[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 118 (Monday, June 20, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39940-39943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14524]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-5953-N-01]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Rebuild by Design Meadowlands Flood Protection
Project in Bergen County, New Jersey
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and
Development, HUD.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an EIS.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
gives notice that the State of New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (NJDEP), on behalf of the State of New Jersey through its
Department of Community Affairs (NJDCA), as the recipient of U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant funds, and as
the ``Responsible Entity,'' as that term is defined by HUD regulations
at 24 CFR 58.2(a)(7)(i), intends to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Rebuild by Design (RBD) Meadowlands Flood
Protection Project (the Proposed Project). The State of New Jersey,
through NJDCA, has designated the NJDEP as the Lead Agency to prepare
the EIS for the Proposed Project in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The EIS will analyze the environmental
effects of alternatives for the construction of flood risk reduction
measures within the Boroughs of Little Ferry, Moonachie, Carlstadt, and
Teterboro, and the Township of South Hackensack, all in Bergen County,
New Jersey (the Project Area). Such measures will be designed to
address the impacts of coastal and riverine (fluvial) flooding on the
quality of the human environment in the Project Area due to both sea
level rise and storm hazards, including heavy rainfall events and
intense coastal storm events. The approximate Project Area boundaries
are: Hackensack River to the east; Paterson Plank Road and the southern
boundary of Carlstadt to the south; State Route 17 to the west; and
Interstate 80 and the northern boundary of the Borough of Little Ferry
to the north.
[[Page 39941]]
The State of New Jersey through NJDCA is the Grantee of HUD
Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds
that have been appropriated under the Disaster Relief Appropriations
Act of 2013 (Pub. L. 113-2, approved January 29, 2013) related to
disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and
housing, and economic revitalization in the most impacted and
distressed areas resulting from a major disaster that was declared
pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act of 1974 (Stafford Act) in calendar year 2012 for
Hurricane Sandy. The Proposed Project was developed and selected as a
winning concept through HUD's and the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task
Force's RBD competition. The RBD competition promotes the development
of innovative resilience projects in the Sandy-affected region. HUD has
allocated $150 million in CDBG-DR funds for the planning, design, and
implementation of this Project. Receipt of CDBG-DR funding requires
compliance with NEPA.
This Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS is, therefore, being
published in accordance with NEPA, the Council of Environmental Quality
(CEQ) NEPA Regulations found at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508, HUD
implementing regulations at 24 CFR part 58, and HUD's additional
environmental review requirements for the Project published in a
Federal Register notice on October 16, 2014 (79 FR 62182). This Notice
of Intent to prepare a EIS (as defined at 40 CFR 1508.22) is in
accordance with CEQ Regulations, and represents the beginning of the
public scoping process as outlined in 40 CFR 1501.7.
A Draft Public Scoping Document, or Draft Scope of Work to prepare
an EIS (Draft Scope of Work), for the Proposed Project is available at
www.rbd-meadowlands.nj.gov. The Draft Scope of Work outlines the
Proposed Project's purpose and need, initial range of alternatives,
resource areas to be addressed in the EIS, proposed analytical
methodologies, and other elements associated with the Project and this
NEPA process as known at this early stage.
Following the public scoping process, a Draft EIS will be prepared
that analyzes the Proposed Project. Once the Draft EIS is certified as
complete, a notice will then be sent to appropriate government
agencies, groups, and individuals known to have an involvement or
interest in the Draft EIS and particularly in the environmental impact
issues identified therein. A Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS
will be published in the Federal Register and local media outlets at
that time in accordance with HUD and CEQ Regulations. Any person or
agency interested in receiving notice and commenting on the Draft Scope
of Work or Draft EIS should contact the individual named in this notice
under the heading FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT no later than July
20, 2016.
DATES: Comments on the Draft Scope of Work are requested by this notice
and will be accepted until July 20, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the Draft Scope of Work are requested by this
notice and will be accepted by the individuals named in this notice
under the heading FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Comments may also be submitted: (1) Online to the NJDCA Web site at
http://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/sandyrecovery/review/; or (2) U.S. Mail
to: Ms. Laura Shea, Assistant Commissioner, Sandy Recovery Division,
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, 101 South Broad Street,
P.O. Box 800, Trenton, NJ 08625-0800.
