information readily available in conveniently located places, such as
libraries and on the world wide web.
4. Scoping. Scoping, an early and open process for identifying the
scope of significant issues related to the proposed action to be
addressed in the EIS, will be used to: (a) Identify the affected public
and agency concerns; (b) facilitate an efficient EIS preparation
process; (c) define the issues and alternatives that will be examined
in detail in the EIS; and (d) save time in the overall process by
helping to ensure that the draft EIS adequately addresses relevant
issues. The USACE will host six (6) NEPA public scoping meetings at the
following locations on the dates indicated between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.:
Tuesday, April 10, 2012: Louisiana Department of Natural Resources,
LaBelle Room-1st Floor, 617 North 3rd Street Baton Rouge, LA.
Thursday, April 12, 2012: Port of New Orleans, Auditorium 1st
Floor, 1350 Port Of New Orleans Place New Orleans, LA.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012: Larose Civic Center, 307 East 5th Street,
Cuttoff, LA.
Thursday, April 19, 2012: Boothville Elementary, 1 Oiler
Drive Boothville, LA.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012: Waveland Civic Center, 335 Coleman Avenue
Waveland, MS.
Thursday, April 26, 2012: St. Bernard Parish Council Chambers, 8201
W. Judge Perez Drive Chalmette, LA.
A Scoping Meeting Notice announcing the specific locations, driving
directions, dates and times for scoping meetings is anticipated to be
mailed to interested parties in March 2012.
5. Coordination. The USACE and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) have formally committed to work together to conserve, protect,
and restore fish and wildlife resources while ensuring environmental
sustainability of our Nation's water resources under the January 22,
2003, Partnership Agreement for Water Resources and Fish and Wildlife.
The USFWS will provide a Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act Report.
Coordination will be maintained with the USFWS and the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) regarding threatened and endangered species
under their respective jurisdictional responsibilities. Coordination
will be maintained with the NMFS regarding essential fish habitat.
Coordination will be maintained with the Natural Resources Conservation
Service regarding prime and unique farmlands. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture will be consulted regarding the ``Swampbuster'' provisions
of the Food Security Act. Coordination will be maintained with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency concerning compliance with Executive
Order 12898, ``Federal Action to Address Environmental Justice in
Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations.'' Coordination will be
maintained with the Advisory Counsel on Historic Preservation and the
State Historic Preservation Officer. The Louisiana Department of
Natural Resources will be consulted regarding consistency with the
Coastal Zone Management Act. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and
Fisheries will be consulted concerning potential impacts to Natural and
Scenic Rivers.
6. Availability of Draft EIS. The earliest that the draft EIS will
be available for public review would be in 2016. The draft EIS or a
notice of availability will be distributed to affected Federal, state,
and local agencies, Indian tribes, and other interested parties.
Dated: March 13, 2012.
Edward R. Fleming,
Colonel, U.S. Army, District Commander.
[FR Doc. 2012-7038 Filed 3-22-12; 8:45 am]
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