[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 196 (Friday, October 9, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61187-61188]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-25859]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Notice of Availability of Supplemental Information Report for
Berryessa Creek Element, Coyote and Berryessa Creek, Flood Control
Project, Santa Clara County, CA
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Public notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has prepared a
Supplemental Information Report (SIR) to provide an update to the
General Re-evaluation Report/Environmental Impact Statement (GRR/EIS)
for the Berryessa Creek Element of the Coyote and Berryessa Creek,
California, Flood Control Project (Project), that the Corps may be
invoking the Clean Water Act (CWA) Sec. 404(r) exemption. The Project
initially sought to obtain a water quality certification from the
Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Region (RWQCB)
pursuant to the CWA Sec. 401(a) (401 Certification). During the course
of extensive coordination over the last six months, the RWQCB has
stated that it may be unable or unwilling to issue a 401 Certification
for the Project. Therefore, in an effort to preserve the ability to
improve flood risk management in this area without excessive delay, the
Corps may invoke 404(r) exemption in lieu of obtaining a 401
Certification from the RWQCB.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanda Cruz, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, San Francisco District, Plan Formulation Section, 1455
Market Street, 17th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-1398, (415) 503-
6955, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The March 2014 Final GRR/EIS of the Project,
and its accompanying CWA Sec. 404(b)(1) alternatives analysis,
recommended the proposed design of a earthen trapezoidal channel
section with varying bottom width and 2H:1V side slopes that provides
protection against the one-percent annual chance exceedance flood event
from I-680 in San Jose to Calaveras Boulevard in Milpitas (hereinafter
``Project''). These environmental analyses determined the Project to be
the National Economic Development Plan (NED), the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmentally preferable alternative,
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Sec. 15126.6(e)(2)
environmentally superior alternative, and the CWA Sec. 404 Least
Environmental Damaging Practicable Alternative (LEDPA). The Corps'
Director of Civil Works signed the Record of Decision (ROD) on May 29,
2014.
With the goal of promoting partnership, it has been the Corps'
position to obtain 401 Certification for all its projects, regardless
of the availability of 404(r) exemption. However, if the RWQCB is
unable or unwilling to provide such a certification then the Corps will
initiate 404(r) exemption procedures and acknowledge this in the
appropriate NEPA document, which has been determined to be an SIR.
Section 404(r) creates an exemption from the water quality
certification requirement under Section 401(a) for projects (1)
specifically authorized by Congress for which (2) an environmental
impact statement has been created that (3) includes consideration of
the 404(b)(1) guidelines, which (4) has been transmitted to Congress
prior to the appropriation of construction funds. Congress authorized
construction of the Project in the Water Resources Development Act of
1990, Public Law 101-640, Sec. 101(a)(5), 103 Stat. 4604 (1990) and as
stated above, the Corps completed the GRR/EIS in March 2014. The
404(b)(1) Alternatives Analysis was included in the GRR/EIS as Appendix
A: Part V. With the completion of this SIR, the Corps will officially
transmit the updated GRR/EIS to Congress prior to the appropriation of
construction funding. Once done, the Corps will have met all the
requirements to utilize 404(r) exemption.
The Corps is confident that the Project is fully conforming to all
Federal and State laws, regulations, and requirements. In the absence
of RWQCB issuing a 401 Certification, the Corps may use 404(r)
exemption. In light of the fact that the Project meets all requirements
of 404(r) exemption without any modifications, there are no substantial
changes or new significant circumstances or information that would
trigger the need for a supplement
[[Page 61188]]
to the GRR/EIS, as defined in section 1502.9(c) of the CEQ Regulations.
John C. Morrow,
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 2015-25859 Filed 10-8-15; 8:45 am]
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