Comments will also be accepted at the NEPA scoping meeting to be
held on July 6, 2016. All comments received by July 20, 2016 will be
considered prior to the acceptance, certification, and distribution of
the Final Scope of Work, which will reflect substantive comments
received during the public scoping period and used as input into the
development of the Draft EIS. Commenters are also requested to submit:
(a) Any information related to reports or other environmental studies
planned or completed in the Project Area; (b) major issues that the
Draft EIS should consider; and (c) any recommended mitigation measures
and alternatives associated with the Proposed Project.
Federal agencies having jurisdiction by law, special expertise, or
other special interest should report their interest and indicate their
readiness to aid in the EIS effort as a ``Cooperating Agency.'' Written
requests of individuals and organizations to participate as Section 106
Consulting Parties under the National Historic Preservation Act may
also be made to the individual named in this notice under the heading
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
The public and agencies will also be offered an opportunity to
comment on the purpose and need, range of alternatives, level of
detail, methodologies, and other elements of the Draft Scope of Work
through public and agency outreach that will consist of: A public
scoping meeting (described herein); scheduled community advisory group
meetings associated with the preparation of the EIS; meetings with the
applicable cooperating, involved, and interested agencies, as
necessary; and meetings with Section 106 consulting parties, including
federally recognized Indian tribes. Once completed and released, the
Draft EIS will be available for public and agency review and comment.
With NJDEP serving as the Lead Agency, the EIS will be prepared in
accordance with NEPA, CEQ regulations found at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508,
and HUD regulations found at 24 CFR part 58. In accordance with 42
U.S.C. 5304(g) and HUD's regulations at 24 CFR part 58 (entitled,
``Environmental Review Procedures for Entities Assuming HUD
Environmental Responsibilities''), HUD has provided for assumption of
its NEPA authority by the State of New Jersey through the NJDCA, with
NJDCA delegating NEPA Lead Agency responsibility to the NJDEP for the
administration of the Proposed Project.
The EIS will also comply, as necessary, with Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act, the Clean Water Act, Executive
Order 12898 ``Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in
Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations,'' Executive Order
11990 ``Protection of Wetlands,'' Executive Order 11988 ``Floodplain
Management,'' Executive Order 13690 ``Establishing a Federal Flood Risk
Management Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and
Considering Stakeholder Input,'' and other applicable Federal, State,
and local laws and regulations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, to request a
copy of the Draft Scope of Work, to comment on the Draft Scope of Work,
and/or to address questions concerning the Proposed Project, please
contact NJDEP via (1) email at [email protected]; or (2) U.S.
Mail to Mr. Dennis Reinknecht, RBD Program Manager, Engineering and
Construction, Office of Flood Hazard Risk Reduction Measures, 501 East
State Street, Mail Code 501-01A, P.O. Box 420, Trenton, NJ 08625-0420.
Persons may also view the Draft Scope of Work by visiting the
Rebuild by Design-Meadowlands Web site at www.rbd-meadowlands.nj.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Project Background
HUD launched the RBD competition in the summer of 2013 (July 29,
2013, 78 FR 45551) to develop ideas to
[[Page 39942]]
improve physical, ecological, economic, and social resilience in
regions affected by Hurricane Sandy. The competition sought to promote
innovation by developing flexible solutions that would increase
regional resilience. The Proposed Project was one of the competition's
winning concepts; it was developed with the primary goal of reducing
flood risk in the Project Area. HUD awarded $150 million to the State
of New Jersey for the Proposed Project. The EIS will analyze potential
impacts of certain alternatives involving construction of flood risk
reduction measures designed to address the impacts of coastal and
riverine (fluvial) flooding in the Project Area, stemming from the
award-winning RBD design.
The Project Area is vulnerable to both inland and coastal flooding.
Hurricane Sandy exposed the vulnerabilities within the Project Area
after low-lying areas were inundated by coastal storm surges. Within
the Project Area, rainfall-induced flooding is more common and happens
more frequently than coastal storm surge flooding. However, during
Hurricane Sandy the impacts of rainfall flooding were considerably less
than those from coastal storm surge flooding. If Hurricane Sandy had
been a substantial rainfall event as well as a storm surge event, the
Project Area's past history of flooding during heavy rainfall events
indicates that the storm could have further increased flood levels and
property damages.
Hurricane Sandy significantly impacted the Project Area,
highlighting existing deficiencies in the Project Area's resiliency and
ability to adequately protect vulnerable populations and critical
infrastructure from flooding during major storm events. These impacts
included extensive inland flooding due to major tidal surges, with
significant damage to residential and commercial properties, impacts to
critical health care facilities, and the failure of critical power,
transportation, and water and sewer infrastructure. Approximately 1,600
homes, 600 rental properties, and 1,900 businesses within the Project
Area were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Loss of income, loss of property
taxes, and other Sandy-related property damage were estimated to be in
excess of $40 million within the Project Area, including over $20
million in property damages alone. The average amount of property
damage to each structure in the Project Area ranged from approximately
$1,000 to $12,000. Nearly 30 percent of the structures damaged within
the Project Area were renter-occupied; finding affordable replacement
housing for renters within the Project Area was one of the immediate
challenges following the hurricane. The goal of the Proposed Project is
to reduce such damages, impacts, and losses during future events by
decreasing the flooding risk in the Project Area.
B. Purpose of and Need for the Proposed Project
The Proposed Project includes the construction of flood risk
reduction measures designed to address the impacts of coastal and
riverine (fluvial) flooding on the quality of the human environment due
to both storm hazards and sea level rise within the Project Area. The
purpose of the Proposed Project is to reduce flood risk in the Project
Area, thereby protecting critical infrastructure, residences, and
businesses from the more frequent and intense flood events anticipated
in the future.
The Proposed Project is needed to address: (1) Systemic inland
flooding from high-intensity rainfall/runoff events, and (2) coastal
flooding from storm surges and abnormally high tides. In addition to
reducing flooding in the Project Area, the Proposed Project is needed
to directly protect life, public health, and property in the Project
Area, reduce flood insurance rates and claims from future events, and
potentially restore property values to the extent possible with the
available funding. The Proposed Project is needed to increase community
resiliency, including protecting accessibility to, and on-going
operations of, critical health care services, emergency services, and
transportation and utility infrastructure. The Proposed Project will
also deliver co-benefits, potentially integrating the flood hazard risk
reduction strategy with civic, cultural, and recreational values to
incorporate active and passive recreational uses, multi-use facilities,
public spaces, and other design elements that integrate the Proposed
Project into the fabric of the community to the extent practical with
the available funding.
To address these needs, the Proposed Project would combine hard
infrastructure (such as bulkheads or floodwalls), soft landscaping
features (such as berms and/or levees), and/or a series of drainage
improvements that would reduce flooding in the Project Area, with
freshwater basins and the Meadowlands wetlands themselves increasing
flood storage capacity and flood protection. The Proposed Project would
connect to and potentially expand existing and future marshland
restoration efforts by the New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority.
Urban design features integrated into the proposed flood protection
system would also provide ancillary benefits by enhancing natural areas
and allowing public access to open spaces and increased recreational
opportunities along the Hackensack River. The EIS will examine
alternatives that best meet the purpose and need of the Proposed
Project.
C. Project Alternatives
The EIS will examine three build alternatives, as well as a No
Action Alternative. Each of the three build alternatives will seek to
reduce the flood risk within the Project Area. These alternatives vary
by the type of infrastructure that is proposed. Alternative 1 will
analyze the use of levees, berms, barriers, or floodwalls to reduce
flood risk. Alternative 2 will analyze the impacts of substantial
drainage improvements achieved through a series of local projects
within the Project Area to reduce flood risk, Alternative 3, a hybrid
of Alternatives 1 and 2, will analyze the impacts of blending new
infrastructure and drainage improvements to reduce flood risk in the
Project Area.
Each alternative is being evaluated through the ongoing engineering
feasibility analysis and application of preliminary screening criteria.
These alternatives will be further developed and modified as the EIS
process proceeds. Each alternative must be implementable within the
limits of the CDBG-DR funding available at the latest by September 30,
2022. The three build alternatives, as currently proposed, are
summarized below.
Alternative 1 or the Structural Flood Reduction Alternative.
Alternative 1 will analyze various structural, infrastructure-based
solutions that would be constructed to provide protection from both
fluvial and tidal/storm surge flooding. This alternative, to the extent
practical, would provide a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Certifiable level of flood protection to a portion of the Project Area.
This alternative may consist of a range of structures, including
levees, berms, barriers, drainage structures, pump stations,
floodgates, and/or other hard and soft infrastructure to achieve the
required level of flood protection. Different routing alignments and
different levels of flood protection are also being considered.
Alternative 2 or the Fluvial/Rain Event Drainage Improvement
Alternative. Alternative 2 will analyze a series of storm water
drainage projects aimed at reducing the occurrence of higher frequency,
small- to medium-scale flooding events that impact the
[[Page 39943]]
communities located in the Project Area. Together, these interventions
would provide a system of improved storm water management, and may
include both local drainage improvements and wetlands restoration to
protect communities located in the Project Area and address day-to-day
water management challenges. These interventions may include: Drainage
ditches, pipes, and pump stations at strategic locations; increased
roadway elevations; new green infrastructure (e.g., wetland drainage
basins, bioswales), water storage areas, and water control structures;
cleaning and de-snagging of existing waterways; and increasing and
enhancing public open space.
Alternative 3 or the Hybrid Alternative. Alternative 3 will analyze
a strategic, synergistic blend of new infrastructure and local drainage
improvements to reduce flood risk in the Project Area. Components of
Alternatives 1 and 2 will be combined to provide an integrated, hybrid
solution that employs a combination of appropriate levees, berms,
drainage structures, pump stations, and/or floodgates, coupled with
local drainage improvement projects, to achieve the maximum amount of
flood protection within the boundaries of the Project Area.
No Action Alternative. The No Action Alternative will also be
evaluated in accordance with CEQ Regulations at 40 CFR 1502.14(d). The
No Action Alternative represents the status quo or baseline conditions
without implementation of any of the improvements associated with the
Proposed Project.
The alternatives analysis will consist of a comparison of the four
alternatives' impacts on the human environment pursuant to 24 CFR part
58, as well as how well each alternative meets the Purpose of and Need
for the Proposed Project. This process, which will be described in
detail in the Draft EIS, will lead to the designation of a Preferred
Alternative.
D. Need for the EIS
The Proposed Project described above has the potential to
significantly affect the quality of the human environment. An EIS will
therefore be prepared in accordance with NEPA requirements. Responses
to this notice will be used to: (1) Determine significant environmental
issues; (2) assist in developing a range of alternatives to be
considered; (3) identify issues that the EIS should address; and (4)
identify agencies and other parties that will participate in the EIS
process and the basis for their involvement.
E. Scoping
A public scoping meeting on the Draft Scope of Work will be held on
July 6, 2016, from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. at the Robert J. Craig School,
located at 20 West Park Street, Moonachie, NJ 07074. The public meeting
facility will be handicapped-accessible to the mobility-impaired.
Interpreter services will be made available for persons who are hearing
or visually impaired, upon advance request. Interpreter services will
also be made available for persons with Limited English Proficiency
through a language access service, upon advance request. The EIS
scoping meeting will provide an opportunity for the public to learn
more about the Project and provide input on the EIS and the NEPA
process.
During the meeting, an overview of the Proposed Project will be
provided, as well as details on the early development of alternatives.
The public scoping meeting will also provide an opportunity for the
public to provide comment on the Draft Scope of Work. The Draft Scope
of Work will be made available to the public for review and comment at
the scoping meeting. An electronic version of the Draft Scope of Work
is available at www.rbd-meadowlands.nj.gov.
Comments on the Draft Scope of Work may be provided during the
scoping meeting, or via the methods specified in this notice under the
heading FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Comments on the Draft Scope of Work are requested by this notice
and will be accepted and considered until July 20, 2016.
F. Probable Environmental Effects
The following areas have been identified for analysis in the EIS:
Land use and land use planning; visual quality and aesthetics;
socioeconomics and community/population and housing; environmental
justice; cultural and historic resources; transportation, traffic, and
circulation, including airport operations; noise and vibration; air
quality; greenhouse gas emissions; global climate change; recreation;
utilities and service systems; public services; biological resources,
including threatened and endangered species; geology and soils;
hydrology and flooding, including floodplain management; water
resources, water quality, and waters of the United States, including
wetlands; coastal zone management; hazards and hazardous materials; and
cumulative impacts.
Dated: June 10, 2016.
Harriet Tregoning,
Principal Deputy Assistant, Secretary for Community Planning and
Development.
[FR Doc. 2016-14524 Filed 6-17-16; 8:45 am]
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